Digby & Iona - my favourites

Happy Sunday! The weekend is here, the daffodils are starting to show their faces, and the sun is trying to peek out from behind the clouds. We went rummaging around antique shops yesterday to find goods for my new Etsy shop - The Velveteen Box [Trinket Box], we also had a hot chocolate and a sausage roll and it was a lovely day. 

But enough about all of that, I am here today to share one of my favourite jewellery houses with you [I did mention them back in 201]... Digby and Iona. One of my wedding rings is from D&I and I just love their quirky style. Here are some of my favourite pieces... 

The Ambro .70ct. 
This stunning example of a watermelon tourmaline speaks directly to my heart. I am hoping that 2015 is the year that I own a watermelon tourmaline and it may be in the shape of this ring, who knows? This ring is made from 18k rose gold and has D&I's wonderful wave engraving on the band. Perfection. $1330. 

Here's a sneaky picture of another one of D&I's watermelon tourmalines, this time an aqua coloured version...

Convict love token necklace. This charming necklace is exactly that - charming. It can be personalised with your and your partner's initials, which I think is just lovely. It is made from oxidised bronze and comes on a rope [I'm not too keen on the rope - I'd put it on a chain]. As with most of D&I's designs, there's a lovely history to accompany it. $190 with initials, $150 without. 

Ouroboros signet ring. Anyone who knows me knows that mixed metals are my thing. I've been mixing my metals since a time when it was not considered the done thing and items like this signet ring make me happy. The snake also helps. Snake jewellery is wonderful. The signet ring is made from sterling silver and the snake is solid 14k rose gold that has been inset. It's a pretty big, statement piece, but I think it's beautiful. $280. 

Mens wave band. We discovered, when shopping for The Husband's wedding ring, that it is surprisingly difficult to find interesting bands for men. There are trays upon trays of plain bands, with absolutely no character and seeing something like this band from D&I makes me smile. I think it would make a perfect wedding band. $920. 

Battle diagram ring. Another one for the men; the battle diagram ring. I think it's very interesting and again, would make a lovely wedding band. Sterling silver. $150. 

Boat wave studs. These lovely little studs match the above rings perfectly. $360. 

There we have it, some beautiful pieces from this lovely brand. Perfect if you're looking for that vintage sailor look. 

Until next time, folks... 

L. x

Catch up - Shaun Leane talons and hooks from the Tusk collection.

Hey guys, I hope you're all well. 

I've been really busy with wedding planning and working far too much, so I'm sorry that I've neglected the blog somewhat. I've not been neglecting jewellery though, so I've got some bits and bobs to share with you at some point. I've made a few jewellery purchases for the wedding, as well as a couple of costume pieces for everyday. I've not bought anything high-end though as funds are having to be spent wisely at the moment. 

I cannot stop thinking about a pair of earrings that I saw a sales assistant wearing in a shop in Brighton and I can't wait until I can freely spend my money again because I need them in my life. I want both of these pairs to wear for different occasions. They actually sell the smaller ones in a jewellers not too far from me, so I can go and drool over them when I fancy. They will make it on to my birthday wish list later in the year if I've not managed to get them by then (and with the wedding fast approaching I don't think I will have managed before then). 

1. Shaun Leane silver talon earrings. 

2. Shaun Leane silver and rose gold vermeil hook earrings size 1

What else has happened? I've received my wedding present, which I'll show you after the wedding. We've bought my Groom's wedding ring. I'll show you my new snake collection when I've got good enough light to be able to take some photos. 

So, sadly, I think that's it for now. I'm working hard on putting things in place for an exciting future endeavour, which I'll share with you all one day. Fingers crossed for now. 

Have a great evening and I'll write again soon. 

Thanks for reading, 

L. x

If I had £1,000 right now... Monica Vinader

Good evening, folks. I've had a full Monday at work, I've just finished watching the last ever episode of Gossip Girl and I would like an imaginary £1,000 to spend. 

Of course, if you gave me £1,000 right now, it would go into my "dream ring fund", details of which I'll share another day, but for now let's play the game...

I don't want to go too far to spend my £1,000 so I'm going to make a single trip... to Monica Vinader. I adore her use of liquid-esque metals and stunning gemstones, as well as her combinations of lapis and yellow gold, and rose quartz with rose gold. Her designs are some of my favourites, so it only makes sense for my imaginary shop to take place there. It's just very tricky narrowing it down to £1,000!

So, MV has creating an amazing collection where you can mix and match various pendants to create a beautiful necklace. They have one of those nifty online tools to make your own and I've done just that. This stunner can be yours [or mine] for £575 [breakdown to follow]...

1. I chose the 32" sterling silver Lungo chain for £210. I like the little hoop that you can use to attach all of the pendants. 

2. I then added my favourite pendant, the rose gold vermeil Marie. It looks like an old Pirate coin and I love it. Of course I'll be mixing my metals for this necklace, it's what I do! £125. 

3. Then I added the Riva gold vermeil ingot for £105. This isn't my cup of tea on its own, but when added in this combination I think it's just stunning. 

4. Then the Ava small round pendant in sterling silver. A bargain at £40, and a well-balance addition, in my opinion.  

6. Then, last but not least, I added the siren bezel pendant in yellow gold vermeil with blue lapis [one of my favourites]. £95. 

Isn't this the perfect necklace?! Here are a couple of ready made ones from the MV website so get the creative juices flowing. 

Anyway, I've got a further £425 to spend, so I want some things to match this lovely piece... 

For £130 I would buy the Siren ring in 18ct rose gold vermeil with moonstone. I love the natural shape of the stone and the rose hue of the pink gold. Beautiful. 

That leaves me with £295... 

Which is exactly what these Siren medium drop earrings in rose gold vermeil and rose quartz cost. Handy, right?

I don't think my choices are too bad at all and that was really fun. I'll be spending more imaginary £1,000, I can assure you of that. I think I need to play the Lotto this weekend! 

Take care, thanks for reading. 

L. x