handmade – Shine & Starfire

Victoria Walker

March 21, 2019March 21, 2019 shineandstarfireLeave a comment

Here’s a post on something a little less well known.
First let’s introduce you all to a type of jewelry called ‘kinetic jewelry‘. To my understanding, kinetic jewelry is mostly artisan and hand made. Kinetic jewelry utilizes the kinetic movement of the wearer to transform or add some spice to the jewelry piece in different ways.
One common example of kinetic jewelry are spinner rings. These are rings that have rotating gears in which the user is able to move 2 connected pieces together.

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I’ve been eying this jeweler for about a couple of years now and am super happy to introduce you all to her pieces!

Victoria Walker takes kinetic jewelry to a very refined and yet elegant level. Her pieces revolves around nature’s flowers and the little happinesses the result from blooming flowers. Each piece is thoughtfully hand crafted and uses a twisting movement of the base to unfurl metal petals. Made from a variety of metals, her collection has slowly been growing to incorporate increasing varieties of blooming flowers.

From sterling silver, rose gold, yellow gold, white gold and simple diamonds. Victoria Walker makes use of everything her admirers may wish for in her studio in Cornwall, UK.

I absolutely adore her peony locket pendant necklace. The details in the petals are just gorgeous.
Can’t wait to see what next pieces she has in store for us!

Current Craving:
Chicken Tikka Masala

S. Kind & Co.

May 2, 2016May 2, 2016 shineandstarfireLeave a comment

Lovely constellation 14 diamond stone ring the current apple of my eye. Made with love in NYC from recycled metals and ethically sourced stones via S.Kind & Co.

I only wish it wasn’t so darned expensive! (+$1000) or they had a similar constellation band with less stones… for the economist. Also love their simple wheat engraved band ring- very delicate with a subtle design flare.

I’ve been eyeing contemporary and non traditional wedding/ engagement rings as the topic of work lunch these days have been the search for the perfect ring. Though I’m not quite yet ready to get hitched, window shopping doesn’t hurt. (I’m also one of those people who would buy themselves pretty rings to cycle though- for personal guilty pleasures hehe). Mind you, I also do not believe in giant 1 carat, 2 carat diamond rings etc because honestly, that’s a down payment for a house or a really nice vacation getaway.

Anyways, if you like rose cut stones and cannot afford large diamond rocks, S. Kind & Co offers moissanite rose cut stones with small pave diamonds in the band. Moissanite stones are popular replacement stones for diamonds. I believe almost all rings made are from recycled precious metals (yellow gold/ white gold etc). Did I mention, they like ring butts? Yes. Ring butts. Very cool. Very cool indeed.

Fun tidbit- Skind & Co is a resurrection of an old family jeweler (~144 years!) The more you know!

Mood: bleh. Work tomorrow ugh…

LUMO Jewelry

April 28, 2016April 28, 2016 shineandstarfireLeave a comment

Currently still obsessing over thread bare stackables! (mostly rings)
LUMO Jewelry is California based and features similar if not the same theme as Jennie Kwon Designs. (Pricewise again is around the same- pricey).
Noticeable difference in design keep LUMO and Jennie Kwon separate and yet similar in the thread bare minimalist hand, arm, and neck jewelry.
I especially love LUMO’s ‘cuff’ rings- offered in a varity of colored stones and designs.

There is something about cuff rings that really catch my eye. I guess its a design that when stacked with a solitaire or statement ring, adds some sort of brilliance. I especially love LUMO’s atria cuff ring as the three cut diamonds just intrigue me! Not to mention the fact that this design sort of reminds me of Tiffany & Co.’s victoria line of star arranged diamonds. Absolutely love. LUMO Jewelry also stocks necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Thin cuff and thin chained bracelets are currently in (with the whole Alex & Ani craze still pretty popular with college students). Personally, my thin wrists would only allow for very few stackables (fingers included). Perhaps the reason why my eyes currently gleam over thin threadbares? But I digress. LUMO Jewelry has a thumbs up from me. A bit on the pricey side, but handmade designs warrant more TLC! A few snapshots below of some of my likes taken from google and LUMOs website.

Sidebar: LUMO jewelry makes their jewelery with either conflict free diamonds or Herkimer diamonds. Herkimer diamonds aren’t actual real diamonds- but double terminated (pointed) quartz known for their clarity and shine. Herkimer diamonds are legitimate herkimer diamonds if mined from upstate New York (Herkimer County). As wikipedia states, though double pointed Quartz can now be found in other areas, ‘Herkimer Diamonds’ only hail from Herkimer county!

The more you know.

Lionette by Noa Sade

February 17, 2016February 17, 2016 shineandstarfireLeave a comment

Let’s talk about statement pieces. To be honest, I don’t own any statement pieces simply because I do not feel like I can rock it. Lionette by Noa Sade is NYC based and creates beautiful statement pieces. I found them via famous popular fashion style blogger Chriselle Lim a few years ago and I just love their pieces. Each piece is so unique and definite statement pieces. You can wear bracelets and necklaces stacked up or by themselves- either way draw attention to the pieces.

Now while I love love love these statement pieces, I doubt I will ever purchase from them via sheer price alone. Lionette NY’s popularity is definitely real and present. (Trust me I’ve seen the prices rise along the years). The prices are (in my honest opinion) utterly ridiculous. I don’t mean to bash them, but their pieces are made of plated brass and simulated semi precious stones like turquoise or opals etc. Let me say that again, plated brass and simulated stones. Why are you charging $400+ for brass and fake stones? I just can’t wrap my head around it. Oh and the designs however beautiful and ingenious can most definitely be replicated via materials from your local craft store (maybe not the cone shaped stones but you know what I mean).

Long story short, while I absolutely love Lionette NY’s designs and pieces (because they truly are gorgeous) I would not buy them because honestly you can get a 14k gold ring plus a tiny diamond for that price. Call me cheap but its simply not worth it. – unless you are filthy rich and do not care.

And while I was lusting after their Sinead bracelet for quite some time, I wouldn’t purchase because my wrists are sooooooo tiny and I doubt they will adjust one for my size (must I mention the fear that they might charge more for an adjusted one? not to mention charge the full price for materials?).

James Barts

February 5, 2016February 7, 2016 shineandstarfireLeave a comment

I have a thing for bracelets. Not so much for rings or necklaces but most definitely bracelets. You know those string bracelets? The ones when you were younger and braided and knotted with all the pretty colors and wore religiously on your wrists? Thats right, they were called friendship bracelets. Well James Barts kind of reminds me of them, with a nautical spin of course.

Side bar- I recently discovered this Swedish brand while looking for alternative right wrist accessories. I cut my gorgeous locks for an angled bob and what usually keeps my right wrist bare is no longer needed (the infamous black/ colored scrunchie!)
Anyways, back to the topic at hand. James Barts creates bracelets made of real nautical rope- is that even what you call them?– handmade from the best quality direct from Stockholm! (Who doesn’t love handmade items?)

Needless to say, I recently ordered a bracelet. They have several designs (not including all sorts of different colored cords) including the Octavia, Octavia Half Cuff, Deckhander collections. My favorite by far is the Octavia collection where simple nautical rope meets refined metals. The creators have taken there designs and have elevated them a step further by creating the octavia half cuff further extending its sleekness.

On cost: their inventory is vast and the cost is reasonable in my opinion. Their website is extremely user friendly including many language options. For any out of EU buyer, you will be happy to see that the actual cost on website is not what you pay for. I ordered one bracelet for $45 and was ultimately charged $36 (they took off 20% for EU Vat Tax!).

Word has it, they have a new watch collection coming out soon. I believe it will be close in design to the recently popular Daniel Wellington watches, but we shall see….