Category — jewellery

When I saw this pendant I thought immediately of Nicole from The Modern Goddess and her love of moonstones.   I just had to have it.

The pendant is made of sterling silver and has been shaped into a slightly primitive version of a human figure with her arms above her head.  She is holding a lovely moonstone in her hands.   It will be in stock at Beauty Banquet by the end of the week.

Costume jewellery can sometimes be more exciting than the real thing, and often it is more collectable.  The names Chanel and Schiapparelli bring stylish bling to mind straight away. 

On a recent visit to YouTube (inspired by Donna-Marie from Small Business Diva) I found this clip which gives a little history to the rise of costume jewellery.  If you have never considered collecting it before, you might change your mind after this.

Just think of what you have in your jewellery collection at home.  It could be tomorrows treasure!

European style charm bracelets are all the rage at the moment.  They are much easier to wear than the chain style bracelets where the charms dangle from the links.  These bracelets are slinky like a snake chain and the charms are little beads that slip onto the chain. 

The lovely thing about this style of bracelet is that you can add charms made of many different materials and, in effect, design your own.  Pick a theme or a colour scheme and collect beads to suit or just add the bead that catches your eye.

Start your own collection now.  Starter bracelets and charms are coming soon to Beauty Banquet .

“In a sea of delicate barely there chains and charms, the dramatic singular statement necklace makes a comeback this spring.”

I found this quote over at Under the Loupe (where Annette Piper makes some beautiful necklaces) and I rejoiced!  I love my necklaces and I also admit to an addiction to earrings.   A bare neckline can be quite dramatic too, but not when everyone is doing it! 

My preferred style of necklace does not always have to be dramatic, but it should add to your overall look.  Sometimes a pendant is enough to add drama to any look.  It doesn’t even have to be expensive.  Fashion necklaces can make as dramatic an impact as any gold or silver piece.  Here is an example for you.

This is made of lava which is polished so that it is smooth and you can see the little surface imperfections created by nature.  It has been combined with pretty gold coloured freshwater pearls to make a stunning contrast.  This lovely pendant has been made especially for Beauty Banquet’s new Designer BB range.

I think that this piece is quite a statement and certainly eye-catching.  Long live the necklace!

Coin pearls fascinate me.  I love their shape and texture.  I love their lustre and all the little irregularities on their surfaces.  Each little pearl is totally unique.

The pearls are usually made when a flat disc of crushed shell or pearl material is slipped into the oyster.  As a way of protecting itself from the foreign object within it the oyster coats the object with layers and layers of nacre.  It gradually builds up a thick coating which shimmers with a gorgeous lustre.   Sometimes the pearls are dyed afterwards to add an extra dimension of colour.

The beautiful bracelet pictured above is made by Annette Piper   If you look closely at each pearl you can see the bumps and dips which make each pearl unique.  Annette has taken these gorgeous pearls and made them into a beautiful bracelet.  What a lovely example of man and nature combining their creative talents.

Harmony Balls make a lovely soft, chiming noise as you move. The sound can be very relaxing and is a little like the chimes used in meditation. 

This lovely little ball is new to Beauty Banquet.  The delicate sterling silver pendant has been set with a clear crystal in the top. The silver casing has a latch so that it can be opened. Inside is a ball which contains a delicate bell which chimes or tinkles.

A Harmony Ball is a lovely gift to share with a special person.  Not only are you giving them a beautiful piece of jewellery but you are giving them a little peace to keep with them wherever they go.

Over at The Tall Poppy I saw a great little slide show of the items that are new in stock.  One of the new pendants was made of purple jade.  It is called the Purple Jade Flower Drop Pendant.

It was the colour that first caught my eye but I also love the delicacy of the silver flowers and vine that wrap around it.  It is a generous sized pendant measuring 5cm x 2cm.  The stone is ‘bombay jade.’

Jade is a stone that has been used throughout history and it dominates the art and culture of many Asian countries.  Purple Jade usually comes from the deserts of Turkey and was widely used in the area to decorate their homes and their bodies.  Purple jade was also used by the Romans to decorate their temples ( or so folk lore tells us).  The colour purple has long been associated with mysticism, wisdom and love.  You see it in the churches and robes of many religions.

The colour and design of this piece really appeal to me.  Available at Beauty Banquet now.

One of my favourite stones is Rainbow Moonstone.  I love it for its hidden depths.  From a quick glance it looks like a pretty mily coloured stone with nothing else to commend it.  Look again.  It is full of fire and depth, and shimmers as you move.  No wonder it is called ‘rainbow’. 

My first piece of moonstone jewellery was given to me by my mother.  It was, to me, antique, and it was quite a creamy stone.  I loved it for the name as much as anything.  It looked as though it was a piece of moon set in silver.

Moonstone is, as the name suggests, usually associated with the moon due its shimmering milky appearance. The Romans believed that it was formed from drops of moonlight. As such it is attributed with those properties traditionally associated with the moon: romance, femininity, intuition, dreams, the emotions, etc.

Many cultures have believed the moonstone to be a calming, healing stone. Due to its feminine associations it has also been said to increase a woman’s fertility and even to ease menstruation. (from Wyrdology)

I love moonstone so much that I often have some lovely pieces available in my store, but they can be sooooo hard to photograph! 

This lovely set is available from Beauty Banquet (Soon to be back online after a redesign)  Keep watching for the site to re-open and perhaps you might grab this set at a special price?

These fashion earrings are definitely for evening. They have a 6cm drop from the bottom of the hook. They have lots of movement, and the many CZ catch the light. They look like they are worth a lot more than they really are.