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Every woman whatever her taste or style, needs a collection of essential accessories to mix and match with all her clothes in the wardrobe. There are literally hundreds of different types of accessories that a woman can own and can use again and again to dress up an outfit or simply make it look like an every day wear.

That is why (in most cases) it is easier to buy for women as opposed to men, because woman can keep adding to their accessory collection which never dates or gets old.

To give you an idea of those staple accessories for your wardrobe, then here are our essentials list that we think you need in your collection.

A collection of scarves

A scarf can truly bring an outfit to life. If you find yourself wearing black clothes as a way of appearing slimmer, then you can add a bit of colour to your outfit with a simple but bright scarf. There are many scarves that are versatile in how they wrap around your neck so make sure you grab a few different styles to match your variety of outfits.






Fashion Earrings

Every one needs a collection of throw away earrings that the can change every now and again depending on the outfit. There are a wide selection of fashion earrings, from coloured studs, to hooped earrings, that are sure to match all your outfits. It is always nice to have that special pair of earrings you keep for special occasions.






A collection of bags

Make sure that you have a staple handbag that is your main bag as well as a collection of fashion bags that you can mix and match with your outfits depending on the occasion.






Hair accessories

From hairbands, to clips, to bobbles and hair pins, make sure you have a collection of accessories so you can chop and change your hair style as and when you please. Your hair style can change your appearance dramatically so make sure you have all the necessary tools to re-create the style you want.






A staple coat

Everyone needs a lightweight coat for the summer and a warm, thick cosy jacket in the winter. Neutral colours always work well as you can wear them year after year without the coat going out of date.

A Stunning Sterling Silver Handbag Charm from AllCharms.co.uk

Bracelets and necklaces

Make sure you have a wide collection of fashion bracelets and necklaces in your collection to match your different outfits. A simple bracelet can finish off an outfit or a brightly coloured necklace can give colour and life to your outfit. Like with the earrings it is always nice to have a couple of staple bracelets and necklaces that you keep for special occasions. One of the most versatile types of bracelets is the charm bracelet which allows you to recreate any style you want through its individual charms. Collecting the charms can be fun and will build up over the years as family and friends buy them for your birthday and Christmas gifts.

Each charm represents a part of your life which you can share with others. To purchase a charm braceletfor your friend or loved one, visit AllCharms.co.uk today.

Just as washing clothes in the right temperature and with the right colours will help maintain an item of clothing, so does watching what you do with your sterling silver jewellery. Silver jewellery will always tarnish this is because there is sulphur in the air and this sulphur reacts with silver and gives a compound called silver sulphide or as we know it tarnishing which can be recognised as black or brown colours on our silver jewellery.

By using a simple silver cloth this has tarnish resistant’s in it that will remove all traces of tarnish by simply buffing the piece of jewellery. However by wearing your piece of jewellery in places such as the swimming pool, hot tub or when using household cleaning products for instance bleach, there is a chemical in bleach called chlorine which is also found in swimming pools too.  The chlorine will actually dissolve the metal and change the colour of it and will often take off finish on the piece of jewellery that naturally protects it from tarnishing 24/7.

What you will notice with items that have become tarnish is because they have been left unworn for a while.  It often does not happen with jewellery that you are wear consistently over a few days. There is actually something within the sea air that causes silver to blacken too.  What some people have found that when they are at home their charm bracelet is fine, once they have travelled to work and been there all day, there will actually be a dark ring left around there wrist and their bracelet has also become discoloured.  So there will be higher particles of sulphur in the air at work that do react with jewellery and unfortunately we cannot stop them.

What we can do is prevent wearing our jewellery in areas that will actually discolour our item permanently that we may never get the original look and shine back period.  Refrain from wearing jewellery in the places mentioned above and make sure you invest in a good silver polishing cloth and take care of your jewellery.

This may be an obvious answer but we are looking at all areas of buying from an official stockist.  On most online retailers and high street retailers they are now putting on display “Official Stockist”.  The word official can be related to words such as authorised, certified, allowed and approved. It is not always an easy process for any shop owner to become an official stockist either.  When looking at brands such as Pandora, nomination and lovelinks they all follows similar criteria’s, it is all about a process of elimination.

They like to first establish who the retailer is, what other brands they sell and will their brand actually sell well in their shop or not.  Certain shops will bring down the value of a brand.  For example if you saw the range of Pandora in a Claire’s shop you may wonder why it was so highly priced compared to the other accessories they sell in there.  Now look at Pandora compared to a Tiffany collection of jewellery you would think, Pandora was a perfect brand that is worth the money you are spending on it and would make the perfect gift.  It is so important for them to find the right locations to sell their stock in.

So now they know their products are going to sell well they make sure their brand is given the space they require for it to shine within a shop.  If you had a lot of competitive brands it would detract away from the products you really want to emphasise on.

Every authorised retailer has to follow company standards of their product should be sold and pricing.  So when looking online for example a nomination bracelet you may notice on one site it will say £5 and on another it may be £1.50 this should ring alarm bells that maybe the company who is selling the item at £1.50 is not authorised.  Every nomination stockists will be check regularly by mystery shoppers on their pricing and if they are not adhering to company policies will in-fact have the brand removed from all locations they sell it.  This is something Pandora have already started doing within all their shops and closing down any unauthorised online shops.

Why is it important to pay the correct price, if you can get it cheaper elsewhere? Every piece of jewellery that is a genuine piece of jewellery and it does not have to be jewellery it could be clothing by Topshop for example, it all has the company name on it therefore they will always go out of their way to make sure their customer is satisfied.  You have the added piece of mind that you have bought into a contract with that company and should the item become faulty you have a right to exchange the item and the company will provide this service.  Buying from a reputable company also means that they too have had to have checks that they are adhering to the laws of buying and selling.

A lot of the time if you were to by a item that was indeed a fake you are not bound by any terms so even though it may appear cheaper at first it may not always be cheaper in the long run.  To ensure the quality of the brand and that you are indeed buying the real deal always look for an official stockist.

A lot of shops are now putting up signs with official stockist with a ©at the end and to know you are actually dealing with an official stockist always look at their branded displays and point of sale information.  Is it in line with others you have seen or does it look out of date? Always do a quick check first and this is where the internet is great as it will not take more than 5 minutes.

Most branded companies do actually have their own websites too, even though you may not be able to buy direct from the company they will have a list of all their shops that are stockists, these have all met the company standards and have been authorised to sell their brand. To check stockists in Google simply type the brand whatever the name is followed by stockist example lovelinks stockists

Don’t be caught out if at all you are unsure or actually are questioning the quality of the product you have bought contact the company directly they have teams that deal with enquiries such as this.  No one really has money to throw away so spend it in the right places.

We all have some form of jewellery; those necklaces, bracelets and earrings you have locked away in that little wooden box, but where does the gold and silver we make them out of come from? Not mining I don’t meant that, I mean how did it get in the ground in the first place?

Well, let me fill you in, it’s all those stars in the sky. Here’s why, when a star is burning it burns hydrogen, the most abundant element in the entire universe, after burning this hydrogen it becomes helium and so on until all that’s used up and until all that is left is iron. Now some stars are huge, and I mean very, very huge. After this they then become supernova and explode scattering metal dust (which contains the heavy gold and silver) across space until it is trapped by gravity such as our solar system, it isn’t until then, it becomes part of that solar system.

Gold is found in ores made up of rock with very small or microscopic particles of gold. This gold ore is often found together with quartz or sulphide minerals such as Fool’s Gold, which is a pyrite. Gold tends to be found with silver in a gold-silver alloy we then take the gold out of these ores and make our conventional sterling silver jewellery and gold jewellery. Gold and silver have been sought after since the Bronze Age in 2 millennia BC, clearly there’s something about these metals that speaks to us and calls for us.

We all know that next within the creation of such amazing jewellery that we can call our own, such as lovelinks bracelets. This collection of jewellery incorporates both gold and silver with combinations of cubic zirconia and murano glass charms. They’ve captured that primal instinct we developed from the Bronze Age in a modern interpretation of charms that we can collect. So next time you receive a piece of jewellery or decide to treat yourself don’t forget that you now own a bit of star that could have travelled millions and millions of miles from the other side of the universe, just for you!

Some colours come in fashion and everyone wants to have that colour and then a few months later it’s on to the next colour.  Colour affects everything the hair colour we have, to the colours of clothes we wear, to the accessories we have, the painted colours of our walls in our house, to the plates we eat off, everything is about colour.  So trying to find a colour that will always keep you up-to-date that will never go out of fashion that truly is timeless is great.

This year has seen pastel colours and then some vibrant colours be extremely popular but colours that will never go out of fashion are white and blue and these two colours can be accessorised so well too. They offer a fresh look consistently and whether furnishing a home or an outfit there will be no need to change from this colour as they will always be around.

When attaining a piece of jewellery that will be ultimately timeless too lovelinks has already got it covered.  Their range of murano glass charms means that even on your bracelet the pastel colour of blue and the colour of white will never go out of fashion.  We know not every woman prefers blue so maybe experiment with a few pastel colours pinks, yellow etc. However we are sure that once you have seen lovelinks subtle collections with the pale blue and white you would love it.

It is great that there are a few timeless colours out there and these can be the background for the colour of the month to be accessorised with it. When looking at these two colours we can see why a lot of women are drawn to them, they are clean and fresh and simple but not too overpowering.  They are colours that remind you of peace and tranquillity and there has been study at great length of colours and what moods they promote.  When looking into the colour white it is believed it promotes purity in any design it is used in, whilst blue is believed to relax, soothe and inspire so what great colours to have around you all the time.

Every year during the month of August thousands of students find out if they have passed their all important exams.  It can be an extremely difficult time for some especially if they did not quite get the result they were hoping for and what they thought they were going to do might not be the case.  For some it can mean and list of endless opportunities and all doors are opened.  Whatever the case it should be a supportive time and a time of reflection of what they have achieved and where they are going.

A way of reminding a person of what they have achieved and the journey they took to get there can be with a simple charm, there are jewellery ranges for both men and women so neither need feel left out.  Each range whether it be blog jewellery or lovelinks jewellery have charms such as, good luck, well done, a little owl for knowledge and a graduation cap.  Buying something like this can be very sentimental and something they can keep forever and it shows that you are proud of their achievement no matter what the outcome.

Should you be the person receiving the results and you are not sure who you can speak to with regards what to do now; there are many connexions advice centres in local towns and cities.  Maybe you are the parent of a young person and not sure how you can support your child now, local councils have services to help and assist or even go to your local connexions centre with your child and speak so someone who will be able to help you on the next stages to take.

Jewellery was one of the oldest forms of body dressing that we know of today, with beads that have been found that date back to 100,000 years ago. It is something that has been passed down through the generations and symbolises so much more than just a piece of jewellery.  It can show a person’s wealth, with the amount that a single piece of jewellery costs. It can show what type of music a person follows, a religion they may follow, a person’s culture, jewellery speaks far more than we sometimes realise.

Without jewellery men and women alike would have had to find a way of accessorising outfits without it.The crazes we have followed which has involved jewellery such as charm bracelets and the memories that are collected in each individual charm would not be passed down to further generations. So there would be no Pandora jewellery, no lovelinks jewellery or nomination jewellery? Companies such as Tiffany’s and Links of London would not exist!

Jewellery in some countries has been used as money to help purchase land, food, animals etc and without jewellery people would have had to work harder to buy such things.  In times of hardship it has often been allowed to trade in a piece of jewellery for cash.

Artists have also used jewellery for their work, as a metal it can be sculpted into a shape it has often been used within the art industry. Silver and gold are certainly hard wearing metals as we know and daily we wear items made of these two metals.

The dressings of buildings such as Big Ben and Buckingham Palace would not look like they do today without the use of gold. We may be living in a more simplistic way and not see the need to dress the things we own in such a way.

Even though the first pieces of jewellery would not have been made with silver and gold, this is where it leads to and this is where jewellery became a status of wealth.  Jewellery originally was made of teeth and hair and this is what began as the first of body dressing. Jewellery has since advanced to the use of glass such as murano glass, re-cycled jewellery such as aluminium, diamonds make up a large amount of jewellery with the main use for them being in engagement rings and wedding rings and all the gemstones that have been used in jewellery would not be there.

I think we can safely say people and life would be completely different and somehow not as colourful, jewellery has made a person feel dressed and especially for a woman can make them feel ready to go out into the world when they have a lovely piece of jewellery on.

Images sourced http://www.fotopedia.com/en/Samburu_people

“The Hope Diamond”

The deep blue hope diamond necklace is made up of 16 white diamonds which surround the blue and a further 45 more that actually make the necklace chain. The value you of this beautiful piece of jewellery would be in the millions today. However it is a piece of jewellery with history and it is the history behind this item that means not many will actually wear it.

What was originally designed to be one of the most extraordinary pieces of jewellery ever seen has now left a long legacy of deaths behind it, first starting with the person who had it he died of an unexplained illness and he had sold the necklace to King Louis XV. King Louise XV died and he left the necklace to his grandson who gave the piece of jewellery to his wife Marie Antoinette, these two were both beheaded during the French Revolution.

The list of deaths goes on and it was during this time a man called Sir Henry Thomas Hope, he did not believe in the curse and changed the name of the necklace to what we know as the “Hope Diamond”. But this did not stop the curse of the necklace and the Hope family went through many hardships and deaths within their family. It was the last owner of the Hope Diamond Harry Winston that actually decided to donate it to the Smithsonian Museum in 1958. Where now it is on display for the world to see and this exquisite piece of jewellery has only brought good news for the museum as it has increased the footfall as all want to see the most expensive piece of jewellery in the world.

It has intrigued many with its story and did in-fact inspire Titanic’s “Heart of the Ocean” necklace which is a replica of the Hope Diamond however this necklace uses cubic zirconia stones and for a sterling silver jewellery it gives the desired effect without having the price implication.

Jewellery heists aren’t just the stuff of movies. They actually do exist.

They may not be frequent or as straight forward as the movies would like you to believe as they do take a lot of careful planning and precision, which can sometimes take years to perfect.

Now we are a jewellery store with two beautiful shops which we are very proud of, so in no way are we promoting the idea of stealing jewellery; however we thought we would look back at some of the biggest jewellery heists in history!

The Museon Museum Jewel Heist

December 2002 saw jewellery thieves pull off one of the most mysterious diamond heists of all time.

The Museon – a science museum in The Hague, Netherlands – were due to host a diamond exhibit to educate the public about the gems. The museum had a collection of gems on display, including Royal Pieces such as a wedding gift given by King William III to Queen Mary II of England in the 1600s.

The Tuesday morning after the exhibit, museum officials arrived to find that six of the diamond exhibit’s 28 display cases were empty. They either disappeared on Sunday night or Monday morning as the museum closed on a Mondays, making the theft undetected for at least one day!

Security guards were monitoring all entrances and exits 24/7 as well as 24 hour surveillance cameras that covered ever section of the museum. The glass cabinets were in a motion detection zone and the displays that housed the valuable pieces were made of reinforced glass, making it almost impossible to break in.

To this day no one has any idea of how it happened. Nothing showed up on the video footage, and the guards saw nothing. The motion sensors never went off and the display cabinets had no evidence of being tampered with. There was only one sign of a break in, a smashed window leading to the museum, and of course the empty cases.

The complexity and precision of the heist proved that the thieves were receiving inside information but investigators weren’t able to make any connection between the museum staff and the robbery.

A price tag of $12 million was eventually put on the robbery; however the stolen pieces had historical significance making the haul completely priceless. The gems will probably never show up for auction as they are too famous to go unnoticed.

The case was reluctantly closed due to lack of leads.

Harry Winston Jewellery Heist

The Harry Winston jewellery store in Paris

One of the biggest jewellery heists in history was the strike on the Harry Winston store in Paris. On December 4^th 2008; $118 million dollars worth of jewellery was stolen.

Four armed robbers arrived at the store just before it was about to close and requested an entrance over the intercom. Three of them were dressed in drag, with long blonde tresses, sunglasses and winter scarves.

The foursome rocked up with a small suitcase on wheels and pulled out a hand grenade and a .357 Magnum, smashed all the display cabinets, shouted orders to employees, many of them by their first name. In less than 20 minutes they made off with millions of dollars worth of emeralds, rubies, and very large diamonds.

Original suspects included members of the Pink Panther gang that operates out of the Balkans who have been involved in other high-profile jewel thefts in the past, however they were ruled out when on June 22, 25 suspects were arrested.

Nothing has been said about whether the jewels were recovered or not.

Carlton Jewellery Store

The Carlton Hotel in France where the robbery took place

Yet another robbery in France and one of the biggest heists of all time. In 1994 the Carlton Jewellery Store in Cannes was robbed of $60 million dollars worth of stock.

This heist was more like the action thriller movies which saw three men burst into the Carlton Hotel’s jewellery store firing machine guns into the air. Store employees and customers panicked as the thieves quickly packed nearly $60 million dollars worth of jewels into their bags before they made their escape.

It was later found that the rounds were in fact blanks and that the thieves and their jewels are still at large.

Antwerp Diamond Heist

The Diamond Vault after the robbery

Antwerp is one of the two diamond capitals in the world, the other one being Dubai, in the UAE.

Eighty per cent of the world’s uncut gems go through Antwerp and most of them are stored in the underground vault of the Antwerp Diamond Centre building.

In 2003 the world’s largest diamond heist took place in Anterwerp, Belgium. Around $100 million dollars worth of jewels were stolen, making the crime one of the biggest hauls in the whole of history.

Four people were supposedly planning the theft and had been for years. The thieves rented office space in the building in 2000 and analysed the alarm system and learned exactly how they could bypass it. And it is still not known how they pulled off the heist as the vault was thought to be impenetrable.

Protected by ten layers of security, including infrared heat detectors, Doppler radar, a magnetic field, a seismic sensor and a lock with 100 million possible combinations, the thieves obtained the keys and made copies.

The thieves recorded over the security cameras and inserted fake tapes into the surveillance system to cover their movements.

And out of the 189 safety deposit boxes only 100 were emptied. The thieves had too many diamonds to carry and were forced to leave the rest unopened.

Diamond Centre employees came in to find loose diamonds all over the vault.

The thieves were later identified as a group known as the School of Turin – renowned for not using violence. The investigation made its way to Italy were most of the group were arrested.

One of the thieves had left his DNA on a half eaten sandwich among diamond carry bags dumped in a ditch around the crime scene.

Another thief’s DNA was found in the vault.

Leonardo Notarbartolo the leader of the gang had been storing diamonds at the Diamond Centre for years and had somehow passed all background checks.

He was later released from prison based on circumstantial evidence.

The $100 million dollars worth of gems have never been found.

If you are looking for your own jewellery that doesn’t break the bank then you need to get your hands on the beautiful charm bracelets from AllCharms.co.uk.

Their website has a wide collection of bracelets to suit everyone’s tastes including nomination charms and Italian charm bracelets to suit your taste and budget.

Visit AllCharms.co.uk today.