A December Vitamin Boost Post

The beautiful Manor House from 1789 at Vredenheim Wildlife and Winery, Cape Town

Good evening my lovely, I hope you have had a really nice day!  I have been looking through my photos today as I wanted to bring you a really interesting post, but instead of getting my heart set on certain pieces of jewellery, some very different pictures drew me to them:

False Bay 

Penguins at Boulders Beach in Cape Town

The guy on the left was too cool for school – he decided to take a nap!

These wonderful little creatures reside in Boulders Beach and to stray along the beach, to look for some fun, new places to hang out

Heeey, ‘sup guys?  Think I’m gonna go for a dive!

Chapmans Peak Drive, South Africa

When you do go to South Africa and Cape Town, you must take the drive up Chapman’s Peak – the views are just incredible, as you can see above!

Orange Irises at Vredenheim, Cape Town

Red Rose at Vredenheim in Cape Town, South Africa

And then there was of course the beautiful flora at Vredenheim Wildlife and Winery.

I hope this has brought you a bit of happiness and joy on such a midwinter’s day!  I feel that I need to look at beautiful summer photos from time to time to remind myself of what I have to look forward to in just a few months!  And all you lucky South Africans who are in the middle of your glorious summer – enjoy!!!

South African handmade vintage necklaces – chapter III

Oh I couldn’t help but create another colour boost-post after this glorious summer!  We are back in Cape Town where we made the acquaintance of Jeanette, the necklace designer from last year’s two posts: South African handmade vintage necklaces – chapter I and South African handmade vintage necklaces – chapter II.

Rose quartz gives this necklace such a soft, romantic look

A closer view of Jeanette’s design

I have two more necklaces from her collection to show you today – a pink and a purple one and they are both just radiating colour and joy!  This first one contains the lovely gemstone rose quartz.  Rose quartz is a very special crystal when used in healing because of its powers to attract and keep love.  In feng shui it is used as a love cure.  It is believed to help healing the heart from pain and disappointment, and dissolve painful memories in one’s love-life.  It is a happy and loving stone and it embraces all kinds of love: family, friends, love for yourself and romantic love.  It also brings peace to us by relieving stress, bringing forgiveness, easing feelings of guilt and bringing families together.  What a precious little stone it is indeed!

Handmade necklace, Cape Town

And then there is this purple necklace in which Jeanette has used beads in various shades that complement each other and tousled around to create an illusion of movement.  She also incorporates parts from vintage pieces of jewellery to give the necklaces another dimension of charm and uniqueness, which we just love.  So thank you dear Jeanette for letting us look closer at your beautiful pieces.

A very happy Friday to you as well my dear!

A bohemian adventure at Cape Town’s Cafè Mozart

Dreaming back to South Africa – above you can see the east coast of Cape Town with the beautiful False Bay

Hello my lovely one!  So I am having some serious Cape Town fever at the moment and I would just love to go back to those stunning views, spend an afternoon at a wine farm and enjoy the beautiful weather (not that there is anything wrong with the weather here in London at the moment – I am wearing all my favourite summer dresses still, which is just heaven!)

I was organising my photos the other day and found a bunch of pictures from this beautiful, eclectic café in Cape Town, called Cafè Mozart:

The lovely bohemian interior of Cafè Mozart on Church Street in Cape Town

We had just spent an hour or so in our favourite antique jewellery shop Jewel Tree and decided to go for an early lunch, when we came across this lovely café on the pedestrian street Church Street.

We sat down at a table in the shade of these beautiful, tall trees with a lovely view of the little antique street market and ordered some food that turned out to be absolutely delicious! It was so hard to choose as everything on the menu looked so alluring; from the breakfast omelettes and filled croissants to the gourmet sandwiches featuring from smoked salmon to pastrami and pickles… and if you don’t believe me here is a link to their menu!  I am so hungry now 😉  On their website they describe the café as having a “laid back Parisian ambience” and I couldn’t agree more:

Beautiful inside and out – the Madame Zingara Group supports and acknowledges the work with under-privileged children and cultural arts development in the non-profit sector of South Africa

Cafè Mozart belongs to the Madame Zingara group, which also includes the Theatre of Dreams, The Sidewalk Cafè, The Bombay Bicycle Club and Cafè Paradiso.  The Theatre of Dreams is described on their website as:

“a travelling dinner theatre extravaganza housed in the last remaining antique mirror tents in the world.”

I was also delighted to see that they take their responsibility and give back to the community by supporting and acknowledging the work that is being accomplished with under-privileged children and cultural and arts development in the non profit sector of South Africa.

Nothing quite like feel like a princess when visiting the ladies’ powder room, don’t you think?

I love the detail that has gone into decorating the café 

As I ascended the stairs inside the café I was taken aback by the lovely bohemian style decor, and restaurants and cafés that put down a lot of effort on their powder rooms always get a gold star in my book.  You can see above the view that met me upstairs…

The upstairs of Cafè Mozart…

An eclectic mix of furniture and objects d’art that made the whole experience all the more delightful!

The place is adorned with antique furniture, vintage lamps and beautiful mirrors… the only way to really experience it is of course by visiting!  So when you are next in Cape Town you can find Cafè Mozart on 37 Church Street – and make sure to combine it with a visit to the Jewel Tree just around the corner, what a perfect way to spend a day!

Do combine a meal at the café with a visit to the Jewel Tree on Long Street… what a perfect day spent! 

It Is A Wonderful World

Good morning my dear, isn’t it just the best thing when summer surprises us like this and the sun shines her pretty face at us all day long?  The parks of London are filled with people having picnics and dogs running around, bursting of summer happiness – this, if anything, is bliss!

Forget-Me-Not – my favourite flower, in a Surrey garden

And this is why I felt like today’s post would be an inspirational one.  I want to share with you some photos that have been inspiring me this week, whether it comes to blogging, putting together an outfit for the day, learning more about specific antiques or dreaming away to the next far away holiday…

Apple tree blossoms

… and with all the recent trips to South Africa these little fellas obviously wanted to get involved:

I just love how this sweet little guy takes his time before he goes for a swim… of course with all the others cheering him on from the warm rocks!

Continuing the walk in South Africa – is there anything better than really beautiful architecture?  Here some mosaic steps in Cape Town

… not to mention the stunning collection at the Jewel Tree in Cape Town, which always inspires me to learn more about antiques

I would love to find out what inspires you.  Sometimes it is things that we take for granted so stop for a moment and have a think about it.  It could be a walk in the park or some beautiful colours… and do feel free to share your thoughts with us below!

A Bespoke Antique Cufflink-search

As most of you already know I also do bespoke antique jewellery searches, so when someone is looking for a special something I am able to help!  Well, a few months ago I embarked on an antique cufflink-journey, as a lovely lady wanted to give her husband a pair of antique cufflinks for his birthday.  The search went from continent to continent (literally, as I was in South Africa at one point where I came across some beautiful cufflinks!) and here is a selection of what I found:

A pair of gold antique cufflinks from Jewel Tree in Cape Town

My first stop was our fabulous Jewel Tree in Cape Town, where the owners showed me the most beautiful range of antique cufflinks…

Antique cufflinks at the Jewel Tree in Cape Town

A pair of exquisite gold cufflinks at Jewel Tree in Cape Town

Antique cufflinks and tie clip at Jewel Tree 

After spending a loong time in the beautiful Jewel Tree I continued down Long Street – which by the way is the perfect street for antique shopping in Cape Town – and ended up at Atkinson’s Antiques.  They also put on a fabulous selection of antique cufflinks for me:

A pair of antique gold cufflinks at Atkinson’s Antiques

These 10 carat gold cufflinks have most likely travelled all way from the US, and cost R2900 (approximately £165).

Antique Cufflinks with engraved Golf Clubs at Atkinson’s Antiques, Cape Town

There is of course alway the option of engraving a symbol of the gentleman’s favourite sport on the cufflinks!

Atkinson’s Antiques, Antique Cufflinks in Silver with Onyx with what we think is the letter “U” engraved

Our lovely lady was looking to engrave the cufflinks with her husband’s initials, which I thought was a wonderful idea – what a personal present!  However, when speaking to an antique trader he advised against that since it brings down the value of the cufflinks once you want to sell them onwards, as finding someone with the same initials will be pretty difficult!  I would however still go ahead and have them engraved because the though here wasn’t to buy them as an investment with the view to one day selling them.   When you buy antiques it can be a good thing to keep in mind not to make changes to the pieces so that they retain their value – or you can just give your children names with the same initials as yours or your partner’s, so that passing any engraved pieces down in line will be easy pie!

A big thank you to:

Jewel Tree – 113 Long Street, 8001 Cape Town and to 

Atkinson’s Antiques – 213/215 Long Street, 8001 Cape Town for letting us view your beautiful collection!  Obviously if you see something you like send me a quick message here on email on info@decadesofelegance.com and I will put you in touch with the right people!

Antique treasures at Cape Town’s Jewel Tree

I hope you all had a lovely Early May Bank Holiday on Monday and it is just wonderful to be back here on the blog with you!

Now, I have been wanting to bring you this post for a long time and we are finally here.  On my latest trip to sunny Cape Town I spent numerous hours in my favourite antique jewellery shop, Jewel Tree.  As always, they had the most exquisite collection on display – everything from dazzling pieces of antique jewellery to their own designs:

Art Deco style diamond ring, new design reusing antique diamonds at Jewel Tree in Cape Town

They design their own pieces by reusing antique cut diamonds, above in the Art Deco taste: a handmade 18ct white gold setting with mille grain set diamonds in an intricate fretwork setting, the center stone is an old Victorian cut diamond, surrounded by six smaller old cuts as well as a further two smaller diamonds and framed with thirty six old cut diamonds – a total diamond weight of 1,9ct.  

A nine stone diamond ring of flower head design

I was not surprised to find that this beauty has now been sold, but we can still admire the stunning design where nine stones create a flower with a combined diamond weight of 1,45cts.  It is set in 18ct gold, the shank is done in yellow gold and the setting finished in white gold.  Swoon!

Antique ring with sapphires and diamonds

So if you are looking for an engagement ring, this is the place to go!  You can choose to get yours designed just the way you want it, or you can pick a piece that has stood the test of time and that sparkles at you with all its brilliance – 100 or so years after it was initially made.

 

Stunning antique silver cocktail shaker and glasses

We were also drawn to the silver pieces in the shop, for example this stunning cocktail shaker with a set of matching glasses – if it was good enough for Gatsby it is good enough for me!

Antique pipe case in silver

One of my favourite thing when it comes to antiques is discovering all kinds of unexpected items!  For example this case in silver where you can see the contour of a pipe – simply a must for all the fashionable gentlemen back in the days!  The pipe case was actually made for Liberty & Co, and one of the two pipes in the case has an amber mouth piece and is marked Liberty & Co on the pipe, with a silver hallmarked collar, and the other is a modern replacement pipe.

Antique fan shaped silver box with hinged cover, made by Walker & Hall, Chester 1901

Antique fan shaped silver box with hinged cover, made by Walker & Hall, Chester 1901

The beautiful interior with its original rich gilding

… not to mention this antique fan shaped silver box with a gilded interior!  These are the most perfect things to give away as a present to someone who already has everything.

Ca 1920s bracelet from Jewel Tree in Cape Town

… and I was just beyond thrilled to have this exquisite silver bracelet, which we think is an American piece from the 20’s.  I will make sure to post a photo very soon, when I am wearing it with one of my favourite dresses – I can’t wait!

A huge thank you to Jewel Tree for having us and we will keep an eye on your Facebook-page where so many of us keep falling in love with all the beautiful pieces that you post!

Mid-Victorian French Jet necklace in Cape Town

Good morning my dear, and what a beautiful morning it is here in London!  On my run along the Thames I couldn’t help but stop to admire the haze that lay so beautifully over the river.  The picture was perfected by four Canada geese flying so peacefully in formation, just a meter above the water surface toward the sunrise.  I hope you are able to take a few moments out of your busy day to take in little details like these around you, that can otherwise so easily slip us by.

Hazy London morning by the Thames

Now one of my favourite things with the blog is seeing the fabulous pieces from the Decades of Elegance-collection that have found new homes, being worn by their new owners!  You might remember the mid-Victorian French jet necklace whose acquaintance we made a few years ago here on the blog?  Well, it has belonged to my dear mama for quite some time now and she was wearing it around Cape Town, which I just couldn’t wait to share with you:

A young seal admiring the mid-Victorian French Jet necklace 

I have already posted a few photos on Instagram of the entertaining seal family in Kalk Bay – they put on quite the show when the fishing boats come in to offload their catch!  In the photo above you can see how one of them is very curious about our little photo shoot, and he kept swimming around and doing little tricks for us.

A black necklace is so versatile as it matches more or less everything in your wardrobe.  I love the combination of blue, white and black here.

mid-Victorian French Jet necklace, Kalk Bay, Cape Town

So all of you lovely ladies who have a piece of Decades of Elegance at home: do send me a photo and I will post it here for the rest of the world to see!  Happy Friday my sweets, hope you have a wonderful weekend!

The beautiful coastline of Cape Agulhas, South Africa

So a few of you have asked for more photos from South Africa, and I thought that today would be the perfect time to pop by the beautiful Cape Agulhas, where an antique lighthouse is one of the main attractions:

The Lighthouse at Cape Agulhas –  the southernmost point of Africa

It is easy to believe that Cape Point is the southernmost point of Africa, but this title is in fact held by Cape Agulhas – approximately a three hour drive from Cape Town.  Agulhas presents us with jagged coast lines where many ships have met the end of their journey, as well as the most beautiful views of the Indian Ocean meeting the Atlantic Ocean.  The lighthouse above was built in 1848 and is now the second oldest working lighthouse in South Africa.  These days it houses the lighthouse museum and a restaurant.

One of the shipwrecks at Cape Agulhas

The coast of Agulhas is quite the shipwreck graveyard on the website Safarinow I found a few of them listed:  The Arniston (1815), Cooranga (1964), Elise (1879), European (1877), Federal Lakes (1975), Geortyrder (1849), Gouritz (1981), and Gwendola (1968).

The beautiful views of a few white houses against the ocean at Cape Agulhas

I just loved how peacefully these white houses stood against all the different shades of blue.  If you decide to visit this glorious place, you will have a wonderful time collecting shells and stones in all shapes imaginable along the shoreline.

Cape Agulhas sunset

The evenings of our stay greeted us with the most stunning sunsets.

Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery in Stellenbosch, Cape Town

 

Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery

As you know by now, sometimes here on the blog we take a little detour from antique jewellery and venture out to look at other interesting things that are antique-related.  Well, being here in Cape Town, I thought that a trip to one of the beautiful wine farms was in place, and so today we are visiting Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery in Stellenbosch, Cape Town.

Some beautiful summer flowers at the winery…

Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery

We were admiring the Manor House, which was built in 1789 by Paul Roux and declared a National Monument in 1975.  I just love Cape architecture, where the most prominent features are the gables; you can see a beautiful example of this in the photo above.  In the 20’s the building was subject to many Victorian influences – like so many other Cape buildings – for example the old thatched roof was replaced with corrugated iron and lights were added.  In 1940/41 the house was restored to its former glory, which is very fortunate for us, as we can still admire its beauty until this very day! 

Wine tasting at Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery

We of course started our visit with a wine tasting and tried some amazing wines… the one that stayed in my mind was a lovely rose wine:

“Light and inviting, with oodles of fresh strawberries and candy-floss to entice your tastebuds!“

Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery Rose Wine

Another favourite was a red wine called Gracious Lady:

“Vredenheim’s beloved matriarch Rikie Bezuidenhout, a timeless woman loved by all who meet her, is celebrated with this exclusive red blend.”

Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery – wine tasting

We then continued to the restaurant:

The restaurant at Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery

… and enjoyed a lovely lunch in the garden, under a stunning old tree all dressed in Chinese lanterns:

Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery garden

We ended up buying a few bottles of Sauvignon Blanc that we actually brought along to the restaurant and enjoyed together with our lunch:

Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery garden

Orange irises in the most beautiful outfits 

A stunning flower garden 

At 2:30pm it was time to head to the back of the wine farm, to see the Great Cats getting fed.  We soon ended up by the tiger enclosure:

Titan and Jessica the Vredenheim tigers – who knew thar tigers enjoyed playing in water this much?!

There are less than 2000 Bengal Tigers in the world today and it is an endangered species.  Vredenheim welcomed two cubs in early 2012: Jessica and Titan, and they now live a safe and happy life here at the park.  On the day that we visited the farm it was incredibly hot, so the gentleman who looks after the tigers brought out a water hose – to the great delight of Jessica:

Seeing Jessica chase the water was like watching any pet cat play with a piece of string!

This is what I call a happy tiger!

Jessica the Tiger playing in water at Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery, South Africa

After this magnificent show where we also saw three lion cubs – two brown and one white – as well as a white male lion and a female, that are of course more indigenous species to South Africa.  A cheetah and a leopard were also relaxing in the shade and we then continued our walk past some buffalo, before we finally stopped to admire the zebras – and an ostrich:

The cutest bunch of zebras chilling with an ostrich 

So if you are heading over to South Africa one day this is definitely one wine farm that I can recommend that you visit.  A beautiful mixture of all things South African; from animals to glorious architecture, fantastic wine and great food!

Sunshine from Cape Town

Lots of love to you my dear from the sunny shores of Cape Town!  Over the next few weeks I will be writing to you a little less frequently – as I have yet to find a perfect internet connection, but I will make sure to send you wonderful updates some wonderful updates also during this time!

False Bay

Here is a little bit of sunshine for you until the next post – a view of the stunning False Bay in Cape Town.  False Bay was given its name over three hundred years ago by sailors who confused the bay with Table Bay to the north.  It reigns from Cape Hangclip in the north to the majestic Cape Point in the south, and in between it presents us with the most picturesque scenery; my favourites being the stunning Casa Labia in Muizenberg, the boho chic Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek with its stunning beach – and Simon’s Town, which makes you feel like you have stepped back into an old Hollywood seaside movie. 

I wish you a lovely Tuesday my dear!