These are for me, the recipients of Tudor Grace, Rivolo, and another scarf that won't materialize until Christmas 2010.
The heart on the right is for me.
I am not sure who will get the others. Maybe I'll let my sister decide which she prefers and the others will go to other folks by drawing out of the hat.
I have to say that the lapis lazuli necklace (for me) is a bit disappointing, especially for the cost. Though touted as real, I don't think these are real lapis stones but merely painted jewelry beads. Very annoying. At least two of the beads look as though the color is peeling/wearing away. The craftsmanship is fine, but the stones are of dubious quality. This photo is crap, no light the day I took them, but maybe you can see that the stones aren't stellar by any stretch of the imagination.
On to the shawl pins.
Now, I get that one of the appeals of copper is that it tarnishes and takes on a life of its own, the beautiful green/bronze patina.
The shawl pins from Romi all came highly polished and perhaps even with a lacquer coating to prevent oxidation that results in the color changes to the metal.
Though you can't tell from the photo, the shawl pins from Bebe's Baubles (an Etsy shop) while groovy, were not polished at all. I don't know if I should experiment and try to clean them or if I should leave them as is and hope for the best:
Second groovy but tarnished BB pin:
So what I have are two very, very groovy swirly/angular pins and a necklace from Bebe's Baubles that looked better online than in real life. The two pins might look better if I can raise the patina faster or if I can shine them up and remove what looks like silver tarnish if such a thing is ever possible on copper. The necklace, though, if these are just manufactured beads, well, nothing can save it as the wear is already apparent.
The verdict is two thumbs up for Designs by Romi; no thumbs up yet for Bebe's Baubles.
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