Write-off: 'Cos I'm Worth It (Jewellery in general)

Name: ickkate

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Product:	Jewellery in general
Date:	22/07/04 (122 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Its personal, and has a story, It was all cheaper than the extortionate moonstone necklace, I'll be wearing it at a wedding a week on Thursday

Disadvantages: I seem to have expensive tastes, Too many places seem to just stock yellow gold - pah!, I don't wear it that often

Malu says:

"Wat, another write-off? Oh yes, indeedy. Let?s put some life into dooyoo and get some pennies out, dooyoo owes us, dontchathink? If it weren´t for us clinging faithfully and stubbornly to the comatose site, it would long have been buried in the internet graveyard. Of course we can only become stinking rich if everyone participates and reads everyone else´s ops. According to I Like Blue there are about 100 active members, 100 x 100 that would be wonderful!

This category is just perfect, it doesn´t specify what kind of contribution is expected, you can write on the jewellery you have and like, want to have but can´t afford, detest and would never wear, there must be something for everyone."

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Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I'm not really a girlie girl. So, jewellery isn't exactly something that I wear a lot of. The most you'll normally find me wearing is a chocker, earrings and a couple of rings - so its quite surprising that for my twenty-first birthday present from my parents I chose a matching necklace and earrings. The theory was that possibly one nice set would be something useful, something that could be kept, and something that I could pass on in later life.

To say that I have particular tastes is probably an understatement. I am the sort of person who will spend the whole day searching through shops to find at most one item of clothing that I like. It can't be fussy, frilly or pink - most definitely not pink! And, that is pretty much the way I am about jewellery. It has to plain and classic, but with a little twist that makes it individual. All of which made it pretty surprising that I found something I liked in a shop window. The necklace was a white gold drop pendant with a moonstone set at a slight angle at the bottom. It fulfilled many of the categories I required - it was a simply beautiful
design whose off centre setting made it seem something special. Both my Dad and I loved it, but unfortunately it was not to be - it was far too expensive, and would mean that there was no way I'd be able to get a pair of earrings to match.

At this point we decided to get a few quotes. Although the moonstone was gorgeous, I have a passion for strong colours with reds and purples being my favourites. So we thought we would find out how much it would be to modify the extortionately priced pendant and add a twist of me. Instead of moonstone, we chose amethyst whose strong colours were beautifully set off against the shiny, silvery white gold. Together my Dad and I drew countless sketches trying to make the off-centre setting work as best we could - until we finally came to a point where we thought we could go and ask for the necklace and earrings, which are marginally smaller, but use the same design to be made.

In the end we took them to a small jewellery design shop in Cambridge called Julia Heffer. (Unfortunately the shop closed a few months later.) Julia herself helped us by modifying our sketches slightly to make the whole set look more professional. The amethyst tilts to the right on the necklace, with the drop forming a gentle asymmetrical curve that follows the shape of the oval stone; which sits in the centre of my chest perfectly. (Being small I sometimes find a pendant tries to nestle between my breasts, which generally isn't the look I'm going for.) The stones on the earrings point in opposite directions - one to the left, and one to the right, with the curve being slightly less severe. All of which polishes the items off perfectly.

I would definitely recommend designing your own jewellery because although the finished articles are a slight step further away from the moonstone pendant, they all go to make up something that is, by far, more unique or precious. I now have something that has its own story,
and much more of a heart than a pre-designed item. I know that my parent's won't be alive forever, but I will always be able to look at the necklace and earrings and say that my Dad and I worked together to create something we were both satisfied with - and that is no mean feat!

Summary: