Sparkling pieces of love

Oh I am so excited as my favourite vintage fashion websites will be running a Valentine’s Day competition in February, and have asked to use one of my pieces as part of the first price!  So I set to rummage through my treasures to see which ones would be the most perfect pieces for this occasion:

It is my firm belief in life that a pearl necklace is a must in every girl’s jewellery box, so will this 1950s freshwater pearl necklace be the chosen one?

I also paired up these two beauties as the marcasite and silver designs are so alike!  The faux pearl earrings are vintage style – so a new make of 1920s style earrings, and the brooch is a beautiful piece of history from the 1940s.

Or would one of my favourite rings, the green agate surrounded by marcasites from the 20s, be the perfect choice here?

… and the last alternative is the 1950s ensamble in silver and gorgeous sparkling glass stones…

I promise to keep you updated – and to let you know when the competition starts, as you might very well be the winner if you decide to take part!

Happy weekend dear!

Silver Winter Wonderland

I love capturing the seasons as backdrops to the jewellery, as the lovely colour palettes give fabulous suggestions as to how you can wear the pieces…

1950s rhodium and marcasite brooch in the shape of a leaf

1940s silver brooch with marcasites

… so as the snow fell over London, these two vintage brooches were crying out to be photographed so that they could glitter and sparkle together with snow and icicles!

We already dress according to season so why not wear a bit of beautiful silver jewellery now that the snow is here, as the two go so beautifully together!  Fasten that scarf of yours with a brooch or why not attach one to your knitted hat?  Of course my favourite it wearing them as hair accessories.  The possibilities are endless and they make winter a little bit more enjoyable and fun!

 

My Precious…

As per my previous post; in a few weeks’ time my dear friend Miss H will be wearing a stunning 1940s necklace to a ball!  I also mentioned that she will be wearing a ring, which I think you might recognise from an earlier post.  It is one of my favourite rings, as it has the most intricate marcasite adornments and such an unusual elongated shape.  Its sister-ring was worn by the bride at a wedding in South Africa last year, as you may remember.  So here is our Precious:

1940s rhinestone necklace which we looked at the other day and this beautiful marcasite ring from the 60s/70s

These cocktail rings can be worn everyday if the rest of your outfit is quite understated, as the ring then takes centre stage and shines and sparkles as much as it wants!

This is how we first made the ring’s acquaintance back in the summer 2012:

See what a versatile little thing it is, just like most vintage jewellery!

This was another amazing girly weekend and as promised I took some photos of the cameo brooch which I wrote about on Friday, and will show you how it can be worn in my next post!

I am back again in two weeks!

These two beauties are coming along for quite the adventure – I will tell you more in two weeks!

Hello my dear,

On October 15th I am back again with loads of new pieces of jewellery all the way from Cape Town, so please bear with me and come back then!

I am looking forward to photographing all my new pieces by the ocean, the mountains and those gorgeous little villages, so I can promise you that we both have something lovely to look forward to!  x x x

Pearls, birds and vintage fairs

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1950s freshwater pearl necklace with a marcasite clasp

Tomorrow will be a very exciting day as Decades of Elegance heads out for its first little fair!

Even though the initial idea was to show you all these lovely little pieces via the blog, I might occasionally also do a very carefully selected fair or market – for example a Christmas fair, or a Wedding-themed one.  So in anticipation for tomorrow’s event I bought this lovely mirror which will be great for hanging necklaces from – but the more I look at it, the more I find these beautiful little birds to resemble beautiful little crocodiles…  maybe not exactly the look I was going for, but we shall see if it works!

I also just happen to love this freshwater pearl necklace so much that it keeps coming back in my posts!  It is from the 50s and has that divine little marcasite clasp which so nicely adds an extra dash of elegance.  At the moment it is still there for the taking, so do give it a think if you do not yet possess a pearl necklace.  It is a wonderful piece in any girl’s Most Essential Jewellery Collection, and it works night and day – from casual to work to formal.  And something that has lasted for 60 years is bound to last at least another 60, so a fabulous investment as well!

1960s or 70s glorious marcasite cocktail ring

 

 

Let’s welcome the weekend with some glitz and glamour!

This silver marcasite cocktail ring from the 60s/70s is here posing together with a wonderful feather fascinator.  They both breathe old school Hollywood glamour that just sweeps any girl off her feet!  A fabulous ensamble  to wear to that upmarket hen party or the wedding that you will be going to soon.  Just team them up with a gorgeous dress in any colour, a pair of fabulous heels and you are ready to dance the night away!

1920s cocktail ring with a green agate and marcasites

 

Some nights a girl just has far more important things to do than tidying up after herself…

 

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Silver ring with a green agate and marcasites

Isn’t this just the most splendid 1920s cocktail ring?  The oval green agate is surrounded by lots of glorious marcasites that create that wonderful effect of times gone by.  It goes so well with lots of different colours and outfits and would be a beautiful accompaniment to an LBD as it has that understated beauty we so often look for.

Understated elegance in a vintage Marcasite Cocktail Ring

 

 

So in order to continue on the cocktail ring-theme I picked up this silver marcasite cocktail ring the other day.  It is from the 60s/70s and has stayed so amazingly beautiful and shiny until this day!

It would be perfect with your little black dress, and the beauty is that it goes so well with all colours.  If you don’t like to wear statement jewellery, but still want something a little bit bigger which will turn a few heads, this is such a wonderful choice.  It sparkles in the sunlight – as you can see in the top picture – but it is also has that amazing understated elegance which can sometimes be hard to find.

1920s Amethyst and Silver Cocktail Ring

1920s silver ring with an amethyst and marcasites matched with a blush clutch, rose coloured top and a blush skirt with a cream pattern

 

The amethyst ring seen from the front – catching the sunlight and happily sending it back out again!

 

How can we not be enchanted by all this 1920s glamour!?

 

 

So I am finally putting up my absolute favourite piece of jewellery so far – a cocktail ring in silver from the 20s with a beautiful amethyst stone surrounded by marcasites.  This little piece is just so stunning and I love how both the stone and the marcasites delight themselves in the sunlight, beaming like there is no tomorrow!

I am wearing it with a light pink/cream coloured vintage-style skirt and a matching top.  The clutch was a present from a friend and doesn’t it just so prettily highlight the beauty of the ring?

I do hope you guys like it as much as I do!

Pearls Pearls Pearls

Freshwater pearl necklace in a hairstyle where the hair is slightly twisted on one side…

… with a small braid on the other side. The pearls chase the braid all the way to the back where you can fasten the twist and the braid with some hair pins. Secure the pearls with a gentle hair clamp so that you don’t damage the pearls.

If the necklace is too short to reach all the way around your head you can tease the hair around the ends of the pearls to create a messy effect which will naturally hide the ends of the necklace.

 

Alternatively you can drape the pearls over an elegant updo for a more dramatic effect

 

 

A pretty marcasite clasp on this pre-1950s freshwater pearl necklace

 

This beautiful freshwater pearl necklace is from pre-1950s.  Because the necklace is graduated – the pearls go from smaller close to the clasp to bigger in the middle – you can see that it is only knotted at the top.  This allows the necklace to maintain its shape and the pearls to fall beautifully around your neck.  It has a marcasite clasp which gives it that extra elegance which we love.

As usual I cannot help but style them into a lovely hairstyle, hopefully it gives you some inspiration now that the wedding-season is upon us!  I love messy hairstyles and I also love braids, and they both go so well with pearls of any shapes and forms.  If the necklace doesn’t reach all the way around your head you can integrate it into the hair at the back so that it naturally disappears out of sight – as show in the third photo from the top.

I also love putting my hair up in messy yet elegants buns, and for a more formal look you can drape the necklace over the hairdo to give that extra little touch!