Rebekah @ Beacon Hill Womens Forum - Tonite!

If you're in the Boston area tonite & looking for something interesting to do as you wind down from work before you start your night, come hear Rebekah give a brief talk about our business at The Hampshire House at 84 Beacon Street @ 6:30. Following her will be a longer talk from Vivian Spiro from The Boston Public Library, she'll be speaking on 'The Treasures We Keep: Preserving & Sharing Our History'. Should be a fun & engaging night! Free to the public - all are welcome. Link here.

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone enjoyed relaxing & restful time with their families & friends over the holidays. 2015 has been an amazing year for us! Full of so many changes, challenges and ultimately, growth. We hope it's been good for you. We're sincerely grateful & thankful to all of you, our incredible customers & clients who make doing what we do feel so worthwhile. Wishing you & yours a happy, healthy & prosperous New Year - here's to 2016!

Fall Colors

Some Fall color making it's way to the windows in Thornes Marketplace where our Northampton store is. The window designer did a great on this but one reason we wanted to show it off is our new busts in dark, red velvet that our talented assistant manager Nellie upholstered beautifully - and just in time for the change of season.

Nature's Gems

Rebekah made this necklace with her daughter outside the studio. Below are some specimens the kids found laid on the table. As the flowers dry their colors intensify - what could be more perfect?

Pop Up Shop Boston

We are pleased to be partnering with American Express & The Boston Marriott Long Wharf as part of their "Shop Small' initiative which brings local, small businesses directly to their guests. We were one of 8 hand selected businesses from the greater Boston area to participate. Proud to be a part of it & worth checking alone to discover all the other cool stores involved. A really nice plug here as well from Boston Mamma's blog relating to this. Now thru Nov. 30th!

 

June Birthstone Sale!

Join us this weekend in both locations and receive 15% off all Pearl Jewelry! Get a beautiful gift for all of the June Birthdays in your life.

Customer Profile : Maho

To kick off the new year we're featuring the first of a number of customer profiles on the blog. We're always interested in the lives of those who wear & enjoy our jewelry and what's meaningful & motivational to them. We've asked some of our good customers & thanks to all of them for taking part, we'll be publishing one per month. If you'd like to be involved please drop us an email.

Who are you & where do you live?

My name is Maho Ishiguro. I used to live in Northampton, but now live in southern Connecticut.

What are you up to these days?

I am a graduate student in ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University. So, I study music, culture and people's lives in my field, with focus on Javanese court music from Indonesia.  I spend most of my year reading, writing, presenting, practicing, performing and traveling to Indonesia. Also, planning our wedding in summer 2014, which I hope to wear some of Rebekah's pieces.  

What inspires you? 

Encountering amazing people and interactions with them.

  

How would you define your personal style?

Fashion-wise, I try to give lots of attention and respect to colors.

Life style-wise: pelan, tapi tentu which means "to proceed slowly, but with absolute certainty. "

Vintage or Contemporary?

Contemporary

How did you discover Rebekah’s jewelry?

Before going to Wesleyan, I was finishing my master's degree at Umass Amherst, and living in Northampton. I went into Thornes to find some christmas presents for my family and found Rebekah's jewelry in her store. Ever since, for most of special occasions that call for presents (such as xmas, anniversary, and birthdays), I asked my fiancee for a piece of jewelry from her. 

Do you have a favorite piece & why?

I love every single one of them. I wear at least a piece of Rebekah's everyday. Her jewelries have traveled to so many places with me-- Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, the UK etc. They all have special memories and occasions embedded to them as I received them from my fiancee. If I must choose one favorite--the blue topaz earrings, the one I am wearing in the picture. I have worn them at several performances and I always perform well when I wear them. I think they bring me luck and confidence (plus my fiancee won them at one of the drawings a few years ago at the Northampton store!) 

What keeps you looking good?

I try to study at least one dance tradition each year-- this year I started to learn Bharatanatyam which is a dance tradition from South India. Awareness of the engagement between my body, sensation of movements and music keeps me alive in the moment. 

Tax Free Weekend!!

Stop by either location all weekend! It is Tax Free Weekend in Massachusetts. Hope to see you there!

Victorian Jewelry (Circa 1840-1890)

Victorian Jewelry (Circa 1840-1890)

The second day of our 'Antique Jewelry Primer' brings us to the Victorian era. Probably our collective favorite & the period which inspires us most in terms of our own aesthetic sensibility. Delicate, intricate motifs (often inspired by nature) prevailed with floral motifs and symbolic themes found on rings, lockets, brooches and earrings. 

 Victorian Cameo Necklace

Queen Victoria influenced much of the fashion of the world.  By the mid century, and with the death of Prince Albert, the Queen went into a long period of mourning and black jewelry came into fashion.  Jet jewelry is timeless and strikingly contemporary as it goes with so many of our own (current) fashion trends. Later in the century, silver jewelry again took its place as diamonds and pearl set jewelry were once more in style. The end of the Victorian Era saw a move towards color & light with jewelers invoking more feminine styles &  brightening their designs with emeralds, sapphires & spinel. 

Georgian Jewelry (Circa 1714-1835)

Georgian Jewelry (Circa 1714-1835)

We covet any treasure from this elegant era of jewelry history! Tastes and style changed considerably over the span of this era. The start of the period was mainly gold and silver with diamonds, sapphires and emeralds. Later though, the fall of the aristocracy and neo-classicism led jewelry designs into a different world altogether - one of less costly materials and semi-precious gem stones. During this time, a rising middle class began to afford the luxury of jewels and finery. Paste jewelry came into vogue as a substitute for diamonds by a growing middle class that couldn't quite afford them. Pastes (which are glass composites) are softer than ordinary glass but have a higher index of refraction and dispersion that give them great brilliancy and fire. Quality paste stones from this era were faceted & polished in the same way an actual diamond would've been cut - and often, no less beautiful.

 This stick pin is a simple example of paste jewelry from the end of the Georgian era.  

 

New Antiques Available Online!

We have been working hard to collect some more amazing antiques, and have only now had enough time to post them to our web store. There is a small collection of new antiques posted on the site, you can check them out here. These are some photos to show you some of the great pieces that are now being offered. Of course, because they are all one of a kind be sure to grab them quickly! And check back often for more antiques or stop into one of our stores.

Antique Sale in Northampton Store!

Come to our Northampton Location this weekend and get 15% off our Antique Jewelry! We will also be having a drawing for a chance to win a free pair of earrings, so be sure to stop by.

Black Friday Promotion!

Join us for our Black Friday promotion!

Holiday Gift Guide 2012: Winter Colors!

For week three of our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide we are focusing on winter colors.  Deep red garnet pieces make the perfect holiday gifts as they compliment the winter palette so well.  We have garnet earrings for every price point- from $25 up. Featured are the Small Circle Earrings in 14K gold vermeil ($85).

Gift Ideas 2012- Earrings!

For week two of our series on gift ideas for the upcoming holiday season, we are featuring our earring racks.  All of our earrings on these two displays on our floor are $25-$75 and made out of all precious metals and real gemstones.  They make the perfect affordable gift!

Our Four Year Anniversary!

We are so pleased to announce that our Northampton store is now four years old!  Come celebrate our anniversary with us next weekend!

Our New Website!

Our new website is live- check it out!    

http://www.rebekahbrooks.com/p/welcome-to-rebekah-brooks.html

Gilded Windows at our Cambridge Store

One of the things we have most been looking forward to at our Cambridge store is completing our window signs.  We were lucky enough to have Sandra Spannan, an amazing artist, create the gilded gold leaf signage for our windows.  We are honored that we got to collaborate with such a talent- check out her other amazing work at www.see-painting.com!

Huge Fall Sale!

Join Us for Our Summer Sale!