Totally Charmed: Jewellery With Something To Say

By Nicola Campbell

Laura Bond’s charm necklaces, layered with personal messages and a little irreverence.

A little love, a private joke or some much-needed fighting spirit. Creating a charm necklace at Laura Bond’s Edinburgh boutique is a chance to say something personal.

I always derive a particular pleasure in visiting Laura Bond’s boutique, and it goes beyond getting a piercing or trying on jewellery. I’ve been in with my daughters and for myself, and always enjoy the atmosphere: women comparing notes, encouraging each other and having the most lovely time sharing a little moment while choosing something entirely for themselves. So when Laura sent me an invitation to come in and build a necklace from the new Keepsake collection, I was already halfway through the door.

Lucky me, I’d had the head’s up on this new direction for Laura Bond while recording the new series of The Hood Podcast, which introduces our What I Wore format. As one of our guests, Laura arrived wearing a gorgeous necklace stack and, inevitably, we got talking about it. These were standout pieces she’d designed with the women who visit her boutique in mind, drawing on the stories they share and the occasions that bring them in.

Some come to celebrate. Others are marking a change they might never have chosen. As Laura explained during our podcast conversation, she wanted to make jewellery you could give someone going through a divorce, as well as pieces that express and celebrate love. Hearts have their place in her designs, but so does a well-judged swear word.

Something To Say

Laura’s superpower is understanding how personal jewellery can be. A necklace might look lovely to everyone else while carrying a message that only its wearer knows is there. Laura describes that feeling as armour, something you put on for yourself, according to who you are and what you need that day.

Take the Wanderer Compass Medallion. It carries “Go Your Own Way” on the back, a nod to Fleetwood Mac with obvious appeal for anyone striking out on her own. The Caledonia Thistle Charm has “What’s for you won’t go by you”, surely every Scottish mum’s favourite saying. And, yes, I’ve reached the age where the words I heard from my own mother have a habit of coming out of my mouth.

There’s affection and humour here, without everything being relentlessly upbeat. A big birthday and a big divorce are very different occasions, but both might warrant a present from someone who knows you well. Choosing the message is part of the pleasure, particularly when your giftee would prefer a little dark humour to a heartfelt declaration.

Choosing My Own

A few favourites from Laura Bond’s Keepsake charm collection: the Wanderer Compass Medallion, shown front and back, “These Are the Good Old Days” and my chosen Smoky Quartz Charm.

So to my creation. I started with The Keepsake Diamond Cut Necklace Chain, then spent rather longer considering the charms. “These Are the Good Old Days” nearly came home with me. I love the sentiment, particularly the reminder to appreciate what’s happening now rather than waiting to recognise it in retrospect.

At the last minute, though, I switched to the Smoky Quartz Charm, with its little heart detail on the back. Laura describes the stone’s traditional associations with protection, strength and grounding, presenting it as a reminder to trust yourself and keep going. I liked the thought behind it, and the charm itself is perfect for my autumnal wardrobe of soft tones of tobacco and caramel. I have a feeling though it will also work as well come summer too.

I know I’ll be back to add to it. The collection is growing and I am holding out for the birthstone collection - coming soon - as I’m thinking of three birthstone charms to represent me and my gorgeous girls. So yes, a charm can mark a birthday, carry a private joke or simply be the piece someone spotted and knew you’d love. There’s no requirement to tell your entire life story on one chain. And that’s what this collection is all about.

The Fearless Medallion, with its “No Guts, No Glory” message, is on my radar, although I’m holding out for another design she told me about during the podcast. “Head High & Fuck ’em All” pairs a pretty pendant with advice that is unlikely to have come from my Scottish mother, but which I suspect she might occasionally have appreciated.

I can already think of a few friends who would wear it with pleasure. They’ll have to wait until I’ve secured my own.

Explore the collection at laurabond.com. Laura will also be joining us on the new series of The Hood Podcast.