Charmed, I'm Sure...

I am by no means a charm jewelry kind of girl. In fact, I'm really what you might consider a jewelry minimalist. I appreciate beautiful jewelry and I often find myself thinking I would like to wear more jewelry but this desire has yet to really materialize into anything substantial. However, when I was conceiving of this blog and thinking about my upcoming trip to Paris, this sudden urge to find the perfect Paris charm necklace overcame me. Something about the idea of such a necklace wooed me. If I'm not much of a jewelery collector, I'm absolutely not a trinket collector. But there is always something alluring about little Parisian reminders and I so wanted one for my neck.

Finding the right Paris charm necklace was no easy task. I came across a lot of cheap looking charms of the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe. I also came across some very studded and ornate pieces that just downright frightened me, almost to the point of relinquishing my search altogether. But then I found one that intrigued me. I was hesitant about two Eiffel charms on one necklace but the style was pretty much what I was looking for and the fact that the necklace is made in France (by Catherine Popesco for her line, La Vie Parisienne) ultimately convinced me to give it a chance and so I ordered it. I ordered it from Kristen Grace and it does come in antique gold as well for those of you who prefer gold:


The very day after ordering the above necklace, I came across the most charming online shop, French Garden House, where I found "it," the absolute ideal Parisian charm necklace I was looking for:

This lovely photo captured the essence of why I wanted a Parisian charm necklace to begin with. I really love the old silver, too. This necklace, unsurprisingly, is made by the same jeweler as the first necklace I ordered above. I love, love, love the little heart and the "Oui" tag. The necklace so embodies my feelings towards Paris: an endearing love of and continual impulse to say "yes" to Paris.

What makes this necklace even more special is the lovely proprietor of French Garden House, Liddy, and her lovely correspondence over email before my necklace arrived. And when it did arrive... she had packaged it so beautifully! Red and white toile tissue paper enveloped a precious handmade little ribbon-tied box that read "J'adore Paris." Inside was this beautiful necklace and a handmade Paris-themed tag also accompanied the package, along with a French Garden House postcard. It was likely the most lovely package I've ever received. Please visit her online shop for a myriad of lovely French treasures.

I thought that I would return the first necklace after finding this second one, but when it arrived (also packaged quite thoughtfully by Kristen Grace), I couldn't part with it. So, now I have two lovely necklaces. While the second one initially "spoke" to me more strongly, the first necklace has taken on new meaning. The two Eiffel Towers remind me of myself and my dear friend La Belette Rouge and our shared love of Paris and our upcoming trip to Paris in July.

So as not to be entirely partial to these charm necklaces made by Catherine Popesco's La Vie Parisienne line (although she does make several other lovely variations of this charm necklace and I am partial to her style), here are some other charm necklaces I came across.

For those of you looking for something VERY sassy and bold (warning! not for the faint of heart; in this particular necklace below, "sans culotte" translates to "without underwear"), particularly if you love a paradox, you'll appreciate (even if you can't bring yourself to actually wear one yourself) Locher's. And truly, her jewelry appears to be very well made and with such a whimsical touch:

"Paris On My Mind" Eiffel Tower charm necklace at DaWanda:


Eiffel Tower with Pink Flower and Black Bead by Rebecca Weiss at her Etsy shop:


Oh, and there are so many more charms to be found out there, believe me. Despite any aversion to charm necklaces that you may possess, there truly is something "charming" out there for everyone!