{"id":36979,"date":"2017-07-18T23:58:53","date_gmt":"2017-07-19T03:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=36979"},"modified":"2017-07-19T00:17:03","modified_gmt":"2017-07-19T04:17:03","slug":"jewel-of-the-month-queen-of-scots-tiara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/jewel-of-the-month-queen-of-scots-tiara\/","title":{"rendered":"Jewel of the Month: Queen of Scots Snake Tiara"},"content":{"rendered":"

I started work on July’s Jewel of the Month in January, shortly after Alyssa Brownell — one of my gorgeous jewelry designer friends<\/a> — got engaged. Alyssa, who has always had adventurous taste in jewelry, initially asked if my Cleves swan earrings<\/a> in 18K yellow gold and onyx could be her “something borrowed.”\u00a0 She’s worn them before.<\/p>\n

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Alyssa wearing the Cleves earrings.<\/p><\/div>\n

I said sure, but that I wanted her to have a “something borrowed that’s something new” too. I explained it to her in an email:<\/p>\n

“I have FOR YEARS envisioned a darkly romantic 18K yellow tiara … Not one of the giant, almost-crown type of bridal pieces, but something beautiful and noticeable yet still subtle, involving expert, hand-done work.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This isn’t the first time Alyssa got me to move a simmering idea off the back burner. In June’s Jewel of the Month post<\/a>, I wrote that she was one of reasons I finally got to work on my Queen of Scots snake ring:<\/p>\n

“I moved this long-planned design (I mean, I wanted to make it for 10 years<\/a>!) to the top of my to-do list because so many jewelry peeps I know wear (relatively) petite, vintage snake rings. My gorgeous friend Alyssa Brownell has an impressive collection of those<\/a>, including ones that are for sale<\/a>.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Some of Alyssa’s snake rings.<\/p><\/div>\n

As you can see, my snake ring isn’t delicate like the ones in Alyssa’s personal collection, but it’s the inspiration that counts! Alyssa still gets credit for ending my procrastination.<\/p>\n

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The newest jewel from my friend @wendybrandesjewelry is of my most favorite subject matter, A Snake! This hand carved magnificent beast has the most buttery gold satin finish diamond speckled scales and marvelous marquise diamond eyes. But the details that really get me are his arched nostrils and four sharpened fangs. #jewelrywithaface has never looked or felt better! Brava babes! Seen @metalandsmith<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Alyssa Brownell (@thejewelryaltar) on