June Birthstones Moonstone and Pearl

Some of us get all the luck-not only do June babies get the start of nice warm barbecue weather for their birthday parties they also get the choice of two stones as birthstones. And what lovely ones they are too...Moonstones AND Pearls.

so here is a little bit of info on both.

Pearl

Pearls are an organic gemstone, the only gem created from a living creature

The name comes from the Latin word ‘perula’ which means small pear. Natural Pearls are one of the oldest known gems and have been adored by people for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks thought that Pearls were the hardened tears of joy of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, as she was born from the foam of the sea. The Romans were particularly fond of Pearls, which were favoured by the rich. Women would wear their Pearls to bed to remind them of their wealth as soon as they woke up. A Roman General is said to have financed a whole military campaign by selling one of his mother’s Pearl earrings. In ancient China, Pearls were swallowed to cure eye diseases and fever. They were also thought to bring wealth, power and longevity.

Pearl is the birthstone for June and for the zodiac sign of Gemini (May 21 – June 21). It is also given for the 3^rd and 30^th (Pearl Jubilee) wedding anniversaries

Moonstone

Moonstone is an opalescent stone. The intensity of the body colour depends on the amount of iron present within the stone. The iridescent sheen is known as ‘schiller’ which means a colourful play of light. ‘Rainbow Moonstone’ is Labradorite Feldspar and its sheen has a variety of rainbow colours. This particular variety has become very popular and is now becoming very scarce.

Moonstone is an historically important gemstone, valued for centuries, particularly by royalty. It was popular with the Romans who thought that Moonstone was formed out of moonlight, hence its name. In the Middle Ages, people believed that you could look into a Moonstone and fall into a deep sleep that would predict the future. Folklore says that Moonstone could awaken tender passions, if placed beneath the tongues of lovers at full moon. Even today, in Arabic countries, women still sew a Moonstone, out of sight, into their dresses, as a symbol of fertility. Moonstone is a sacred gemstone in India, regarded as ‘dream stones’ bringing the wearer beautiful visions at night. In East Indian tradition, Moonstone represents the ‘Third Eye’, clarifying spiritual understanding.

Moonstone is a birthstone for June and the Zodiac sign Cancer (June 21-July 22).

Clouds & Silver (and Gold) Linings.

The Euro may be in freefall, the £ sterling may have lost 25% of it’s value against the Indian Rupee in less than 8 months, and the price of silver may have skyrocketed! But hey, it’s a great time to go to the UK and Europe for your hols if you are Indian! Having come all the way over to Jaipur, I was highly amused to discover that one of my suppliers is, at the same time, in London on holiday!

You can read that India's economy is booming – but seeing it REALLY is booming is another thing altogether . Major roads and flyovers are appearing from nowhere, skyscrapers, huge shopping malls and blocks of flats are popping up like Jack's beanstalk, almost overnight.

Real estate prices in Jaipur rival those in London, and there is a skilled labour shortage of English proportions. There is also massive unskilled unemployment, and poverty on a scale unimaginable in the UK, and, sadly, little sign of much change there, however much the face of the cities alter.

But change to the world order IS happening on a grand scale, and very, very fast. It is simply more visible here than in Britain. Coming to India and stepping outside the UK really does give a fresh perspective on the truly radical shake up taking place in the accepted 'normal order of things'. And while change is not always welcome, we will certainly embrace the positive.

So … over the next couple of months until our BIG shopping trip here, we will be working on creating new designs to excite and inspire you, which you can still afford, in spite of exchange rate woes and skyrocketing silver prices.

AND, if you would like something really special, but still affordable, in gold and precious stones - one of our most prestigious suppliers [a jeweller to the Royal Family of Jaipur since the 19th century] has offered me a service to pass on to you: to make his designs in earrings, rings and pendants, to your own specifications and budget. An exciting proposal because the workmanship, design and materials are wonderful, AND they knock spots off the prices of traditional High Street jewellers. But I'll save the details for later …..

This example of a pair of Ruby, Emerald and Diamond earrings in 18ct gold would only cost around £400, at curent gold prices and exchange rates, AND they are unique. Pretty amazing for something so extra special. If you might like to take advantage of this service, do get in touch with me at our Head Office to make a personal appointment to discuss

Whirlwind Buying Trip

Finally. I'm sitting on the verandah, overlooking the green lawns and flower garden of my hotel, enjoying a lovely scalding-hot pot of fresh darjeeling and a slice of home made chocolate cake - Bliss!

It's been a bit of a trek to get here, mostly because of awful roadworks on the highway from Delhi to Jaipur, but, I left London at 9pm on Saturday and here I am at barely 5pm (local time) Sunday, well and truly ensconced.

Rather lucky I didn't risk a BA flight this time. We come here 2 or 3 times a year and always fly BA, but this time I decided to try Jet Airways, and it was wonderful. I shall be saying goodbye to my BA executive club card and airmiles, the service on JA is fantastic, the plane was a 777, the newest around with state of the art in flight media (and this was in economy!). The food was really good - vegetarian Indian to a very acceptable standard, good fresh fruit salads ...... I could go on, but you get the idea. BA has, sadly, definitely lost our custom.

At least the road trip to Jaipur gave me a chance to submerge myself in the latest Vogue, Marie Claire, Red and Elle - something I NEVER get time to do - to see what the Summer trends might be and, I hope, use this trip to bring a flavour of these to you. There are lots of long chains about, silver bangles piled up tanned arms, and strings of large, brightly coloured beads, as well as tons of black & white - the perennial classsic for summer. So, fingers crossed, I'll let you know what I find in the few days I am here. Watch this space!

Anyway, I also bought a little 'flip' camera before flying, so I'm hoping to be able to take some interesting short videos which we will post online for you all to see.

spring prize draw winner

This is one of our spring prize draw winners looking gorgeous in her new bespoke necklace.

If you want to be in with a chance of winning our next prize draw come in to one of the shops and pop your name and email address on one of our cards, its as easy as that, and no purchase necessary.

SUPER SPRING SAMPLE SALE!

COME TO FARNHAM, WE HAVE A SUPER SHORT SALE!!

(JUST UNTIL 1ST MAY)

lovelies like these reduced form £350 to £125

We've cleared out our cupboards to bring you unbelievable bargains

the BigRingThing at Epsom

All these rings, and more, in our massive ring clearance, only at our Epsom store NOW!
http://www.zigzagjewels.com/Contact-Us.aspx

Beautiful Bridal Jewellery

With spring settling in we are getting the first flurry of glowing brides-to-be popping in looking for those perfect finishing touches. Wedding gowns can be a tricky thing to pair something with. Often with lots of beading, sequins and layers you don't want to over do it. Equally they usually need something to complete the perfect look or you will look a bit unfinished. A simple dress needs something to draw attention, add some detail and soften.

So to give you a place to start here are some ideas of jewellery to complement and complete many of the more popular dress styles.

Simple: a simple clean uncluttered gown is becoming one of the most popular choices for the modern bride. An unfussy gown can look elegant, stylish and timeless but it needs jewellery as a finishing touch to stop it becoming too plain austere and severe. With a very plain dress you can get away with more striking bold jewellery, one of my favourite pieces would be the Gigi set below:

gigi sterling silver necklace £395 earrings £65 (also available in gold vermeil)

Traditional: Pearls are always the thing to go with a traditional dress, they brighten up the complexion and flatter all skin tones. You can go for a simple and elegant strand or be a bit more adventurous and opt for some really stunning earrings or a more elaborate necklace.

lucie sterling silver and white freshwater pearl necklace £295 bracelet £125

Modern: a very modern dress often calls for a modern interesting piece of jewellery, I would recommend a Jacqui pendant as its an interesting contemporary take on traditional pearls.

jacqui sterling silver and white pearl pendant £95 earrings £45

Sparkle: Lots of the new dresses at the moment are very heavy on beautiful embellishment and beading. With a dress that already has a bit of sparkle you need jewellery that is light and simple yet substantial enough to hold its own against the dress. That's why the Deborah faux diamond pendant is an excellent choice, and with the simple shape it wont compete with the detail but there is enough of a stone to catch the light beautifully and make quite a statement.

deborah sterling silver and faux diamond pendant £55 earrings £55

Colour: Lots of gowns will have a flash of colour so something to pick up on this can be a really lovely way to go. The Carnival Iris pendant comes in a selection of different stone colours so there must be one to match your dress.

iris sterling silver and gemstone pendants from £125

Simple, Uncluttered Lovely: There are some dresses that call for simple jewellery, something unfussy, delicate just to sit there and let you shine. Here are some pieces that will let you do just that:

poppy freshwater pearl and faux diamond set £50

ophelia sterling silver and faux diamond pendant £35 (available in a range of gemstones)

lucia sterling silver and faux diamond hooks £35

Finally, your bridesmaids will need a bit of attention. How about something simple, ageless and pretty to pick up on the colours of their dresses...

sweetie sterling silver and gemstone pendant £39

however, nothing can beat coming in to one of the showrooms, relaxing, having a try on, discussing what you want, having a chat to our experienced team about our bespoke service and letting us make you feel really special and under no pressure...pop in we might just surprise you.