Rock Your World-Keep the Diamond in the Rough

Strutting around the fine jewellery department at Harrods with the airs and graces of Naomi Campbell the price tags taunt those who have not recently bought a diamond mine but there is a way to put the bling back into jewellery without the bang of the price tag. As the Maasai, tribal beads of last year fade into deepest darkest Africa the clear-cut turquoise, emeralds and amethysts with that essential flash of gold lingering on the body from the cleavage to the naval hit the headlines. The beauty of gemstones with their glimmering perfection hints at the magic they seem to hold and led many people in the past to believe that they came from the heavens. So flaunt that little piece of heaven and whether from Theo Fennell or Topshop long chains, charms and gemstones make their return.
The superstitions that surround gemstones have evolved over the years and are deemed able to do anything from curing drunkenness (Amethyst) to restoring eyesight (Emeralds). Real or faux the power that wearing a glimmering rock seems to give is astounding. The gemstone and the gold does the flirting for you and shows a strong sense of what kind of person you are and want to be. Thrown casually around the neck, studded on the Louis Vuitton Kaftans glimmering in the St.Tropez sun or adding that final blast of colour at Roberto Cavalli, the sultry wink of a gemstone is bound to force people to do a double take.
It doesn’t have to be the real deal to attract attention, have a rummage through your mum or grandmothers old jewellery case and dig out those old childhood charms and mix with a gold chain or two from the high street. Mixing the real with the plastic is not against the rules, if anything it adds to the art form that is accessorizing. Bvlgari mixed a beautiful cabochon sapphire, white gold and diamonds with a piece of blue rope, giving it a new type of edge, proving the bling and the everyday can work together, leaving an endless amount of scope for fun and frolic with diamantes to diamonds, Perspex to platinum. Classic Egyptian gold, moulded into the classic Arabic symbols of the all- seeing eye, the key of life and the lucky scarab beetle speckled with bright, vibrant colours is a way of combining the ethnic with the bling. Think of the blues of Tutankhamun’s treasured burial mask, the turquoise and jades of the sea in Fiji, the famous glowing Mexican amber, the emerald greens of the rainforest and the deep claret of ripe vino rouge. The colour of the gems with the classic long gold chain not only transports you around the world but also adds a secret personal twist to everything from a pair of ripped Levis to the white shirt dress. The colour gives you a way to individualise anything, to make it your own, just as style should be. So discover your inner heiress with a twist and just have fun with jewellery, take control and don’t shy away from allowing the diamond to reside in the rough