Jewellery Advent Calendars 2016: £5-£179

Jewellery advents are a fun way to expanding your jewellery collection or to give as a gift to someone as a way of introducing them to the world of jewellery.  I have found some that range from £5-179 and a couple are housed in reusable jewellery boxes. 

This one is the cheapest and is from Monsoon. It is £5 and comes with 25 pairs of stick on earrings. 

This unicorn advent is £10 from Accessorize.   This is aimed at little girls and each door has either stick on earrings or a ring behind it. There is a blue advent for £15. This has a necklace and a bracelet plus 22 seasonal charms.

This is from Kramer.co.uk and is £19.90 for 24 horse themed jewellery charm and 4 bracelets.  These are nickel free.

The Meri Meri Nutcracker Jewellery Box Advent Calendar s £21 from trouva.com but prices range slghtly in price depending upon the website (it is £18.99 at partypieces.co.uk).  There is a jewellery box (4.3"x 6.7"), 1 braceet and 23 festive charms.

This is from Amazon.co.uk.  It is £23.72 plus £4.49 delivery.  It is by Nici and the charms can be put on a wrist wrap hair clip or bobble/ elastic band.

This is from Etsy and the seller is Pearls of Symphony.  There are 24 earrings with a choice of handmade jewellery/box/advent.

This is from Johnnylovesrosie.com.  It is £55   It is filled with jewellery which have either gold or silver plated metal finishes.  There is a surprise of a fine chain necklace, earrings or a ring behind each door..  

    This is the most expensive at £179 from tresacharms.com but it was on wowcher.co.uk last year so keep an eye out for it being cheaper there. This advent has 24 pieces which include 18k and silver plated overlay murano beads, earrings, necklaces, watches and bracelets.

I hope you enjoyed reading about these jewellery advents and enjoy opening whatever advents you receive whether they be chocolate, lego or jewellery!

Pandora Pudsey Bear is Baaaack!

Children in Need's annual appeal is back on 18 November 2016 with Pudsey the Bear at the helm. Pandora has made a limited edition charm for £40 or a range of Pudsey plus bracelet with prices ranging between £95-£185. 20% of the proceeds go to the Children in Need appeal. It is a cute 3D charm made from sterling silver with a multi coloured eye patch.  He is instantly identifiable and would make a great gift for any age. 

 

Pudsey can be found at:
https://www.thejewelhut.co.uk/pandora-limited-edition-pudsey-bear-charm-2016-charm-791990enmx?

http://www.johngreedjewellery.com/women-c193/pandora-limited-edition-sweet-pudsey-bear-charm-791990enmx-p67298

http://www.johngreedjewellery.com/women-c193/pandora-limited-edition-sweet-pudsey-bear-charm-791990enmx-p67298

and all Pandora stockists.

#Ottoman Hands Symbol Scorpio Semi Precious Rings: A Review

Today I am going to be reviewing a set of gold plated semi precious (opal) rings by Ottoman Hands. I purchased mine from Asos and the link can be found at the bottom of the page.

Ottoman Hands were established in 2009 by Deniz Gurdal and is a British based company heavily influenced by Turkish design. Working closely with Turkish gem cutters and artisans they create unusual distinctive pieces that are eyecatching but affordable. Starting off in Portobello Road Market Ottoman Hands are now stocked at Asos, House of Fraser, John Lewis and they also have their own website and online store. 

The rings are made from brass have a gold plated finish. It looks quite a refined muted gold not fake and brassy as some gold plate appears. One ring is embellished with tiny semi precious stone and the shanks for both rings are slim and comfortable to wear even if you have arthritis or neuropathic pain in your hands. The rings come just in one size and in the model picture are midi rings. As my fingers are thin I wear them as normal rings. They can be worn several ways, together or separately. The rings come in a little velveteen bag stamped with the Ottoman Hands logo and as they are on £8 would make a great Christmas stocking gift or gift for a friend. 

I purchased my rings through Asos so got them within 2 days of ordering them. Asos often have discounted Ottoman and other named jewellery items on sale so it is well worth keeping an eye on their site for a jewellery bargain. 

http://m.asos.com/ottoman-hands/ottoman-hands-symbol-semi-precious-scorpio-ring/prd/4444331?iid=4444331&clr=Opal&SearchQuery=ottoman%20hands&pgesize=34&pge=0&totalstyles=34&gridsize=2&gridrow=17&gridcolumn=1

Switch to Switch Sticks!

When I was first advised to use a stick I was given an NHS clumpy grey, heavy stick with a handle that was uncomfortable and too big for my hand. After looking on the internet I came across Switch Sticks. These sticks are colourful, have comfortable handles and are collapsible. There are plain, engraved, patterned sticks,  seat sticks, accessories and they have just introduced colourful crutches. The stick comes collapsed in a cardboard box and a little material carry bag (see above picture).  They also come with a matching furule and wrist strap. The sticks are adjustable from 32"-37" and take weight up to 19 stone. 

When I first started buying switch sticks they offered an adjustment service (I am only 4 ft 8" so anything above petite is too big for me) and petite sticks. Since they branched out to Boots/ Argos etc they seemed to have lost the personal touch and no longer offer petite (or tall) sticks. When I emailed them they did say you could cut up to 3" off the bottom without damaging the collapsible mechanism. I still buy switch sticks and they are my first choice when I want a new stick- the new gold one looks very flashy and eyecatching! as they are bright, comfortable and affordable! It's just a faff to find someone to cut it down for me. I have noticed that if you shop around you can get your Boots points if you buy at Boots and Anazon quite often has some good deals too. 

Switch sticks website is here: https://www.switchsticks.co.uk/store.asp/c=31

They are also available at Amazon UK , Boots online and some stores, Argos and some other online retailers. 

I purchased these sticks myself and the opinions expressed in this post are my own. 

Z for Accesorize: Review Part 2 Suri necklace and Bracelet

The pendant is cut in a teardrop shape as is the rest of the Suri collection and set in gold plated metal. The pendant looks classic and elegant and is small but eye catching. It is semi transparent so can take on colours which are behind the stone. It has a built in extender and a little z charm to show it is part of the Z for Accessorize range. 

The bracelet, again, is cut into the shape of a teardrop and is the smallest stone of the collection. As with the other items it is set on gold plated metal. The bracelet has an extender built in so larger wrists can also wear this bracelet. 

I bough these items myself and they are currently £7.50 each in the Accessorize sale. 

http://uk.accessorize.com/view/product/uk_catalog/acc_2.2/1842867000


http://uk.accessorize.com/view/product/uk_catalog/acc_2.3/1825177000

Z by Accesorize Suri Rose Quartz Jewellery Collection: Review Part 1

The Pantone colour for 2016 was rose quartz so rose quartz would be a natural choice for the Z for Accessorize range to use as one of the stones for their a/w collection. Zara Simmons included it in her Z for Accessorize range combining it with gold plate. This brings out the pink of the rose Quartz and in my opinion is a more complimentary pairing than silver and rose quartz. 

The band of the ring is very thin so is comfortable to wear. The stone roses just above the setting and is faceted so can look almost frosted in some lights. 

The stone is 1/2 cm in length so even though it is eye catching it is not a knuckle grazer and looks very elegant, costing much more than £15. 

The earrings are based around fish hook wires, so just slide in to place. From the tip of the hook to base of the stone is 2cm so they are quite small and discrete, a miniature version of the other pieces in the Suri collection. The stones can look quite frosted in some lights due to the face ting and cut of the stones. All pieces of the Z for Accessorize jewellery come on hang tags and can be found at selected Accessorize and Accessorize.com.

I purchased these items myself and they can be found here: they are now £7.50 each in the sale section 

http://uk.accessorize.com/view/product/uk_catalog/acc_2,acc_2.5/1943087050

http://uk.accessorize.com/view/product/uk_catalog/acc_2,acc_2.4/1815097000   

#October Birthstones: #Tourmaline & #Opal

October birthdays have a choice of two gemstones: tourmaline and opal.  Tourmaline is a bi or tri colour gemstone as they display several colours - watermelon tourmaline for example has bands of green, pink and white. Tourmaline is found in Brazil, Afghanistan, East Africa and the USA.  Tourmaline helps to maintain calm, negate jealousy and anger whilst promoting peace and tranquillity for the wearer.  

                                                            

Opal is taken from the Greek Opallos - to see a change of colours.  Opals range from milky white to black with flashes of colour - orange, green red and blue. Opal is supposed to have healing properties, will calm the wearer's nerves and improve their memory.