Anjolee review

I’m not a big jewellery wearer. I have a few necklaces – costume jewellery, mostly – and I wear a lot of brooches and pins, but I’ve never hung over a jewellery case salivating over a diamond bracelet. Owning something expensive and shiny would just make me anxious, I thought. My engagement and wedding rings are stressful enough (although I love them!) and I live in fear of dropping them down a plughole or somehow dematerializing them into the Dungeon Dimensions (I read a lot of Terry Pratchett). And so, in my quest to be a proper grown-up, I jumped at the chance to review a real, grown-up diamond necklace from Anjolee.

It was fun playing with the customizing features on the website and designing a necklace that I wanted, colours and all. And chain length, which I really liked – it bugs me when a pendant sits at just the wrong place. I ended by choosing the round gemstone and diamond pendant, with a garnet at the centre. I wore it out to a New Year’s Day dinner with our friends Theresa and Mike and their new baby, Marshall, and I loved it.

As well as pendants, Anjolee also sells tennis necklaces. I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t even know what a tennis necklace was (apart from the fact that they come as bracelets, as well), so I looked it up, and found this:

“The origin of the term “tennis bracelet” harks back to when renowned tennis champ, Chris Evert, lost her diamond bracelet in the middle of a tennis match. The clasp of the George Bedewi designer bracelet simply snapped, causing the expensive piece of jewelry to fall to the ground. Evert turned to the officials and requested that they stop the game until the precious inline diamond bracelet was found – and hence the term “tennis bracelet” was born.”

Did you know that? I didn’t. This sounds like one of those apocryphal stories made up after the fact, but quite a few different sources cite it – it may well be true! I always assumed it had something to do with the interlinked gems looking like a tennis net or the frets of a racket – or perhaps because the flexibility of the design made it possible to wear it while playing sports? Clearly I have thought too much about this. And, clearly, I need to buy a tennis necklace. Just for the story.

Thanks so much for letting me wear one of your diamond necklaces, Anjolee – I felt very sophisticated!

(And took it off very carefully and put it away as soon as I got home, because I don’t trust myself not to lose it).