My Vivienne Westwood Jewellery Collection
My friends. Today I want to introduce you to my Vivienne Westwood jewellery collection… or at least a part of it! If truth is told, I have way, way, way more than that you see in these photos! Anyway, I wanted to share it with You and hopefully tell you w little white the size, quality, design and so much more! My friends! This is my Vivienne Westwood jewellery collection as well as review of the jewellery in general.
Vivienne Westwood Jewellery Review
I bought most of my collection years ago, so if you are looking at it all and thinking you don’t recognise any of it, that might be why. However, that’s also pretty handy for the purposes of this post as we can see how it’s aged. Most of my Vivienne Westwood jewellery is made of rhodium, which I’m never 100% sure what it is, it’s apparently more expensive than sterling silver, but aside from that, all I know is that it’s lasted really well and still looks great after all these years.
However, some of my rings are made of 925 sterling Silver which has tarnished a little over time, but polishes up beautifully and wears really well.A lot of my Vivienne Westwood jewellery features crystals and whilst I’ve had the odd casualty, on the whole eight years on, all the jewellery and crystal work is holding up very well!
I did have a few pieces of Vivienne Westwood Perspex jewellery; but I sold them years ago as I just wasn’t that into them. They seemed fine quality, I just didn’t love them as much as the metal items. I was also worried if I dropped them, they might break.
Vivienne Westwood Sample Sales
Years ago Vivienne Westwood used to hold an annual sample sale in her London studio in Battersea and I can’t deny… it was AMAZING! If I remember rightly, I got a pair of pirate boots for around £80, all necklaces were £40 and bags were around £100. Like it was GOOD! I remember going and spending around £300 and coming out with so much I struggled to get it home on the bus! Which is crazy as now that would be a small handbag or a couple of pieces of jewellery. However, they no longer do the annual studio sample sales because they opened their Bicester Village Store. Let’s discuss!!
Pros & cons
Pros: high quality, beautiful designs, beautifully package, can be stacked, great gifts , cool girl style, good resale value as styles become collectible
Cons: costume jewellery
Vivienne Westwood Bicester Village
I have been to the Vivienne Westwood Bicester Village store a fair few times and bought something, probably multiple things every single time I’ve been. In my experience, it’s a great shop with some really cool pieces in. I got a beautiful dress, an overnight bag I still adore and if I remember rightly, a fair bit of jewellery too.
Like everything at Bicester Village, my advice would be to look out for past season stock, rather than ‘samples’. As these items are often garments or bags which have been made using scraps of unwanted fabrics, old leathers or are simplified versions of classic stock. For instance, Mulberry sell their suitcases in store for around £1200 (last time I checked!) but they have a simplified version in their Bicester Village store which are around £800, but they have been made using a lesser quality leather, less hardware and it’s generally a simplified, less high quality product. So you are getting what you pay for, even though it’s less than the regular store price. However, if Mulberry had made luggage in yellow with red trim, one season (which I would personally LOVE!), if it had not been popular with their customers, it would very likely end up in their Bicester Village store for £800 and in this case it would be the quality and standard of the £1,200 luggage. Does that make sense?!
Anyway, my point is, try to find the ex-sale stock and hope that you find a hidden gem in a slightly unusual colour way which is perfect for you, but doesn’t work for someone else. That’s my general rule for shopping at Bicester Village. Just so you know! Anyway, I’ve always found the Vivienne Westwood at Bicester village to be pretty great! One of my favourite finds being an overnight bag which I still love and use often!
Vivienne Westwood Pearls
I love the Vivienne Westwood Pearl jewellery and some of my favourite pieces have been the strings of pearls and pearl embellished brooches. I think Vivienne Westwood does pearls SO well! All the pearls they use are Swarovski and generally you will see that they have been hand knotted. This is the traditional and more expensive way of stringing pearls, between each and every pearl bead there is a hand tied knot to secure the pearl. It’s a much more time consuming method of stringing the pearls, but it’s a really beautiful finish and a sign of quality. If you ever see a Vivienne Westwood Pearl necklace which hasn’t been strung this way… you might want to question it’s authenticity, but that’s a post for another day!
Is Vivienne Westwood Jewellery Real Silver?
The Vivienne Westwood rings are generally real silver, where as the jewellery is usually brass and rhodium plated, which as I mentioned above, is great quality. Also there are some exceptions to the rule, for instance I have a pendant which is full sterling silver. You can either look for a hallmark or you can ask the sales assistant.
Does Vivienne Westwood Jewellery Tarnish?
In my experience, the sterling silver rings may tarnish a little over time, but they will polish beautifully with a good jewellery cloth and maybe a little silver cleaner, but this will be after years and lots of use. As for the necklaces which aren’t silver, I’ve been pleasantly surprised that in the 8-10 years that I’ve owned my pieces, they all look really beautiful and non-tarnished. However, I would never wear them in the shower, on the beach and I do store them carefully, which does really help!
Is Vivienne Westwood Jewellery Worth The Money?
Personally, I say yes, Vivienne Westwood jewellery is totally worth the money! My pieces are all 8-10 years old now and they still look fantastic. However, I would say to look after your jewellery; don’t wear it in the shower or at the beach / swimming pool / hot tub. Also, try to store it in the box where possible and if you won’t be wearing it for a while, it might even be worth storing it in a little jewellery bag too, which is something I often do to keep it airtight. Buy the pieces you love which you know you will wear, keep the box and any proof of purchase if you can and if you do decide you want to sell any pieces on, you will be surprised to find they have a brilliant resale value! Some of my pieces which I sold went for MORE than I paid for them! Also, if you do find a piece you love at Bicester Village or on sale – snap it up if you love it!
Just A Reminder, Get 20% Off At The Real Real…
Just a quick reminder for you all, if you are shopping for Vivienne Westwood, or any other designer brand, you can get 20% off with the code REAL at therealreal.com, it’s a really amazing discount code and they have incredible stock! So use the code at the check out for a really helpful 20% off!
Are Vivienne Westwood bracelets real silver?
There are a few piece of Vivienne Westwood jewellery and bracelets which are still made from real sterling silver, however, most are made from Rhodium plate. Vivienne Westwood jewellery is great quality, but not much of it is made from sterling silver.
Are Vivienne Westwood Earrings Good Quality?
Yes! Vivienne Westwood earrings are great quality and if you look after them correct (store well, don’t wear in the shower and don’t spray perfume near them) then they will last you for years and you will adore them!
My Favourites…
There’s quite a few pieces of Vivienne Westwood which I no longer wear, which is fair enough, I mean, some of it is 10 years old now. However, there are still plenty of pieces I love and wear frequently. I still love wearing the Oak leaf and acorn necklace, especially in the colder months. I never tire of the rings, especially the square bone ring. The safety pin Orb brooch is really cool and I love the heart pendant which has a watch inside. But I think one of my favourite pieces EVER, has to be the small apple brooch! I love it so much!
Watch My Vivienne Westwood Jewellery Collection Video
Go Shopping!
I hope this post has been of help! Let me know if you have any questions. Also, this post contains affiliate links.
