Off to NYC: What I can't wait to see

Next month I will finally be doing something I have long dreamed of - I'm going to the Big Apple! Being December it will be lovely and chilly - maybe even snowy - so it will feel like "proper New York", and I can't wait to wrap up warm in the multicoloured patchwork scarf my Nana knitted me when I was 18, and stroll the streets of Bleecker et al.

The reason I'm going to New York is to meet my boyfriend, who has been travelling in Central America for the last two-and-a-half months. We had planned to go to New York at some point, and no time felt like the present. And luckily for him I'm already making a long list of jewellers I'd like to visit while there.

Among those is Catbird - a jeweller whose site I love to click on to now and again to coo and want over, well, almost everything it sells. I adore its tiny letter rings and am tempted to get N & Y as a little souvenir, or maybe even a little heart.

Of course I can't go to New York without dropping in to see Alexis Bittar. The don of Lucite, and the jeweller that has fuelled my little obsession over the past few years for his colourful bangles. I own about 15 now, and the last two were purchases from the boyf the last time he was in NYC, so I cannot wait to add one (or maybe two!) more.

I've also been told that Barneys jewellery dept is a must-see. Forget Saks, Macy's, it's all about Barneys and of course its charismatic creative ambassador, the English-born Simon Doonan, who continues to work wonders at the store. Its jewellery collections are right up my street - delicate, tiny diamonds, pop colour stones and organic shapes, just like this Sara Beltran necklace.

Greenwich Jewelers also looks worth a look. It has a stunning in-house line, the Greenwich Collection, with some truly gorgeous jewels made from slices of stones, and some fabulous clashing jewellery such as the agate and cognac coloured quartz bracelet. It also stocks my favourite fine ring designer, Anne Sportun.

Of course no trip will be complete without a trip to Tiffany & Co.. At least to stand afore the window and have my photo taken. I am a tourist, after all...

A little something: Ruth Tomlinson diamond rings

Uh oh. I've been bad again and left it a little while since last blogging. But BaselWorld, teamed with coming back to Professional Jeweller with WatchPro now a standalone magazine has meant, naturally, life has been mad busy. And I hate to admit it, but I like my weekends away from the computer after all week, 10 hours a day, in front of one...! Phew.

So, let's talk about jewels. Look at these lovely little rings from London-based jewellery Ruth Tomlinson. She's known for her delicate use of porcelain, creating rings with petal-like, bell-shaped porcelain charms that tumble from them. But the move into 9ct and 18ct gold natural diamond-set rings is a good'un. And I love them; for their disarray, their muddled feel, the haphazard yet delicate way the stones are set. Gorgeous. 

Anne Sportun - my new favourite designer

When it comes to fine jewellery I can be particularly picky. But when I find something I love I don't forget it in a hurry. While clean lines and a minimal look are something I appreciate, I also love jewellery that looks as though it has been hewn, crafted and is a little bit rustic. So comes Anne Sportun, a Canadian jeweller who has been making her unique style of jewels since the tender age of 16 (back in 1981, no less). Her work is now sold across the world and is still handcrafted to this very day. With the tagline 'precious everyday' these really are jewels to adore and to wear, whatever the occasion.

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A selection of 14ct white and yelow gold rings set with natural coloured diamonds,

coloured sapphires and tourmalines.

Designer: Sophie Bille Brahe

I have to thank a friend of mine (she knows who she is!) for introducing me to Sophie Bille Brahe's work, and getting me down to London Fashion Week - more of that to follow - in time to get around the Exhibition and the British Fashion Council's Rock Vault space earlier this week. It was there that I managed to catch a glimpse of Sophie's work before the doors closed at 7pm and I wasn't disappointed, not even with just a momentary chance to view her work.

It's designers like Sophie, a graduate of London’s Royal College of Art, that bridge the gap between fine jewellery and avant-garde design. She's one of a handful of talents pushing their way into the UK jewellery scene and someone I'll be keeping an eye on this year. 

Her designs have won her accolades from fashion magazines worldwide and, in her own words, adorn inspiring women. It is her Scandinavian background that also paves the way for her sharp design set - a cross-over of clean lines and architectural shapes with more natural forms such as birds or those with celestial connotations. Beautiful. 

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Palais des Escaliers ring in 18ct gold with diamonds

Palais d’Émeraude ring in 18ct gold with emerald and diamonds

Pavillon Fenetres ring in silver with a single diamond

Lyra ring in 18ct gold with diamonds

Petit Hibou and Petit Hibou Pirate necklaces (cute!) in 18ct gold with a diamond

Rideaux Simples and Rideaux Louise ear cuffs in 18ct gold and diamonds

A little something: Rings by Brazen Studios

I was having a lovely chat about engagement rings earlier on with Sarah Raffel, the founder and director of Brazen Studios in Glasgow, for a piece I'm writing at work. The subject also touched on commissions, which always intrigue me.

I guess it's just the way that people get so thrilled (even those of us who think we don't have a creative bone in our body) being able to let their imagination run wild a bit. They soon realise that they can help create something beautiful that is all their own. It makes me think: just open your favourite childhood book, watch your favourite film, trawl through your wardrobe, think about that inspiring photograph or colourful piece of art and realise what's 'you'.

All of this is what brings a commission together and is something that Sarah actively encourages, creating visual briefs - mood boards of sorts - for each of her commissioning customers. One came to her with a page of architecture, full of Art Nouveau designs and unusual gothic ceilings and cornices. Bet you can guess which one of these it was. Utterly lovely.

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Marianne ring: green tourmaline ring set in 18ct yellow gold and palladium

Nouveau ring: 18ct red gold, palladium, brown diamond, white diamonds

Margo ring: 18ct red gold, pink sapphires, amethyst

A little something: Katie Rowland's Satori collection

Katie Rowland is best known for her fashion-forward, triple finger St.Tropez knuckledusters of 2010 - giant gold plated rings set with hunks of neutral hued quartz. These amazing rings caught many an eye and placed Katie firmly on the fashion jewels map. 

For 2011 she's released her debut fine jewellery collection, made in 18ct rose gold and set with unusual diamonds which glitter with a 'cracked glass' appearance. The Satori collection has been designed with a particular Japanese teaching in mind: finding beauty in objects which don't fit the notion of perfection. For many, where a diamond should be inclusion-free, of the rarest white colour and well cut, Katie is turning both that idea and the diamonds themselves on their head, creating alternative fine diamond rings suitable for any savvy jewellery lover.

A little something: Dior Joaillerie - Making of a Milly Carnivora ring

J'adore the Diorette rings by Dior, but the Milly Carnivora is something else. Victoire de Castellane, the designer behind Dior's jewellery collections, is fun and silly and you can see it in the bright colours and whimiscal style of her jewellery designs... Despite the fact they cost thousands.

Check out the making of one of the Milly Carnivora rings (worth it for the rose-cut diamonds alone, aaaaah!) which packs four months of work into three and a half minutes. Et voila indeed!

P.S. Sorry, still on a video roll it seems!