In the short time Fiorelli have produced their costume jewellery collection it’s moved on to be a massive hit. It’s got enough sex appeal to quicken the pulse yet keeps it classic enough that each piece will have a lasting appeal. Combine that with quality manufacturing and materials that will last, beautiful packaging and an extremely attractive price point and it’s small wonder why it’s become the girl’s new best friend.

Fiorelli Costume Collection 6 model shot

Fiorelli’s latest costume collection brings the sixth round of classiness. A new wood effect stone has been added to compliment the existing turquoise and cubic zirconia pieces and there’s also a number of modern-retro pieces that evoke the luxurious stylings of the 1930s. Further, whilst the traditional Fiorelli Costume Collection silver look has been preserved, the gold pieces are also joined by a brass coloured outfit.

Here are a few highlights from the earrings; matching pieces are available for most and like the previous Fiorelli collections, there’s plenty of mix-n-match co-ordinates possible.

Fiorelli earrings with the new wood effect

Faux 1930s Fiorelli Earrings

Fiorelli Earrings with a cute bow design

Brass and turquoise Fiorelli chandelier earrings

These next earrings are what we see as the most decadent, luxurious and rich of the collection. We’ve shown them around and everyone is amazed at the price as the workmanship is that good:

Fiorelli CZ and Bead Drop Earrings

Lastly, in a nod to trend, friendship bracelets, spike jewellery a la Ben Amun and angular triangles make an appearance, perfect for younger women.

The Fiorelli Costume Collection 6 is now launching on good outlets including Make Me Sexy, Make Me Beautiful and Amazon.

Rodney Holman, the quality fashion jeweller, has returned with a further new collection of accessibly priced delights. Combining elegant shapes, quality stones, rhodium and 18 carat gold plating with an eye for the timeless the range includes clip on earrings together with matching necklaces and bracelets.

Due to launch in August at Make Me Beautiful the range promises to be a vintage collection for Rodney Holman. Speaking to us, David Stothart of Rodney Holman said:

“We know that times are tight for a lot of people right now which is why we’ve seen a surge in demand for our timeless pieces that are built to last. A lot of customers are realising that whilst some High Street stores are selling items at threadbare prices, the novelty of constantly needing to replace jewellery that quickly breaks or discolours soon wears off. The Rodney Holman collection, like our previous ranges, costs only a small sum more yet lasts years which in real terms makes it far more affordable.”

Classic and timeless equally doesn’t mean old and tired. Polyvore’s users have created a huge array of fashionable styles using clip on earrings from Rodney Holman’s current collections on Make Me Beautiful. The following three style sets all use the same clip on earring but show just how varied the outfit can be that goes with them!

Did you know that hallmarking is the oldest form of consumer protection? A hallmark is a stamp placed upon metals that are certified to be of a certain quality. Hallmarking in Britain can be traced back to 1300 when King Edward I passed laws that required all items sold as silver to meet a standard known as “Sterling Silver”. Guardians of the trade would independently certify that the silver met this standard and would stamp it with a special mark of a leopard’s head. But what is “Sterling Silver” and why is hallmarking still important?

The 925 Mark
Sterling Silver today is marked 925. This means it is certified to be 92.5% silver. The other 7.5% can be other metals; some jewellers for instance like to add a little rhodium as it makes the silver shinier than it would be otherwise. In the past, unscrupulous merchants cut their silver with cheaper metals like tin or iron and gold would also get mixed with brass. The result would be metals that weren’t worth what the customer was paying for them and in modern day times there have been scares over cheap jewellery. There are laws in the EU that prevent the use of metals like Nickel which are well known to cause irritation to the skin and allergies, but  in the USA there have been some big cases. In 2010 for instance, Wal-mart withdrew celebrity teenage Miley Cyrus jewellery after it was found to contain toxic cadmium. Claire’s Accessories also took action to withdraw lines that year. In both cases, the jewellery did not have a hallmark. To carry a hallmark, the jewellery would have needed to have been certified by an Assay Office who’s job is to ensure that consumers are protected.

What Might Happen?
The UK Government has recently put forward a proposal asking whether the public think that hallmarking regulations should be maintained in Britain. We strongly believe they should be for several reasons:

1. Hallmarking is independent – an Assay Office is an expert who works to protect you against substandard goods, regardless of what retailers or manufacturers say
2. Hallmarking makes prices fair – when you pay for 925 Sterling Silver (or other jewellery hallmarks like 990 Gold or 950 Platinum) you can be confident that that is what you are getting with no hidden nasties
3. Hallmarked goods hold their value – gold and silver prices have risen dramatically in recent years and a hallmark means your jewellery will benefit from that

Hallmarking creates trust. It keeps the industry safe from cheap and potentially dangerous fakes. Steve Bennett, CEO of GemsTV had this to say:

As Steve rightly says, these regulations are here in the interests of consumers. Please add your opinion to whether you want to keep them on the Government’s Red Tape Challenge website.

She’s dated a serial killer, she’s taken money to break a couple up and she’s drugged a man to get him into bed… you got it, it’s ABC soap opera General Hospital‘s bad girl Brook Lynn Ashton. Taking the her name from her Mum’s birthplace, Brook Lynn certainly has lived a little, yet her wild child antics are offset by the voice of an angel and a rock-and-roll look that keeps the fellas on their toes.

CollegeFashion.net, the US online magazine for stylish college girls written by college students for college students has been run a series of “inspired by” style articles. OK, so they’re not suggesting you should try to scam $50,000 from your Grandfather, steal a car or run away to Mexico but let’s just say there is a certain something about Brook that’s captured our hearts and eyes!

Key to catching Brook Lynn’s edgy style is going to be a rocking pair of ankle boots and some awesome earrings. In her Brook Lynn Ashton style guide, CollegeFashion.net stylist Shannon from DeSales University rates both gunmetal hoops and our Weathered Bohemian Disc and Crystal Clip On Earrings as being Brook’s style:

Weathered Bohemian Disc and Crystal Clip On Earrings

We also covered how the stylists on Polyvore had gotten many style miles from this clip on earring recently and it certainly seems that teaming them up with black denim and a top that’s your skin out is the most popular way to wear them. How do you wear yours? Do you like Brook Lynn’s style as Shannon put it together? Let us know! Pop your thoughts on the Brook Lynn Ashton style guide.

When the queen of British fashion gets together with the queen of British costume jewellery you know something special is about to happen! Zandra Rhodes has confirmed she’ll be collaborating with Adele Marie London to create the Zandra Rhodes for Adele Marie collection. Make Me Beautiful Magazine covered that there was a new clip on earring collection by Zandra Rhodes earlier today and here’s some of the official press release from Zandra Rhodes and Adele Marie at Pure London Fashion Show:

August 2011 will see the iconic British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes launch her range of vintage inspired jewellery in collaboration with Adele Marie, one of the leading costume jewellery brands in the UK.

The collection draws inspiration upon Zandra’s iconic internationally renowned creations and bears the hallmarks of this fashion celebrity who is famous for her creative statements, striking prints and passionate views.

Zandra’s vision for her new collection of jewels is to infuse her unique and eclectic style with current fashion trends to create a stunning modern day collection with sweeping statements from her earlier years. The collection incorporates the designer’s original textile work, featuring dramatic and unique prints, the range consists of retro necklaces, brooches and earrings.

The Zandra Rhodes Jewellery Collection transcends fashion and like her famous creations will become collector’s pieces of the future. Zandra Rhodes for Adele Marie is unmistakably a Rhodes creation that exudes timeless quality.

We also hear a rumour that some of the first items to ship from the collection will be hand signed! We can’t wait!

Nature is a constant source of inspiration. The constant change of seasons, the joy of the sun shining on your face, the elation of bird song, these all thrill us and as the warmer weather approaches and we start to think about getting outdoors, we’ve started putting together selections of earrings inspired by nature.

The first of these mix a range of charms together with feathers on a wood hoop to make an interest gathering piece:

Tickle Me Pretty Earrings - Camel

The Tickle Me Pretty Earrings range is available in 3 colours for pierced earring wearers via Make Me Sexy inlcluding Camel (pictured), Sea Green and Pink. For those of you preferring non-pierced earrings, it’s available in 5 colours as a clip on from Make Me Beautiful. That’s the same three basic colours plus two special editions – Plum and Forest:

Tickle Me Pretty Clip On Earrings - Plum

You’ll also find that you can get all 8 variations through Amazon. Although they vary in height, due to the natural feathers used, they run to up to 11cm tall making them a great bohemian touch.

Millefiori is a special type of glasswork that creates candy like glass beads with flowers on it. The name comes from Italian. Mille means thousand and fiore means flowers. In fact this type of Murano glass is quite complicated to make but the end result is so cheerful it’s worth all the effort!

Our new range of Candy Clip On Earrings brings this cute Italian style to your collection. In bold colours like blues and oranges, they’re sweet enough to want to suck on!

Glass Candy Clip On Earrings - Juicy Orange

Baby Candy Round Clip On Earrings - Blue

The new Millefiori clip on earring collection is now available on both Make Me Beautiful and Amazon UK.

American Express has long been the credit card of choice for those who want preferential treatment. It’s a small step, but we’ve added it to our list of payment choices for both online and telephone payments at Make Me Beautiful and Make Me Sexy. We still accept many other forms of payment including:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Visa Debit
• Maestro
• Switch
• JCB
• Diners
• Electron
• PayPal
• Cheque
• Postal Order

It’s always been our commitment to make online shopping safe, secure and simple. Our inclusion of Amex amongst our payment choices is another step towards being the online retail jeweller of choice and we look forwards to introducing many further small steps and innovations this year.

It’s the bird’s dilemma. On one hand you’re a caged animal. You can  flap your wings but you can’t fly away. On the other hand as long as you go on chirping your cheerful song, you’re cared for and fed. Is free really all that great?

Capturing the mood of being forever in two minds, our Vintage Style Bird Cage Necklaces have been our most loved item on Fashiolista on the day they were launched, beating the Circle and Shimmers Fish Hook Earrings from Make Me Sexy:

Love it!

Available in both aged silver or gold tone from Make Me Beautiful and Amazon, the design features a Victorian style frame around the caged bird, giving it a quirky vintage twist:

Vintage Style Bird Cage Necklace - Aged Gold

Wears wonderfully with wildly  bright lipstick and heels!

This week’s Polyvore style set was put together by Capsystyle from Italy. Bring on the fun, girlfriend! It features our new Rock Couture Crystal Mesh Clip On Earrings with some stunning bravado. Today, we’re loving you!

rock girl by Capsystyle featuring corsets tops