So we’ve covered “Lazos“/Bows, “Maxicollares”/Statement Necklaces, “Perlas”/Pearls, Love and now it’s time for, oh dear, Rapper Jewellery. Well this will be a short one as I don’t get along well with big, heavy chains. So for you fans of the clunky and the chunky, here are a few examples.

From firm Guess:

D&G:

And Nomination:

So we’ve covered “Lazos“/Bows, “Maxicollares”/Statement Necklaces, “Perlas”/Pearls, this time it’s Love! Yes of course, as if you didn’t already know it’s Valentine’s day. A few years ago when I lived in the UK I often sidestepped the whole theme; regardless of whether I was single or not I’d make a date with the gym (lots of free equipment) and be sure to send a card to my mum. These days it’s a little different, because there’s none of the pressure (here in northern Spain), I feel quite happy about embracing hearts and all things pink and fluffy!

Chopard say it with “happy diamonds”, I’m not sure what the “happy” refers to though:

Oh dear, the next one is a little poignant, but if you’re absolutely set on wearing your broken heart on your, um, finger, then Werner Häringg have just what you need:

And now for my own little creations, well let’s just say that I have never met a heart bead I didn’t like! I selected a few favourites for you to see in the fancy widget below:

So we’ve covered “Lazos“/Bows, “Maxicollares”/Statement Necklaces, this time it’s Pearls! I love pearls, well I love working with them and I love the way they look, but from a jewellery designer’s point of view they can be very tricky to photograph! Doesn’t look like the photographers at The Best Joyas have had any trouble, they include some very interesting pieces, ike this visually captivating pendant by Majorica with little cups of white gold.

Well if diamonds are forever, I think pearls are right there with them! Prestigious French firm Cartier are of the same opinion it seems, here’s one of their creations in white gold, diamonds and pearls.

Finally here’s a lovely thing by Isidoro Hernandéz:

For my own designs, well you can’t stop me using pearls! Here are creamy Freshwater pearls with rock crystal- perfect for a winter wedding!

Here are some more freshwater pearls, this time combined with a few Swarovski crystals to give a bit of sparkle as they move:

And finally, the clean and perfectly flawless Swarovski pearl with its subtle sheen:

Ok last time was all about “Lazos” or Bows, this time it’s “Maxicollares” or Statement Necklaces. A few are featured in the magazine and I have to say I don’t always love the examples shown, I’m afraid it’s true in this case:

This de GRISOGONO necklace features coral beads set with pave brown diamonds in 18k rose gold, yours for only $233,000!

This one by Pasquale Bruni is a little easier to live with, especially with the cute flower motifs!

For my own, slightly less “exuberant” designs, I have only one item that I think might qualify as a statement necklace- this white jade necklace:

42cm white jade necklace

I don’t think it’s a trend I’ll be embracing wholeheartedly, my own designs are a little quieter than the Statement Necklace requires, I don’t believe you have to SHOUT to be noticed…!

As always, I love to read about the trends as forecast by Spanish magazine The Best Joyas as it gives an alternative look at the world of jewellery and fashion; most of the time UK trends seem to follow what’s going on in the US, but here in Spain we look to Italy.

Five themes are featured, Part I is all about “Lazos” or Bows.

Well that’s just great because I love bows, and over the years with wrapping up countless boxes of jewellery and finishing them with satin ribbons, I feel I am learning to master the skill of the bow! Well, it’s a work in progress, and exciting- I got some new ribbons recently- some tartan, some organza, some spotty and some plain old satin. It’s tricky tying bows with two different widths, but I get practice with every parcel, come and order from my shop, which one will you get…?

OK back to the jewellery, and still on the subject of bows, I just created a new Swarovski pearl necklace which includes some lovely little satin bows, I started with my favourite colours of the moment: charcoal and silver pearl:

Beau in Charcoal and Silver Pearls 20-22cm bracelet

Beau in Charcoal and Silver Pearls 42-47cm necklace

Maybe I’ll add some earrings soon, and I you may have noticed I called the range “Beau”, sorry just couldn’t help myself…! Next Part II….

The latest issue arrived this morning, time for another glance at what the luxury jewellers are up to, as usual I turn to the “Tendencias” section or “Trends”. This issue has five main areas: Broches/Brooches, Anillos Cabochón/Cabochon Rings, Oro Rosa/Pink Gold, Corazones/Hearts and Mariposas y Libélulas/Butterflies and Dragonflies.

Broches/Brooches

This lovely creation is by Isidoro Hernández and in the Novias/Brides collection.

Anillos Cabochón/Cabochon Rings

Now then, I understand “cabochon” to mean the following:

A cabochon or cabachon, from the Middle French caboche (head), is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to facetted. The resulting form is usually a convex top with a flat bottom.

Perhaps it can mean something slightly different in Spanish, or perhaps the authors of this section were just delicately trying to avoid the more obvious term for the shape of these rings, take a look:

None of the rings appear to even include a cabochon and are, in my humble opinion, mushroom-shaped! But perhaps a ring encrusted with that many precious stones shies away from the word “mushroom”… Ah well, I’m afraid to say that I myself would shy 100 miles away from any of these expensive creations, let’s just say they’re not my bag…

BTW They’re by Rabat, Chanel and Moragen.

Oro Rosa/Pink Gold

Pink gold makes an appearance again, and here’s a sweet and unassuming little ring by Mont Blanc:

Corazones/Hearts

This lovely thing by Nanis has featured before in the Trends section, but here it is again because of it’s undeniable prettiness!

And given how black is making a large appearance this season, here’s a black-hearted pair of earrings by Manoel Bernardes:

With my own jewellery I use hearts fairly often, like in my Blake collection:

A new addition is Aila, fun little earrings to add a splash of colour and sparkle:

I love Bali filigree pieces, and I have one in a heart shape:

Susan is one of my favourite ranges:

Finally, there’s Briony, perfect for wedding day jewellery:

Mariposas y Libélulas/Butterflies and Dragonflies

I usually reserve my flower and especially butterfly jewellery for Spring and Summer, but who am I to argue with these guys? Here is a pair of pretty drop earrings from Italian firm NuoveGioe:

And after my recent Bali trip I just love seeing dragonflies, like this sweet little charm on this champagne topaz bracelet by Casato:

With my own jewellery I only have a couple of things to show right now:

I hope you liked this peek into the world of jewellery, next I’ll be showing some of the new pieces I made after inspiration from a recent trip to Indonesia.

• Pendientes Aro/Hoop Earrings
• Amuletos/Talismans
• Pendientes Tira/Long Earrings
• Animalitos/Animal Figurines
• Medallones/Medallions

Pendientes Aro/Hoop Earrings

Ah yes I remember hoop earrings… Back in high school there was a sudden craze and it seemed like there was an unofficial competition to see who could wear the biggest hoops before the teachers banned them. I stopped at a modest 3cm diameter, but ever since them I have tended to avoid them. Until now, that is. I have been experimenting with pretty 2.5cm diameter Sterling hoops, see some of my latest creations below:

“Corsage”: Freshwater pearl with Swarovski crystal.

“Patsy”: Gemstone Earrings with Jade, Aquamarine, Amazonite, Pearl and Moonstone.

And now a peek from the luxury end of the market:

	Steel hoops in a minimalist design by Breil
	From the “Nubiana” collection by La Pepita.
	Stacks of hoops with pearls and diamonds, in a romantic design by Espelt.

Amuletos/Talismans

	A pretty charm by H.Stern from their Talisman collection.
	Cute! If only slightly OTT with encrusted diamonds and amethysts by Piaget. The ultimate high-roller good luck charm?

Pendientes Tira/Dangling Drop Earrings

	I love the colours of these gemstones in the earrings by Marco Bicego.
	The gemstones in these earrings by Comete look like a fabulous shade of green. I have green eyes, perhaps I need more green earrings in my life!
	Chocolaty pearls with white gold, diamonds and gemstones, by Giovanni Ferarris.

Animalitos/Animal Figurines

	Oh dear, well I can’t be nice about everything can I? Here is an object which, IMHO has very little merit being neither beautiful nor useful, except of course as a display of wealth. Vulgar. But then that’s the thing about good taste- everyone thinks that they have it!
	And then just when I was getting all cross, here comes some little hopping frogs! OK so they’re diamond encrusted white gold froggies, but I love them! By Dada Arrigoni.

Medallones/Medallions

	Fear not, I believe “Medallion Man” with his Speedos and hairy chest are not in this section, rather it is a more feminine interpretation of the Medieval mainstay. Like this one by Loris.
	I particularly like this one by Espelt with its multi-stranded necklace.

Joyas Ultra-Light/Ultra Light Jewels

Pieces of extraordinary design and beauty, using high technology. Characterised by curves and lightness like this necklace by Nanis

or this pendant by Vendorafa:

Of course the creation of light jewellery is nothing new, and it certainly doesn’t require new technology; filigree is an technique of combining filaments of metal that has been practiced for thousands of years.

Oro Mate/Matt Gold

Gold is back, but with a new matt finish. I liked the Celtic crosses in these pieces by H.Stern.

Esmaltes/Enamels

Hmmm I’m never all that sure about enamels, at best the shiny bright colours look like icing on a cake, and at worst gaudy! However I quite like these rings by Nouvelle bague.

Joyas para niños/Jewellery for Children

Hmmm again. I grew up in Scotland and jewellery for us was exclusively a grown-up’s domain for many years. We didn’t have much exposure to other cultures and I remember how shocked my sister and I were the first time we saw an Asian baby with pierced ears! Times have changed for some however, with designers now including children in their target audience. Take a look at these tiny shoe necklaces by Aaron Basha:

Links

I didn’t like the big chunky links of recent season, but these new ones using different textures and shapes are easier to live with. I like this one using hammered gold and blue gemstones by Comete: