New items for sale! - TVB Trinket Box.

I know I've already blogged today, but I've just added my second item of jewellery to my brand new Etsy shop and I wanted to tell you all about them both. 

Here they are...

The first is a Victorian elephant hair and gold ring, which I think is beautiful. I'd have kept it myself if it wasn't too small. It's a UK M/N. It's unusual to see one with a pearl on it & I've got no way of finding out what type of pearl it is at the moment, but either way I think it's a lovely ring. 

The second, and actually the first thing I ever bought to go in my shop, is this 1970s gold and diamond ring. It has 9 little sparklers and some amazing engraving on the sides. The diamond settings are very worn, but it all looks secure and just makes it look well-loved. I hope it will make someone very happy soon. Also a size M/N. 

I also have some other bits and bobs in my shop, such as vintage buttons, buckles, chinaware, and other such things. I have some vintage greetings cards on their way to me and I'm hoping they will be in the shop before the end of this week. 

Oh the joys of being a shop owner - I'm loving it. I hope that in the next five years it'll be a bricks and mortar shop. Exciting times. 

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

The Velveteen Box [Trinket Box] is OPEN!

I am pleased [and very proud] to announce that my Etsy shop is LIVE and OPEN and has two whole items in it. I have business cards and stickers on their way, so I think that it is well and truly in full swing and I could not be more excited. 

The two items are... 

A very lovely sterling silver and enamel travel charm from sunny Eastbourne, East Sussex, England.

Eastbourne charm

The second... 

A beautiful, size M, 1970s gold and diamond ring. It has the most beautiful engraving on both sides and it's made from 9ct gold and was hallmarked in London. 

So, there we have it. I am so excited, and happy to have some things for sale, in a shop. It's a dream of mine and I'm feeling like I'm getting somewhere. 

Thanks for looking!

TVB - L. x

The Velveteen Box is moving on up... sort of.

The Velveteen Box [Trinket Box] is now live on Etsy and can be found here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TVBTrinketBox and there is a brand new website, which isn't fully up and running and can be found at www.thevelveteenbox.com or www.thevelveteenbox.co.uk. 

I'm hoping that all things bought and sold through TVB [Trinket Box] will eventually fund my life-long dream of making my own vintage-inspired jewellery. So for the next few years I'll be buying and selling little treasures, so please go and take a look at my shop. I got my first saleable item today, so I'll photograph that and upload it soon, and I should have some more items coming in the post tomorrow. I'm getting up super early in the morning to see if I can nab some bargains in some of the local towns. Wish me luck! 

I feel like I'm really getting somewhere and I'm excited that one day I might be able to make a living out of my passion, which is primarily looking at pretty, sparkly things. 

L. x 

Vivienne Westwood jewellery

Evening, folk. 

Hollyoaks is on in the background [please don't judge] and I'm wandering around the Internet, as usual, and I've just realised that I've not shared with you my latest 'must have'... 

As you can tell by the post title [and the obvious emblem on the necklace] this lovely necklace is by the one and only Vivienne Westwood. Isn't it glorious? I've said before that I'm not usually into investing my money into non-'forever' pieces but there are a few Vivienne Westwood [and Chanel] items that could sway me. I might treat myself to this one in February [after pay day]; I'll keep you posted. 

This one is called the Mini Bas Relief Choker [strange name] and can be found here. 

Here are a couple more nice things from VW...

Isn't it beautiful? It's called the Three row pearl drop choker in silver [it also comes in gold] and can be found here. 

This one is the Isolde and can be found here. This is more of a statement necklace and I have a lovely black dress that would look lovely with it on a night out. 

The sterling silver small key bracelet is very pretty and could be worn every day - it's sterling silver and a bargain at £85. It can be found here. 

Finally, another one that I'm very tempted by...

Isn't it pretty?! Also sterling silver and here's the link. 

Do you own any Vivienne Westwood gems? if so, please let me know. 

Thanks for reading, 

L. x

Jennie Kwon Designs

I know I've already posted today, but I just saw these Jennie Kwon earrings and had to share. How amazing are they?! 

Sadly they are $445. I'll add them to the "one day" list. I need these in my life. 

Thanks for reading [again]. 

L. 

2015! I'm back...

Hello all and a Happy New Year to you. I'm sorry that I've been AWOL for some time. We ran way to get married and we've had a pretty tough time of it in the months following, and then of course... Christmas! So I can only apologise and hope that you can forgive the huge gap. 

Our wedding day was perfect. In every possible way (well, I wasn't blown away by my dress, but that happens) and we had an amazing time. We got married in San Francisco and I wouldn't change a thing; we smiled and laughed so much. I will share my wedding jewellery with you later in this post [I've realised that I'm missing photos, so I will show you another time]. 

What else has happened? I think my little sister had just had little R when I was last here; he's now 6 months old and the most beautiful little person. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are here from Aus at the moment with their little people - T1 who is 3 years and T2 who is 7 months. They are a joy to be around and Christmas was fun because they were around. 

Anyway, none of that is jewellery related, so I must move on. One of my resolutions for 2015 is to sell at least ONE vintage ring this year. I hope that I can do that. The amount of things that I need to concentrate on this year is a little overwhelming, but I hope I can make it through. As I type I should be essay writing, but that'll have to wait! 

Look, I've come all this way and still no lovely pictures of jewellery... I'm still as obsessed as ever. I ordered a ring on Friday night that I will show you when it arrives. There's every chance that it won't fit, as it comes in limited sizes, but I'm hoping that if that's the case then it will make the perfect midi-ring. Here's hoping! 

SALES! They've been everywhere. I've had my eye on a few jewellery sales, mostly the Astley Clarke one, of course. I have been oh-so-tempted on a number of occasions, but we had such a heavy Christmas that I've had to hold back. 

Here are some of the things to have tempted me... 

Dinny Hall's Tear drop earrings in sterling silver. £85, now £45. These are sadly sold out, otherwise I think I would have bought these. I don't own any DH but I'd love to correct that in 2015. 

DH's Tear drop necklace in rose gold. £130, now £90. This piece was exclusive to AC. There's something quite lovely about these drops, they are a really nice size/shape. 

AC's hematite Symphony ring. £165, now £95. I love hematite. I've loved it since I was a kid. The cut on this stone is also my favourite. So what's not to love?! 

Alex Monroe's Pomegranate necklace. £180, now £125. This is one of my favourite AM necklaces and I was hoping to find it in my Christmas stocking this year [I didn't]. If I could afford it right now, I'd love to bag it at this reduced price. Alas, it's not meant to be at the moment. I love the garnets; nothing else could look more like pomegranate seeds. Just look at them! Beautiful. 

Marian Maurer's 18 carat cold and champagne diamond Orpheus ring. £1, 795, now £1, 250. There are so many things right about this ring. I love MM, I love rose gold, I am obsessed with champagne diamonds, and I love these bubble-style diamond rings. I think I'd rather they were different shades of champagne diamond, rather than champagne and white, but this ring is still utterly beautiful. 

There are lots of other lovely things to be had but I don't want to swamp you with my first post, there are other things to look at! 

Alexis Dove is also having a sale. Here are some of my favourites... 

This is an absolute bargain at £85, down from £250. I would have bought it in a heartbeat, but it's not in my size. Helios ring. One of my favourite bits about Alexis' designs is her beading and this ring shows that off really well. 

I have two of AD's wild rose rings and I adore them. I'm wearing them right now in fact. The large one is in the sale [I have tiny and small]. They vary in price depending on finish, but they start at £75. 

Here are mine... 

Up next is the love potion necklace. I'd not seen this before the sale, so it might be a limited piece? It's very sweet and something else that I'd have bought if I had funds. The hand engraved 'love' is quite lovely. £75 from £125. 

Finally, the stacking ring set. £60 from £100. I make it no secret that mixed metals are my thing. These flowers are very simple and three of Alexis' rings for £60 is an absolute bargain. 

I was going to show you my wedding jewellery, but I realise that I am missing decent photos of the two things that my husband gave me on our wedding day, so I'll take photos of those and show you next time. 

I didn't get any jewellery for Christmas this year (!!!) and I didn't buy myself any, which I usually would, but I did buy a necklace for my Ma. I got her a Merci Maman necklace in sterling silver [the only photo I could find of it was the gold one] and I got my two brothers' initials put on the circle charm, mine and my sister's two initials on the star charm, and my dad's initial and a 'x' put on the heart charm. The quality of these products is so good. I was impressed with the one I got my sister and this one too. The engraving is done by hand, which is what made me purchase both necklaces. It's hard to find places that don't all use standard fonts, which I guess are engraved by machine. The hand writing detail is very sweet. It also helps that the packaging is lovely. 

I think that'll do for today. I hope you've forgiven me for my absence. I'll keep you updated on the e-shop, as and when it comes, and various other things that I hope will happen this year. 

Thanks for reading! 

L.