A very personal collection of jewellery

23 March 2020

Your jewellery box is filled with items you love. Do you own a precious heirloom or plastic earrings from the fun fair or a hundred brooches? I love looking at other people’s very personal collections and I love hearing your stories. When and why did you begin to collect, what is the emotional value of your jewellery and what are the best pieces? Would you like to hear some of my stories? These are my current favourites.

Exploring and developing

You can explore and develop your taste in jewellery by rummaging around antique markets, admiring jewellery exhibitions and visiting artist’s studios. I only love antique jewellery, or so I thought. The older, the better. And the colour pink? Not for me, thanks. Until one day in 2018 I bought a modern ring from Fraser Hamilton. It is designed as two golden hands holding a pink sapphire.

I keep exploring and finding out more. If you have any tips about vintage and antique jewellery markets, studios and museum exhibitions, then please share them with me on Instagram or Facebook.

My jewellery box is like a history book

Rings are my favourite kind of jewellery. A ring is one of the few items of jewellery that you can actually see yourself while you’re wearing it. That’s important to me. I follow my heart when I make a decision to buy a ring. And I never spend more than I intended.

What I like best is to collect jewellery with a history. I love rings that are a symbol of friendship, marriage or mourning. It’s even better when they are inscribed. Many years ago I bought a ring from a dealer that has a unique design. It is rather chunky and made of green glass and bronze. It was found in the soil of Kent, England and dates back to the Tudor Dynasty (1485-1603). The ring is very solid and yet elegant. If only rings could talk… My jewellery box is starting to look more and more like a history book!

The perfect occasion

It’s a shame that we only have ten fingers. I would love to wear all my rings all the time! However, in my job as communication consultant and dealer in antique and vintage jewellery that wouldn’t be very practical at all. Not to mention the rain, fruit to peel, sun tan lotion and people who give you a very firm handshake

I always take good care of my jewellery. When I’m at work I wear comfortable rings such as my golden signet ring from England. If it’s raining, then my ring with a portrait photo from 1880 definitely stays indoors. This way I take good care of my collection and I get to wear a different ring nearly every day: a win-win situation.