Beautiful Bangles

It’s not even officially September yet, but my coffee table is already buckling under the weight of several September magazine issues. These colossal issues, easily mistaken for the Yellow pages, are the most important in the fashion publication calendar. Elle, Vogue, Harpers, InStyle, you name it they are all there, each a making a declaration to the tone of ‘out with the old, and in with the new’, fast forwarding to autumn season and ushering in its new trends.

Apparently, give it a couple of months and we will all be wearing block colours, pencil heels and chunky jewellery…. You see this is one of the things I love the most about fashion: The irony. Every season there is a new ‘IT’ item, ‘new trend’, but in reality we are on a constant loop. What comes around, goes around and when it comes to chunky jewellery, I hate to break it to you Ms Wintour but the Victorians got there first.

The Victorians were great advocates for bold jewellery pieces, especially bangles. These are usually characterised by heavy stones, often in a profound colour and nature-inspired designs which were also very popular, with designs etched into the surface silver or gold.

So in preparation for the new season, here’s some beautiful bangles to feast your eyes on. Quick! Before the fashionistas seize them all!

W4126: An Antique Victorian Diamond, Seed Pearl and Ruby, 15 Carat Yellow Gold Bangle


W4481: An Antique Victorian 15 Carat Yellow Gold and Turquoise Buckle Bangle

W1642: An Antique Victorian 15 Carat Yellow Gold, Garnet Target Bracelet

W3959: An Antique Victorian Sterling Silver Bangle

A Picture Tells A Thousand Words...

Recently, at a family reunion, after the lunch and the small talk, as four generations of our family gathered round the discussion inevitably reverted to reminiscing about the times gone by and toasting those that were absent. Cue: the unleashing of the family photo albums and scores of black and white portraits, wedding pictures and toothless toddlers grinning at the camera.

After all the cringing and howls of laughter had died down and the album was safely stowed away I got to thinking about the importance of photographs. Since the photograph was invented in the late 1800’s they have become a significant and accurate way of documenting our lives.

The photographs that fill our homes hold our memories and they will demonstrate to those in the generations to come who we were, what we did and our misjudgements in fashion…!One of the joys after coming home from a holiday/ wedding/christening is developing the pictures and, while they may not be worthy of Testino those snaps can certainly tell some stories…well they do say picture says a thousand words!

So if you come across a rainy day (in August? surely not….) its time to dig out those boxes of old photos and pop them in frames for the world to see! What better way to display your portraits, your story than in elegant silver photograph frames?

W4143: An Antique George V English Sterling Silver Photograph Frame

W4262: An Antique George V English Sterling Silver Photograph Frame


W4229: An Antique George V Sterling Silver Photograph Frame


W4231: An Antique George V Sterling Silver Photograph Frame
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Happy Birthday August Babies!

Happy Birthday to those of you celebrating Birthdays this month!! The likelihood is that if you are blowing out the candles in August you will be Leos, so, according to zodiac you are known for your charisma, charm and pride….but you probably already knew that!

You lion and lionesses are born leaders; trendsetters known for addressing life with their natural flair, style and good humour. Interesting then, that the August birthstone is Peridot.


A birthstone is the gemstone associated with a particular month, which should be gifted (unsurprisingly) to that person on their birthday. Peridot, often mistaken for an Emerald, appears in only one colour- an olive green. Of course the colour can vary in intensity but unlike other gemstones such as Sapphires is exclusively available in a green hue.

Happy Birthday Leos… feel free to save us slice of cake!

A Few Peridot Ideas...

W2466: A Pair of 18 Carat White Gold and Peridot Stirrup Cufflinks




W3349: A George V English Peridot and Diamond, 18 Carat Yellow Gold Ladies Dress Ring


W3750: An Antique Edwardian Peridot and Pearl, 15 Carat Yellow Gold Pendant/ Brooch in the Art Nouveau Style

W4370: An Antique Victorian English 8. 40 Carat Peridot, 15 Carat Yellow and White Gold Gate Style Bracelet

Gringotts, Galleons and Goblets

I will be the first to admit that I am slightly behind the times with this one, but after the final instalment of the Harry Potter films has spent weeks smashing box office records left, right and centre I finally managed to get my act together to go and see it. As I emerged from the cinema after tears, tragedy and triumphs and an emotional goodbye to my favourite set of characters, one scene in particularly resonated with me- and it’s not the one you might think…!

I was intrigued by the scene inside Gringotts (that’s the wizarding bank for those of you not up to speed on your Harry Potter knowledge….!) in particular, inside the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange. Now understandably not a stereotypical choice for a role model (likes to throw the odd deadly curse, possesses an evil cackle and a set of teeth that would make any dentist squirm) But take one look into her vault at Gringotts and you realise this woman isn’t so daft. A veritable Aladdin’s cave of Silver Goblets, Cups, Candelabras, Bowls- you name it, it was there. Whilst I understand this is merely a fictional tale and the century’s of heirlooms piled high were probably imitations on loan from the Warner Brothers prop department it definitely struck a chord on the value of purchasing antique silver for investment purposes.

Although as with all investments nothing is guaranteed, both antique silver and jewellery are likely to retain their monetary value over time and are renowned for generating a significant return on investment. Despite various uncertainties in the global economy the commodity price of silver has remained on the increase and Morgan Stanley has forecasted that this trend is set to continue. At AC Silver Mr Campbell is able to use his vast experience of the antique silver business and his knowledge of specific items to provide advice upon purchase pieces for investment purposes, whether that be a single item or a number in order to begin or add to a portfolio of pieces.

And in the meantime, here’s a few straight from the vaults at Gringots*...

W4678: Pair of Antique George V English Sterling Silver Three Light Candelabra

W2470: Antique George V English Sterling Silver Boat-Shaped Bowl

W2347:Pair of Antique George III Scottish Sterling Silver Communion Chalices

W4633: Antique George II Irish Sterling Silver Cup


*Not Really. The Goblins are pretty strict.