Thursday 29 December 2016

On the 5th Day of Christmas...

... this blogger gave to thee...
... five gold rings...
... four filmic covers...
... three low light lovelies...
... two sassy sweatshirts...
... an ode to 2016.

This year, I learnt something about the Twelve Days of Christmas, I've always assumed that days in the song, with gifts such as maids a milking, lords a leaping, ladies dancing, drummers drumming and golden rings, were all literal, however there's a theory that in fact all the days are paying homage to different birds. Thus making today about collared pheasants instead of rings, so, for today, there was a choice, five pictures of collared pheasants or necklaces... I went for necklaces to make a nice change from rings, although if you'd prefer pheasants, I'll arrange that for next year.


Kathrin Sättele's beautiful chain necklace is made up of continuous pieces of 18 karat gold wire, linked together to create a simple piece of jewellery, with the really wonderful and clever feature of each link also acting an easily detachable and invisible clasp.

I genuinely love this because of it's elegant simplicity. I also know how hard it is to pull off a necklace like this, my own attempt at a hidden clasp in a chain was easy for me but apparently impossible for everyone else. Something to go back to one day maybe.
Kayo Saito is one of my favourite jewellers, and her Petal Series is one of the main reasons. The Petal Necklace Gold No.1 is made up of texture rolled 18 karat gold discs, organically curt and curved to represent small petals strung to overlap on the necklace. Again its one of those lovely examples of  how keeping it simple can be really effective.

Susanne Wein's Untitled Necklace made of gold plated silver elements, with blackened silver leaf tops on a stainless steel cable is both simple and a little chaotic at the same time. Which appeals to me, I like that on this particular necklace the repetitive element is the structural portion of the piece and the ways it's strung - with lots of space between pieces and room to move - makes it organic. Plus, black and gold is always a win.

Etsuko Sonobe "Necklace2002, K18 Gold" is the most structural of the five on this list, consisting of open gold boxes and pearls hidden within. It's all about the structure and it's great. It even reminds me of this old wooden articulated snake toy we had at home when we were kids, which I was always fascinated by how it was made flexible and irritated by how often I would get my fingers caught between the grooves and pinched. I feel like - bar the pinching - this is how this necklace would feel flexibility wise. Strangely rigid and flexible at the same time.

Is it strange that my favourite part of Sara Domènech "Taglio Necklace" is the texture? I love hand-scratched matte gold finishes on jewellery. I love the structure of the interlocking sliced and bent discs feeding into one another, it's like it's four predecessors really simple, but add in that scratched finish and it just adds that little bit extra that softens the whole piece.

If you can sense a theme in these necklaces, you're correct, I couldn't help but pick necklaces with repeating elements which form chains, but all with a degree of the organic about them. There's something about the mix of organic forms and the structure repetition or structural forms and organic arrangement brings which I really enjoy. Even if I can't seem to explain why in a sensical way.

Anyway, I hope you liked this selection of some beautiful necklaces by some terrific designers and makers, and the departure from the traditional rings, however if next year you'd prefer the potentially more traditional pheasants, just say, it could make for a strange alternative for the fifth day of Christmas...


Merry Christmas! Part six tomorrow...

Fuck you 2016!


Link || Twelve Birds of Christmas by John R. Henderson
Link || Kathrin Sättele Website

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Listening: Sad Quick Christmas Song - Abed in Community (written by Ludwig Göransson and performed by Danny Pudi, in Season 2 Episode 11: Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas.)

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