Aquamarine

     I wore this ring with yesterday's butterfly broach/necklace and some butterfly wing earings to be featured later. 
     The stone appears to be aquamarine, but of course I am no gem expert. According to Gemology Online, "Aquamarine is a pastel greenish-blue variety of the mineral beryl. Its name is derived from the Latin words for water and sea. Crystals form in large hexagonal prisms. In ancient times, it was believed that sailors wearing aquamarine pendants would be protected from the perils of the sea. The stone symbolized happiness and eternal youth. It was viewed in Christian symbolism to bring moderation and control of passions to its owner. It is a gentle and peaceful gemstone, and it is said to fortify one's sense of self-esteem." 
      Well I don't know about all of that, but the source also said aquamarine is easily confused for topaz or a list of other stones. Thus the ring may not be aquamarine at all. I guess without taking the ring to a jeweler, I just get to believe whatever I would like to believe. 

Butterflies part two

Today's feature item is another butterfly broach worn as a necklace. At first, I had some trouble keeping the broach from twisting, but I finally figured out a solution: wrap the chain once around one side and then once around the other side. It all seems common sense in retrospect, but it was early. Anyway, this blue and green butterfly broach was still wrapped in its original packaging, leading me to believe it has never been worn -- leave it to me to wear it in a way other than intended. 

Red

Colors: they define the essence of accessories. Complimentary colors easily lend themselves to creating an intriguing outfit. Seeing as I no longer have my color specialist on hand, I am left to my own devices (See what you get Hill, for moving to New Orleans to be a big time graphic design artist and draw teeth?) Anyway, the result is this ensemble: A teal shirt and black cardigan, paired with a red necklace and matching ring, alongside a strawberry broach. Discuss.

Four of a Kind

It seems I have been on a little ring kick lately, so I thought I might change it up a little bit. Then I thought "Why?" and decided to feature another ring today.

This ring was found in a bag of jewelry recovered from my grandmother's house just before we sold it. It's plastic and comes in green, white, yellow, and the blue as seen here. All four rings have the same flower design that always has one flower right side up and the other upside down. Either way it's worn, I like it. I never recall seeing my grandmother wear this ring, but I wish I had. I find it somewhat comical to think of my British-ly proper grandmother wearing such a neon colored ring, but I have no doubt she would have pulled it off with grace and refinement. 

Butterflies

   I think grandma had a thing for butterflies. Well, she had a fondness for a lot of things: cats, angels, seashells, cats, books, jewelry, cats, the Royal Family, Garfield, cats...If you could find a pendant with the Royal Family on the beach, holding a Garfield with wings and reading a book, she'd probably have never taken it off. Be that as it may, butterflies are also a common theme throughout her jewelry collection. I have come across multiple broaches, rings, necklaces, bracelets... you name it, she had it in butterfly, but apparently she was very partial to butterfly pins/broaches.  

    This pendant is actually a broach that I wrapped a chain around and wore as a necklace. I am quite pleased with my ingenuity and thrilled that it more than doubles my necklace options. 

A Teak Jewelry Box

We recently sold my grandmother's house, which means all hands were needed on deck to clean it out. Wouldn't you know, we found some more jewelry. I know, it just keeps coming.

We also came across this teak jewelry box. I love the amount of detail in the design. Mom suggested I take the box to house some of the new found jewelry (and I could definitely use more jewelry storage). She said Grandma paid $75 for the ornate box at a yard sale (talked the seller down from $150 according to Mom). So, I cleaned it up, using some disinfecting wipes, q-tips, and a lot of pledge. I think it turned out quite nicely. You be the judge.

A Little Bit of Both

Recently, I have shown you a British ring and an American ring both from my Mother's Day excursion. Today, I'd like to highlight a similar ring that seems to be a combination of the two. We know from preschool that a mixture of blue and red give us purple. This ring also has white stones as both the Diana lookalike and the American pride rings do. The last row adds a layer of sparkle that is all its own.
I like this ring for multiple reasons. Maybe I like it because it is purple which matches a lot of my wardrobe and thus lends itself to being worn easily. Maybe I like it because purple is my favorite color at the  moment. Or maybe I like this ring because it is a mixture of British of American heritage... just like me.