Happy Valentine's Day (Almost)!

Tomorrow I find out some important work stuff that will most likely have big impact on my future. I know tone is hard to convey through the written word, so let me just put it out there: I am not excited about this. But! At least I'll be going into it with good shoes. (Thanks, mom!)

For all of you are still hanging around waiting for me to stop bringing you down and get all with the Valentine's Day jewelry already...


Pylon Heart Pendant (on nylon cord) by Mignon Faget, $150 for sterling silver






The Cassel Pink Diamond (very rare), $1,400,000




Red Thread rings at Marmelo, about $52 US (priced orginally in Yen)






Good Charma "Love" Bracelet, $400 for gold vermeil (silver also available)








Sophie "Twisting Heart" Necklace by Wendy Brandes, $7300

Hope everyone has a good one, whatever your relationship status may be...

Charmed, I'm Sure

First off, hope everybody had a lovely holiday! Mine was full of baseball. Okay! Enough about that.

Charm bracelets have always held a certain, er, charm, for me. I love the idea of monumenting a life though jewelry in such a literal way.

Two things I will not discuss in this post:
1. Mariah Carey's album Charmbracelet
2. Those (and I'm sorry if I am offending anyone here) AWFUL Italian charm bracelet with the the cheesy flat links.



Over the years, these bracelets have had starring roles in many jewelry trends. Queen Victoria wore charm bracelets that started a fashion among the European noble classes. Later on, soldiers returning home after World War II brought home trinkets made by craftsmen local to the area where they were fighting to give to loved ones. American teenagers in the 1950s and early 1960s collected charms to record the events in their lives.

I'm not sure why these fell so far out of mainstream fashion; the bracelets are such a unique and expressive type of jewelry--of which there is not nearly enough out there.

Here's what I would put on mine:

Cable Link "Kate" 14k Gold Bracelet, $395
Love is Blind 14k Gold Charm, $90
Gamble and Weep 14k Gold Charm, $140
Fortune Cookie 14k Gold Charm, $200
Hour Glass with White Sand 14k Gold Charm, $275
Lovebirds 14k Gold Charm, $120



A charm bracelet is also a great gift; you'll never be stumped for a present after you give the starter chain. C.H.A.R.M, the site where all the above charms were sold, has a lot of wonderful new and vintage charms. It's a little expensive, but charm bracelets are traditionally known as investment pieces. Hopefully the wearer will hold on to it for a long time.


Some pre-made vintage versions:


German Glass Bracelet, $65 (1950's)



Napier Lucite "Moonglow" Fruit Bracelet




Souvenir NY Necklace, composed of vintage charms

And an interesting modern version: