For centuries, pearls have been a symbol of prestige and elegance. Historically worn by royalty in Europe and Asia, pearls are amongst the favourite gems of powerful political and business ladies. Designer and trendsetters such as Coco Chanel brought these iridescent gems into everyday wear and helped make them so fashionable today. With so much choice available now, how should pearls be worn at work?
More accessible white pearl jewellery can be also found made from high quality freshwater pearls from China.
A white pearl necklace and earrings are the classic pieces of jewellery for the office. Traditionally these are made from Japanese Akoya pearls, loved for their exquisite round shapes, pink overtone and high lustre. More accessible white pearl jewellery can be also found made from high quality freshwater pearls from China. Larger and more expensive silvery white pearls are cultured in the deep oceans from Thailand to Australia.
There is, though, an astonishing diversity of shapes and colors of pearls available today. Round, drop, oval, button, exotic baroque and circled shapes have made pearls an inspiring gem for jewellery designers. In particular, Tahitian pearls with black, silver or grey colors and shimmering green, blue, purple or peacock overtones provide a more contemporary style.
In general, the larger and rounder the pearl, and the stronger its shine and perfect its surface the more expensive it will be.
As pearls capture light and illuminate the face with a flattering glow, pearl jewellery is versatile and very suitable for the office. Discrete and stylish, round Akoya pearl earring studs will match a wide range of professional attire. A freshwater pearl bracelet with eye-catching natural pink and orange colors will lighten a dark suit. A Tahitian peacock necklace or grey pendant with a sparkling diamond will similarly bring modern refinement to the boardroom.
Buying high quality pearl jewellery can be a daunting process as prices and pearls themselves vary so broadly. In general, the larger and rounder the pearl, and the stronger its shine and perfect its surface the more expensive it will be. To make an investment to last a lifetime, focus on the quality of its lustre and perhaps compromise with your budget on the size or shape of the pearls.
For fabulous pearl jewellery and assistance contact Winterson.
www.pistachio-jewellery.co.uk/
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Canary Wharf gets top marks from WATC as a great place to shop for high street brands. We are not in the least bit surprised that all the major retailers have jumped on the tube from the City and West End and got off at Canary Wharf to serve it’s population of 97,000 hungry office workers and shoppers. The introduction of the shopping mall just over five years ago and its subsequent extension back in 1996, has enabled Cabot Place and most recently Jubilee Place to rate easily alongside the likes of the Lakeside shopping centre (although on a smaller scale). However, if you are looking for unique boutiques, you will not find them in either shopping area, but all in all, well worth a visit if you don’t want to street hop in the City or take a tube up the West End to find what you need.
There are two main areas to shop in Canary Wharf. The largest one is Cabot Place, the second is Jubilee Place. Both are within a few minutes walk of Canary Wharf tube.
Cabot Place runs either side of 1 Canada Place. The East and West side (the west being the smaller side) are full of high street brands. As with every shopping centre, all areas are interspersed with fast food outlets and service based retail units (i.e travel agents, opticians, shoe repairers, card and gift shops).
The easy way to approach the mall is from the East side which is where John Lewis is located. Where it gets a little complicated is how you cross between the East and West side at a street level as you need to walk across the lobby of 1 Canada Square.
Heading away from the West side on the Promenade level, there seems to be an emphasis around the provision of services, e.g travel agents, opticians, shoe care etc, our particular favourite during our journey onwards was Charbonnel et Walker (Chocolatier). There are various fast food outlets that exist in this section of the mall, such as Oi Bagel, Pret and soon to open Wasabi. Pass the exit to Canada Square (and Canary Wharf tube) and again the theme seems to be services, e.g cashpoints
The real high street shopping experience seems to start here with clothes shops, Topshop, Hobbs, Ted Baker, Warehouse and Dorothy Perkins. This theme continues as you walk pass the Canada Place entrance on to Monsoon, Wallis, Oasis and Next. As you head towards John Lewis (full store over 2 levels) the last stops are Gap and Fat Face. The Rejuvenation MediSpa or the Gentry Hair & Spa are located here and are a definite recommendation for a treatment at the end of a heavy shopping day.
Across the concourse to the East side for Austin Reed (Workwear), Thomas Pink (Shirts), Gap Kids (Childrens wear), Jones & Church’s (shoes).
Jubilee place across is again a few minutes from Canary Wharf tube (on the same side as Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley). There is only a promenade level at Jubilee Place. Again there is a definite emphasis on high street brands such as French Connection, Karen Millen, LK Bennett, Reiss, Whistles, TM Lewin, Choice and Phase Eight for clothes, L’Occitane and Jo Malone for Beauty. Marks and Spencer’s food and a large Boots are also located here, for eateries in Jubilee place, try Wagamama or Nando’s.
Spitalfields is a wonderful and diverse shopping experience, due to it’s array of unique boutiques and outlets. The fact that the developers deliberately avoided having high street retailers is what makes Spitalfields such a special place to browse and shop, it’s the sort of place you shop when you don’t quite know what it is that you want, one could describe it as shopping by inspiration.
Different sets of people wash through Spitalfields depending on what day you choose to shop there. During the week you will see mostly the lunchtime crowd and tourists all bustling around the wonderful eateries, shops and market stalls, however come the weekend the suits disappear and the local residents emerge as do visitors from all walks of life. If you visit on a Sunday, make sure you take in the Old market, Petticoat Lane or Brick Lane, all of which are just a few minutes walk away.
Despite the modern feel to Spitalfields, the developers have done their best to retain the heritage of the original shopping units that run around the periphery of the new complex, this creates the perfect fusion of old and new and sort of sums up shopping at Spitalfields. When shopping in Spitalfields make sure you broaden your trip and investigate the surrounding streets (Lamb Street, Brushfield Street & Commercial Road).
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