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 What's in Your Jewellery Box?

   
   a page to find out what Decogirl friends & fans are wearing 
  • Tracy Martin, Collectables Expert
  • Juliet Hutton-Squire, Editor
  • Minnie Marx, Actress
  • What's in My Jewellery Box?
   

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  • Tracy Martin
  • Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
  • Collectables Expert, Author & Journalist
  • What's your style chunky or dainty?
  • Definitely Chunky, statement pieces are so on trend at the moment
  • Modern or vintage?
  • Mostly modern but I do have some fabulous vintage pieces as well
  • Do you collect anything in particular?
  • I adore Butler & Wilson, Lulu Guinness and just anything that is a little different and quirky
  • How many pieces in your jewellery box? 1 -1 0, 10 - 30, more than 30
  • Gosh loads, definitely more than 30 but probably less than 100. I'm only 38 years old so have, hopefully many years of collecting ahead of me yet
  • Who is your favourite jewellery designer/brand?
  • Difficult as I love my Butler & Wilson necklaces and bracelets. However there are so many great designers in jewellery out there that I don't really have a favourite, just love them all
  • What piece of jewellery couldn't you live without?
  • My Great Grandmother's Art Deco flapper girl glass beaded necklace, black and pink and so of the time I would never be able to find another
  • Is that your most worn piece?
  • No, because I worry about losing it, my most worn piece is the Butler & Wilson multi-coloured beaded necklace and when I cruise on ships I tend to wear my glitzy 1950's Austrian crystals which belonged to my Nan
  • What has been your best ever jewellery bargain?
  • Most of mine are bargains as my Mum is also a jewellery nut and buys most of them for me as pressies. Although a recent purchase at auction was a vintage Butler & Wilson heart necklace which only cost £30.
  • What piece was the most expensive?
  • Most of my necklaces are in the £100 bracket but the most expensive is a gorgeous diamond  and ruby vintage watch which cost £590 from a collectors' fair
  • What's on your jewellery wish list?
  • At the moment it's a Holly Fulton Art Deco style chunky necklace; at around £300 I will own one - I have to own one.

 

 

To find out more about Tracy visit her website www.collectablesexpert.co.uk

Above top row: Butler & Wilson multi coloured beaded necklace www.butlerandwilson.co.uk. The lovely Tracy Martin. Middle row from left: Beaded Art Deco necklace which belonged to Tracy's Grandmother, Tracy's Art Deco watch bracelet shown both closed and open. Another favourite, Matisse enamelled pendant. Bottom row from left: Lulu Guinness 20th Anniversary charm bracelet £250 www.luluguinness.com, Holly Fulton Deco style necklace & skyscraper earrings image www.vogue.co.uk,  Holly Fulton Chrysler building Deco necklace £245 www.brownsfashion.com,

 

 

 
 

        Juliet Hutton-Squire

             Editor, Adorn London

 

 

1.     

  • What's your style chunky or dainty?
  • Both, I love statement pieces and then usually just wear the one piece. I do also like dainty but then it  would need to be a really fine choker chain with a pendant no bigger than a 5p! I wear two delicate eternity rings on my wedding finger - timeless and classic but then I have carte blanche on my right hand but only ever wear one statement ring at a time. I am full of contrasts!
  • Modern or vintage?
  • Gosh both, I love contemporary styling but my favourite pastime is to scour car boot sales and charity shops for the perfect find.
  • Do you collect anything in particular?
  • It would have to be vintage clip-on earrings  
  • How many pieces in your jewellery box? 1 -1 0, 10 - 30, more than 30
  • Confession time – more than 30. I have been fortunate enough to travel extensively and pick up treasures en route. My jewellery is not very expensive but each piece has a story. 
  • Who is your favourite jewellery designer/brand?
  • I love the creativity of Marni, the earthiness of Pippa Small, the imagination of Victoire de Castellane from the House of Dior and the industrial glamour of Mawi.
  • What piece of jewellery couldn't you live without?
  • Statement rings
  • Is a statement ring your most worn piece?
  • No, my most worn piece is a pair of vintage diamante crystal cascading earrings that a friend gave me for my birthday years ago. I wore them with a graphic Holly Fulton dress the other night but have also worn them with a floor length gown.
  • What has been your best ever jewellery bargain?
  • My 1960’s signed Italian clip-on earrings for £2
  • What piece was the most expensive?
  • My wedding rings
  • What's on your jewellery wish list?
  • A baby Astley Clarke ring and the Mawi Rose printed pearl and bow bracelet from the India Rose collection

4.    

 

"I have a glass fronted cabinet in my bedroom full of my jewels..the beads hang on a dowel and then I have a lot of little boxes filled with sparkly treasures."

Adorn London is the ultimate showcase of jewellery trends and style from High Street to Haute Couture www.adorn-london.com

 

Above: Juliet's wish list, Baby Astley Clarke ring £1,795 www.astleyclarke.com  Mawi Pearl & Bow bracelet £230 www.mawi.co.uk

 

 
  • Minnie Marx
  • Barcelona, Spain
  • Actress

 

 
  • What's your style chunky or dainty?
  • Dainty (I think, but I like chunky sometimes…)
  • Modern or vintage?
  • Modern (with a hint of vintage)
  • Do you collect anything in particular?
  • Lea Stein, Christopher Clarke and anything art deco, glitz I also like
  • How many pieces in your jewellery box? 1 -1 0, 10 - 30, more than 30
  • 500 I think – my god, I must be nuts!
  • Who is your favourite jewellery designer/brand?
  • Christopher Clarke (Lea Stein comes right alter him)
  • What piece of jewellery couldn't you live without?
  • My diamond ring I got for my birthday from my Italian friends
  • Is that your most worn piece?
  • No, Christopher Clarke earrings are things I wear most (I only wear clips, no holes in my earlobes.  Would you buy something with a hole in it?)
  • What has been your best ever jewellery bargain?
  • A sapphire & platinum bracelet I bought from a friend who sold it to me when his mother died.
  • What piece was the most expensive?
  • The sapphire bracelet
  • What's on your jewellery wish list?
  • I am perfectly happy with my jewellery treasures, but I wouldn´t mind some vintage Lea Stein ítems.  And if I see anything crazy which leaps at me and tickles my fancy, I will consider if I can afford to buy it and probably will  buy it…

 

 

Top:- Actress Minnie Marx wearing a Lea Stein Ric the terrier brooch

Above top row from left:- Enamelled winged earrings, enamelled clamper bracelet and pearl & bead necklace (a gift from Minnie's husband) all by Christopher Clarke

2nd Row:- Liquorice Allsort necklace bought on a trip to Switzerland, enamel flower earrings by Christopher Clarke

3rd Row:- Multi coloured square beaded necklace bought in an atelier in Switzerland, Christopher Clarke orchid drop earrings, diamond ring, a birthday gift from Italian friends

Bottom Row:- Diamanté tiara bought years ago from an auction in Valencia and worn in the film Savage Grace, the true story of the Baekeland family (Leo Baekeland was the inventor of bakelite). A scene from Savage Grace with Julianne Moore

Many thanks to Minnie for her precious time and help with this interview.

The Christopher Clarke shop & workshop in Amsterdam is no longer trading

 

Above: Minnie's wish list, more vintage Lea Stein pieces
 

 
 

What's in My Jewellery Box?

I'm often asked by customers what kind of jewellery I wear so I thought it was time to satisfy everyone's curiosity. Well, first and foremost it has to be big and chunky. I don't do stud earrings and delicate pendants unless they're diamonds! My jewellery of choice has to be larger than life, the kind of pieces people stop to stare at. Old or new, cheap or expensive, designer or boot sale, I don't care. It just has to scream 'Wear me!' Whispers or barely audible pleas just don't get heard.

If I had to chose just one favourite piece I'd struggle. At the moment it's a cross between my big Marc Jacobs bow ring (unfortunately a bit too big) and the big sage green & black ball necklace but then I probably wear the big chain necklace (or my Rottweiler necklace as I call it) more than anything else. I very occasionally part with pieces but only VERY occasionally. When I buy something new it's usually there to stay. I always make a point of looking for jewellery additions on every trip I make out of the country and many pieces hold never to be forgotten memories. I can remember where I bought every piece I own and in most cases how much I paid. My daughter Katie has bought me some of my best loved pieces and Josh, my son has given me some great bargains he's picked up from charity shops and boot sales. Feast your eyes on some of my favourites below.

 

Top row Left: Cellulose tulip brooch by Ciléa Paris. Centre: my huge 'suit of armour' choker with champagne coloured crystals. Right: selection of rings & bangles (the clear perspex bangle is by Thierry Mugler and was bought on a trip to Nice, the orange sea anemone ring is a £3 bargain from the National Portrait Gallery)

Middle row Left: My Rottweler choker (a 25p boostale bargain), a Deco buckle which my husband had made into a choker for me & a tribal wood & metal choker I found in an atelier in Arles in the South of France. Centre: A spiral charity shop bargain which Josh bought me, a 1960's Danish architectural design ring & a huge 1960's choker Katie found in an Amsterdam Antiques market. Right: A selection of my many rings.

Bottom row Left: one of my favourite necklaces (an East London market bargain) & my Marc Jacobs bow ring, Centre: Italian acrylic ball necklace. Right: My original Myspace photo taken in 2007

If you'd like to tell me what's in your jewellery box get in touch

 

 
more coming soon...
 

 

 

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