Bejewelled Tuesday

I have a confession. I'm not really a rabbit. Nope. I'm a magpie. I have so much jewellery. It's an affliction I've inherited from my mother, as I've mentioned before. But especially now that most clothes are off the menu, I'm really enjoying all my necklaces, earrings, bracelets and baubles. I've only just come up with this as a weekly feature - but I thought I'd start profiling some of my favourite pieces, both in my collection and things I've seen on my virtual and real life travels.

Two of my most precious, cherished pieces are Alex Monroe necklaces given to me by my lovely sister. Here I'm wearing them layered - one is the tiniest butterfly with an even tinier green sapphire droplet, which she gave me for my Ph.D. graduation. The second piece was a pre-wedding gift, a charming little scene of branbles, a curious little mouse and a book. I wore it for my vintage afternoon tea-hen do.

Alex Monroe's pieces are everything I love most about jewellery - delicate, whimsical, pretty beyond words. There are so many pieces I love, it's hard for me to even pick some, but the piece I would dearly love to add to my collection next is one that has particular emotional resonance for me with my own little family in the making:

Birds and Nest Ring, £135

All this means I'm very excited that Alex Monroe is collaborating with Evans on a costume jewellery collection titled Miss Alouette, inspired by William Morris' nature designs. Of course, the daintiness and detail of his fine pieces is hard to replicate at high street prices, but this is still some of the prettiest fashion jewellery you will find out there. I'm impatiently awaiting the launch date to be announced!