Give a Little Joy, Give a Little Bling

Diamond Donations

Ladies all over America have been dropping generous donations into the iconic Salvation Army red kettle collection pots. Last week an anonymous woman dropped a diamond engagement ring worth £1250 into a pot in Miami, Florida. The week previous, another diamond engagement ring was dropped in to a pot in North Carolina, following a diamond ring worth another £1250 deposited at a kettle in the supermarket Walmart, in Kansas earlier this month.

Spare a Thought This Christmas

The note which accompanied last week’s diamond ring simply read ‘They need more than I. Do good!’ signed ‘A friend’. The generous donations are a great symbol of Christmas spirit, a time when the Salvation Army really needs a boost in support to provide those in need with warm meals this Christmas. It certainly has made me think about how lucky I am, and what I can do to help this Christmas. Even if I can’t deposit a diamond ring, I know every penny which goes to that charity will be greatly appreciated.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a lovely New Year from the whole AC Silver family.

Christmas Competition, X Factor to lose again?

The Battle Over Christmas

Swords are drawn as Christmas approaches, the traditional battle to be top of the charts this week rages on. In a repeat attempt to topple the usual X Factor Christmas single, the music fan who supported Rage Against The Machine's single "Killing In The Name" to number one in 2009, beating X Factor's Joe Mcelderry, has publicised the re-release of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in the hopes that the public will vote against this year's X Factor winners, Little Mix.

The X Factor Overthrow

X Factor claimed Christmas number one for 4 years running from 2005-2008, before being knocked off its pedestal in 2009 by Rage Against the Machine, then returning in 2010 with Matt Cardle's "When We Collide". The glamorous 'Little Mix' girls were this year’s hopefuls, but X factor isn't the only competition they have this year.

Stiff Competition

Along with Little Mix, Nirvana have to compete against the music single produced by the Military Wives, spouse of servicemen currently fighting for Britain, with their single "Wherever You Are". It has become the fastest selling single in 6 years, flying off the shelves (or out of iTunes is a more appropriate phrase) at a ratio of 100:1 versus Little Mix's single "Cannonball".

Great Tastes

I wish I could say I was born in a year of great music, but as the Christmas number one in 1993 was Mr Blobby with "Mr Blobby", I'm quite glad that I was only 3 months old. The only year that possibly comes close to that amount of cheese is the millennium, with Bob the Builder's chart topping 2000 single "Can We Fix It?". I personally hope that the Military Wives go to number one this year. Their cause is a great one and all of the proceeds are going to charity. Spare a thought for them and their partners, and of course anyone whose spouse are out fighting this Christmas.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year, from everyone here at AC Silver.

AC Silver: Antique to Contemporary

An AC Silver Update

As many of you may have noticed, we've recently had a facelift here at AC Silver. No, I don't mean plastic surgery, (though I did recently dye my hair brown, and ended up walking around with a tangerine coloured mop on my head. At least it matched the AC Silver company colours, eh?) I was referring to the modernisation of our website, www.acsilver.co.uk.

Antique to Contemporary

We've upgraded!

In the hopes that the website would become more aesthetically pleasing, we've added a lovely new orange and grey modern 'skin' to the site. All of those roaming SOLD items have been moved into their own, easy to locate category which can be found at the top left, above the main list of categories. If you spot anything in the newly formed 'sold' section that you're interested in, let us know and we'll do our best to locate a similar item for you.

Our HTML Queen, Rachel, has been beavering away with our help & information pages in order to make them more user friendly. Our Online Marketing Manager, Gemma, has also been helping with her diverse range of skills to kick the stubborn pages into formatting submission! Sarah, Jane and I have been holding fort, keeping operations running as smoothly as possible (and supplying Mr Campbell with a fresh peppermint tea every so often).

Lights, Camera, Action!

After many "ACTION!"s and "CUT!!"s, we managed to get the ball rolling with regards to adding videos to our website. After 48 takes (well maybe I'm exaggerating a LITTLE bit...) Mr Campbell finally managed to condense all of the information he wanted to share with the world into a three minute long video, which you can view here. We're in the process of including videos for every item of jewellery, in order to display our stock in the most realistic a way as possible. The 'still' pictures just don't do them justice!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

With the success of our jewellery videos, we'll soon be rolling out short clips of our silver stock as well, hopefully with a little personal description from Mr Campbell him self, in the hopes that customers will realise our items aren't just any old pieces of silver, but part of one of the best collections of antique and vintage silver pieces out there! (I'm not blowing our own horn, I promise).

Until next time!

Elizabeth Taylor, plus Silver Maker of the Month: Paul Storr

Girl with the Pearl Necklace

Liz Taylor... movie star, style icon, glamorous... that's pretty much all I knew about Dame Elizabeth until this week. That isn't me being ignorant, unfortunately I wasn't born early enough to properly appreciate the inspiration that she was.

13^th December 2011, Elizabeth Taylor’s 16^th century ruby and diamond mounted pearl necklace sells at auction for £7.6 million. Previously owned by Mary Tudor, and two Spanish queens, the piece was purchased for Dame Elizabeth in 1969 by her twice married, twice divorced husband Richard Burton, for £23,800. The pearl, named ‘La Peregrina’, or ‘The Pilgrim’ in English, is one of the largest perfectly symmetrical pear-shaped pearls in the world, originally weighing a whopping 224g.

The Creation of a Perfect Pearl

Pearls are formed inside the shell of almost any species of mollusc, as a defence mechanism against a potentially threatening irritant such as a parasite inside its shell, or an attack from outside, injuring the mantle tissue. The mollusc creates a sac to seal off the irritation, sealing it with layers and layers of calcium carbonate, thus forming a pearl. The first artificial pearl is said to have been created in 1656, by a French rosary-bead maker, by coating gypsum pellets with a mixture of fish scales and varnish. Yummy! Pearl jewellery is a personal favourite of mine. It can be dressed up, dressed down, a statement piece in a classic outfit or paired with an evening dress for a touch of elegance.

Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend

Among items sold at the auction were Elizabeth's 33.19 carat diamond solitaire for £5.7 million, and an ivory and gold necklace which fetched more than 100 times the predicted price at £203,000. Elizabeth Taylor was known for her obsession with diamonds, us girls here at AC Silver can only dream about having a collection as amazing and elegant as hers, but we can pretend while we're trying on the beautiful pieces that Mr Campbell purchases for the shop!

Maker of the Month: Paul Storr

It is only since working at AC Silver that I am becoming familiar with the many silversmiths among our collection, however one man I keep hearing a lot of good words about, is a gentleman named Paul Storr.

Paul Storr was an English silversmith, sculptor, and designer working during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. His work ranged from simple silverware such as tea pots, salt pots and candlesticks, to larger table ornaments such as sculptures and soup tureens. He was also commissioned to create sculptural pieces for royal goldsmiths.

Cheaper by the Dozen

Paul was lucky enough to marry a childhood friend, Elizabeth Beyer, in 1801. He fathered 10 children who proceeded to give him an astonishing 54 grand children! He retired in 1838 to Tooting, London, until his death in March 1844. His pieces have become highly sought after and collectable, and are considered to be great investment pieces. Why not read some more about investing in silver?

Investing in Silver

I've often enquired to Mr Campbell about 'what makes silver a good investment item', and since he has eventually gotten around to putting this information onto our new modernised website (more on this later in the week!), I highly recommend it being worth a read if you are considering investing your money in collectable silver pieces.

I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

Bugs. I hate bugs. Creepy crawly ones, ones with wings, and the ones with millions of legs. They just freak me out. I can’t stand them. Any AC Silver member will tell you, if so much as a woodlouse is spotted in our office I am ouutttaaa there. Much like the celebrities on that silly program about being stuck in the jungle for a month.

The Bug Factor and the X Factor

I hate ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here’ almost as much as I hate bugs. Well, that’s not really true, but I seriously don’t like it. My Facebook feed is flooded with cries about how this person shouldn’t go, how it’s an outrage that they didn’t kick this person out. Maybe it’s just because I have little interest in celebrities and who is ‘in’ these days, but I don’t recognise 4/5 people who took part in the 2011 series. There is Dougie from McFly, who by law I have to know, being a young girl who grew up in the millennium, and a lady who I vaguely recognise from something like the X Factor (don’t even get me started on that).

Wasps for Brunch

I don’t understand the attraction of watching ANYONE being stuck in a tiny box surrounded by wasps and tarantulas. Especially celebrities that I perhaps like. Oh it makes me shiver at the thought of it! Wasps for brunch, scorpions for supper? No thank you!

Mud Pie for Tea

Maybe I’m just ranting because I don’t understand the aim of spending a month amongst wet leaves, eating the mud off my shoes and the leaves from the trees because they’re the only things for dinner that didn’t once have six legs. Don’t get me wrong, I love camping, but that’s probably because I am a technology addict and I love all sorts of gadgets that you can get these days. Self heating mugs, self inflating mattresses, self constructing tents… well maybe one day.

Beetlejuice

I definitely don’t intend to eat bugs or drink beetle juice any time in the near future, however Mr Campbell is always insisting that drinks taste one hundred times better when drunk from a silver cup (I’m not sure ANYTHING could make beetle juice taste better). ‘I’m a Celebrity’ could definitely be made classy if they served their scorpion tails and millipede legs from a silver tureen instead of the bland iron pots and pans they use currently.

Served on a Silver Platter

Even if you don’t plan on eating insects from a silver bowl this Christmas, we may have something in stock that would serve as a lovely present for a loved one or a friend. All I know is that, whatever I am drinking this Christmas, it'll certainly taste better if served in a silver goblet presented on a silver waiter, however I know it certainly won’t be beetle juice!

December Birthstone: Prosperity for the New Year

"If cold December gave you birth,
The month of snow and ice and mirth,
Place on your hand a turquoise blue;
Success will bless whate'er you do."

Introducing the December Birthstone

The first of December, by gum has this year flown by. Turquoise, the birthstone for anyone born in December, is the perfect symbol for the last month of the year. The turquoise gem is associated with prosperity, success and good fortune – all the things we will be wishing for come 2012.

The Colour of Turquoise

Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium. Turquoise was a popular gem used in Victorian jewellery. The symbolic meaning regarding the colour of turquoise represents the life cycle of birth, old age and death, due to its change in colour related to its age.

Antique Diamond and Turquoise Brooch

Locating and Identifying Turquoise

The name “turquoise” is said to have originated from an old French word for “Turkish”, because the mineral was first brought to Europe from Turkey. The stone is most frequently found in countries including the USA, Iran, Australia, Africa and Siberia.

The Properties of Turquoise

The traditional metaphysical properties of the December

birthstone are communication, regeneration and protection against diseases. Its healing properties are said to include healing of the

throat, lungs, infections and depression, which could be useful in helping us save pennies (and the environment) on paper tissues by fending off the winter sniffles!

Victorian Turquoise and Pearl Bracelet