Whatever your budget, statement jewellery can transform your wardrobe

Whatever your budget, statement jewellery can transform your wardrobe - The Telegraph

Posted: 08 Aug 2018 12:00 AM PDT

I am a great believer in wearing a piece of colourful and fun jewellery, particularly in the summer. It focuses the beholder on something other than my tired face! I admire Iris Apfel whose bold style is unmissable, but I don't have that sort of confidence or desire to stand out - instead I look for fun pieces which will work with my eclectic summer wardrobe.

I recently took my granddaughter Matilda to see the Masterpiece exhibition in London. We spent a very happy afternoon ogling the jewellery in particular. The size of some of the precious stones was spectacular and together we marvelled at what it must be like to wear such beautiful treasures; we chose a tiara from SJ Phillips and a particularly magnificent emerald drop from Moussaieff to wear in our dreams. Anna Wintour famously wears lovely, multi-coloured Georgian collet necklaces, modern copies of which can be found on Etsy. For beautiful semi-precious pieces look at Pebble, The Talisman Gallery and Pippa Small.

To be honest, Matilda was really more interested in the horse bronzes on the Sladmore Gallery stand, but we had a very happy time followed by tea and carrot cake and a visit to Zara around the corner, where we indulged in a little retail therapy.

Orange resin earrings, £12.99, Mango; Valentino gold leaf earrings, £310, Net-a-Porter; Faceted glass bead necklace, £220, Pebble London

I have always loved jewellery, both real and costume. A bold, chunky necklace is the best distraction from a tired face. Earrings I love: the larger the better and fortunately there are a lot of big, dangling ones to choose from at the moment. In the summer, big hoops always look good, as do beaded chandeliers: Vicki Sarge is an all-time favourite of mine. Chunky chains in gilt or silver look so chic during the day, or a finer, longer chain with a big drop is a winner with lower necklines. An armful of bangles looks pretty with informal summer clothes, too.

There is quite a market for vintage costume jewellery such as YSL and Chanel. Look at Vestiaire, Farfetch and Etsy where you will find a good selection. It is not cheap of course because it is highly collectable, but because of that you can consider it a good investment. Many international brands, including YSL and Chanel, have costume jewellery collections. Some of Mrs May's statement necklaces come from Marni but you could also look at Valentino, Dior and Gucci.

Enamel earrings, £80, Essentiel Antwerp; Red is the colour of love necklace, £450, Vicki Sarge; Vintage Chanel bracelet, £384, Vestiaire Collective

I recently visited Anthropologie where they almost always have a very pretty collection of fashion jewellery. The same applies to many of the high street shops such as H&M, Mango, Zara, Topshop and Accessorize. Don't be put off by the fact that some of the collections seem aimed at the relatively young. The jewellery is great fun for summer wear and can be brought out year after year, or given to a granddaughter, which is probably what I shall eventually do with several of the pieces I have bought. After all, there definitely won't be a tiara coming her way, I'm afraid!