Sunday 27 May 2012

Kyanite & Apatite = Summer


I particularly like the watery blue colour of Kyanite, which I find exceptionally pretty in this small faceted briolette-cut as it refracts lots of light. This is a variation on the hoop theme, with tiny kite briolettes of aqua green Apatite among the Kyanite. Small but perfectly formed!

Materials: Sterling Silver, Kyanite & Apatite.

Price: £28.

Monday 21 May 2012

Clementine





I particularly like a little vibrant orange on a summer's day, and some time soon the summer will no doubt make an appearance. Here is a petite pair of Silver hoop earrings adorned with small faceted briolettes of lovely Mandarin Carnelian.

Price: £26.

Sunday 20 May 2012

More Afternoon Tea!

I'm afraid my beloved and I committed another crime to our waistlines yesterday. It started out as an innocuous little stroll around Windsor. The town had a festive and somewhat retro air, awash as it was with military service personnel in their parade uniforms following the jubilee event for the Queen at Windsor Castle earlier in the day. As we were 'walking off' our lunch we strolled down to the bridge leading across to Eton, and this was our downfall - here lies the delectable little 'Chocolate Theatre', which we were unable to walk past without having a modest Cream Tea shared between the two of us. On the surface this might seem perfectly restrained; a pot of tea and two scones for two. But of course, once a clotted creamed and jammed scone of superiour quality has passed one's lips, well, another will always have to follow.

'Demain, régime sec!' as my former French mother in law would have said. Indeed, I feel so guilty I may just have some chicken broth with rice noodles for dinner today. I may - or I may not.

http://chocolatetheatrecafebar.com

Small is Beautiful


Today's earrings feature a pair of very small faceted cubes of Peridot, which I have also had for a long time. I always intended to use them in a more complicated design, but in the end I decided that these are quite pretty enough to be on their own. I have threaded them on to feather-light small 14K gold-fill hoops, which gracefully suspend these twinkling pretties from the earlobes.

Price: £14.

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Love Lapis


I found this large teardrop of Lapis Lazuli years ago, and though I always thought it was lovely I never really knew how to transform it into a good piece of jewellery. Then it suddenly came to me that all this baby needed was a simple gold coil so that it could be slung on a double row of superfine gold chain.

This is quite a dark shade of Lapis - I have seen it referred to as 'denim blue' in the past - featuring typical inclusions of bronze-coloured Pyrite. I have added a few tiny faceted rondelles of Iolite to the chain, which fastens with a small lobster clasp.

Materials: 14k Gold Fill, Lapis Lazuli, Iolite

Price: £38.


Sunday 13 May 2012

The Quarterly Afternoon Tea Club - Soho Hotel

Last weekend, having gawped at the hulking great HMS Ocean in Greenwich and squinted at the underwhelming Olympic Park in Stratford, we went to The Soho Hotel for a bit of sustenance with a good friend. Despite having had a full lunch a few hours earlier we valiantly ordered the Great British Afternoon Tea and sprawled on a hot pink sofa for a few hours.

Verdict: Very good. Perhaps not so much for the food itself, which was good, but for the relaxing atmosphere and attentive waiter. We were served miniature versions of welsh rarebit, quiche, an egg-mayonnaise roll and asparagus rolled in ham. Not bad at all, though I personally love traditional finger sandwiches. The scones were handsomely sized and crumbly, served with clotted cream (of course) and raspberry conserve. Hm.. by the time we reached the cakes we were struggling, it took us hours to work our way through everything. Which is of course perfectly normal. Gallons of tea later we collected our coats to leave and were handed a neat little parcel of cakes left over. Now that is service.

Don't go to The Soho Hotel if you want traditional sandwiches and mouthwatering scones with (yes, I admit I prefer it) strawberry jam. But if you've been out for a walk and don't look chic yet you'd like to relax in what feels like someone's large and fabulously eccentric drawing room where you will be well fed and looked after - this is your place.


Hoopla!

We finally had a sunny weekend, so I was able to capture my latest creations in the evening sun yesterday (though the scramble to find batteries for the camera before the sun disappeared behind the rooftops was a bit tense - memo to self: have batteries charged & ready at all times!)

Continuing with my fascination for hoop earrings, here is a pair in hammered Sterling Silver adorned with faceted pear briolettes of sky blue Topaz. Perfect for work & play.

Price: 32.