All I want for Christmas are… necklaces

Jewellery is the perfect Christmas gift, from gold hoops to pendant necklaces, the possibilities are endless. 

“Jewellery is different as a gift, because it lasts forever.”

We spoke to Siobhan, the jewellery designer behind Sweet Pea, about all things gifting and jewellery.

Necklace. Not everyone has pierced ears. If you go for rings, it's more difficult because of sizes. I always suggest necklaces are the best for gifts because the sizing is not such an issue. 

The short necklace from our Starry Starry Night collection. We also have earrings and a longer necklace, bracelets, and rings. It's just an organic oval with a star set with a really small diamond. It's very Christmas. It's like the star on top of the Christmas tree. It just has a twinkle. It's very sweet and it's one of our best sellers. You can’t go wrong.

The necklace from our Pogo Punk collection is the piece that represents Sweet Pea the best. It's asymmetrical. We do it in ruby, in blue sapphire and emerald, which is green. And we also do it in a lavender colour, which is tanzanite and amethyst mix for a lighter summary feeling, and a turquoise and a blue topaz. We do it in five different colourways and it's reminding me of the punk days where everything was a bit mixed up and a bit messy.

I’d look at what they wear. Their colouring and what they wear because some people don't mind something very strong and then other people like tawny colours. It depends. I look at their personality and their clothing and their lifestyle.

You can't go wrong with diamonds, they suit everyone. No one is going to say they don’t like diamonds. And they go with everything.

If you're thinking colour, then sapphires, my favourite gemstone. I think blue is the most sold colour. I haven't actually done scientific research about this, but I think there is something psychologically about blue. It’s also my favourite colour.

The sapphire drops are probably the most gifted. It's just so sparkly, but it has colour and depth and it's real and people understand sapphire. You could have a beautiful aquamarine that might be worth more, or an amethyst, but people think of sapphires as being just under diamonds.

Sapphire is a hard stone, so it’s a good stayer. It's going to be with them forever. They can pass it on.

The Gold Dust necklace, which is lovely but quite expensive because it’s very unusual and labour intensive. This is probably the piece, it’s absolutely gorgeous, and it really twinkles. Because of the labour in it, it's more expensive, but it's beautiful and it's worth every penny. 

It's been the same for decades. The tree, the Christmas decorations. Love. They have to go up on Christmas Eve, because it has to be special. It’s getting the Christmas decorations up on Christmas Eve and then I always make the stuffing for the family get together and that's got so many ingredients, that takes ages. So I make this special stuffing, Siobhan stuffing, I’ve been doing it for nearly 50 years and the Brandy butter. That’s my job. That's what I do.