Jewellery Collection

 

I've had a couple of people (well literally two) asking me to do a jewellery collection post so I've finally taken some photos of my bits and bobs. I am a jeweller's daughter but actually most of my collection is costume and from the highstreet, I only get nice expensive bits if I've had my eye on them for a loooong time at Christmas or my birthday. I seem to enjoy looking at jewellery, picking pieces out for other people and really just admiring it more than I do wearing it but at the moment I won't often be seen without a ring or two!

Above is almost my whole collection, the hanger was a present and is I think from Claire's. It hangs above a mirror and dressing table with a summer straw hat for practicality and to hide the hook! As you can see I don't have many bracelets as I find them a bit too jangly for me but the two shown are from New Look. The nicest bracelet I've owned is a white gold nest link bracelet that was hand made for my 18th birthday which I keep in a safe. It's gorgeous but I feel it's too expensive to leave out on show and the safe was lifted in by a crane so there's no burglars getting in there!

First we come to earrings, I used to wear them all the time especially always always on a night out but I'm being boring at the moment and not having so many nights out so they're feeling the love a little less. Most of my earrings are costume, I find the styles are much bolder on the highstreet than they make in precious metals and I have had a few losses/casualties in clubs so wouldn't want to run the risk of losing an expensive pair.
The ones on the left are my absolute favourites, actually from Peacocks but I don't love them any less for that. They're not too dangly and are an easy length to wear while still standing out against my hair. The next pair is quite a contrast; long dangly and quite a similar colour to my hair. They create just enough movement to stand out and are quite an organic shape, they remind me of autumn leaves.
Next we have a kind of simple tribal design, I like these for their colour and big simple shapes. Second to last is a subtle ear cuff, the big silver stud sits on the lobe while the top part hugs the ear rim and gives an interesting look without needing to have any extra holes.
Finally in the earring department we come to these large hoops, normally I wouldn't wear hoops at all let alone at these shoulder skimming loops! These though really caught my eye and I think they're well designed enough to not look like massive 'budgie' hoops.

As I said above, my rings are my most worn pieces at the moment and these are my favourites. The snake and the bending ring are both costume, the bending one was from Matalan recently and I really love it for being so unusual, it reminds me of a robot and bones at the same time. The blue stones are all Topaz and the cat has little Sapphire eyes which I think is really cute. I really love animal jewellery and wish I had more of it as I've seen some gorgeous pieces around! The gold ring at the front has a really beautifully designed setting, it was my German neighbour's mum's ring and he was such a lovely kind man that I'm so happy to have something so pretty to remind me of him. The watch in the top photo was also his, it's massive on my wrist and needs a new battery so is more of a statement piece!

Next are my necklaces, these are the more summery bits of my costume neckwear. On the left are two pieces of coral from the Great Barrier Reef (don't worry, dead coral that had been knocked off) and make big chunky pendants round my neck with a summer dress. In the middle is a carved piece from Hong Kong and the other is (obviously) shells but in a pattern that makes them stand out on the chest. The one on the right is tiny shells and beads on a natural string which I think is quite dainty, I wear this doubled up round my ankle in the summer.

Finally we come to my more expensive necklaces. The piece on the left is a bit unusual looking and thats probably because I 'designed' it myself. The bottom silver part started life as a charm bracelet- a Ram for the chinese year I was born, a Virgin symbol for Virgo, St. Christoper for travelling, P for Paterson and a few other bits I liked the look of like a rose, shark and a serrated claw set in silver. This bracelet unfortunately snapped (told you they were jangly) so I attached it to a gold chain which makes it the perfect length for wearing over high necked dresses and long knitted jumpers. 
The middle is a gold, turquoise and pearl pendant/brooch, this belonged to my grandmother on my father's side and although I don't remember meeting her it's lovely to be able to wear something so delicate in her memory.
Finally is probably my favourite piece of jewellery that I own- a big silver eagle clutching a snake. I love this for it's detail and boldness, and that the wings are hinged so it almost flaps on my chest when I move. I don't wear this often but when I do I get a lot of comments as it makes such a statement!

So there we have my collection, probably not as big as you thought! I think I have more of an eye for jewellery than a body for it (if that doesn't sound too weird), but as my parents are jewellers and my Nan was a pearl stringer it's pretty much in my blood!