Lolo and Galago’s Short History of Christmas

Lolo and Galago’s Short History of Christmas

It’s less than a month until Christmas, and although at Lolo and Galago we’re counting down until we launch our jewellery collections as much as we are until the festivities, we believe in embracing and understanding our culture and surroundings to help us come up with all sorts of fantastic inspiration for our designer pieces. So we wanted to learn a little more about Christmas- where did Santa come from? Why do we have Robins on Christmas cards?

Here are our findings on what is truly a remarkable and inspiring day.

Where did Santa come from? 

Most of us know St Nicholas- a Saint living over 1,700 years ago who was famed for using his wealth to give to the poor. He became even more famous when he refused to worship Emperor Diocletian and endured years of imprisonment before being released. 

Over the years, St Nicholas (Sinter Klass in Dutch- which became Santa Klass and eventually Santa Claus) and his generosity and kindness became well known and transformed him into one of the World’s best known bringers of joy. 

Why do we hang up stockings for presents?
One of the more famous stories surrounding St Nicholas was that of a poor man who couldn’t give his daughters presents for their wedding day. According to tradition, St Nicholas left them presents in their stockings which had been hung up to dry for the big occasion. The story stuck, and since then we all hang our stockings up in hope of receiving a gift. 

Why do we have to be asleep to get presents?
Ahem. The reason for this is because good old Saint Nicholas did not like his fame, and deliberately tried to avoid crowds seeing him doing his good deeds. And so it was said that, if you were asleep, you stood a better chance of being on the receiving end of his generosity. 

Why do we have Christmas Trees?
At any other time of year, the prospect of putting up a tree inside our house would be very odd indeed. However, bringing foliage into our houses has been practiced by the Egyptians, Romans and even European Druids- often as a means of symbolising future harvests. It was Germany, some 500 years ago, that introduced actual trees rather than branches and shrubs, and, according to legend, Martin Luther who first added candles to the tree to capture the beautiful star-lit sky he saw one night for his family.

Whether true or not, we were touched by Luther’s desire to provide his family with some of the beauty nature had to offer. And in many ways, that’s an attitude not too dissimilar to what we do at Lolo and Galago.

As we approach the festive season, we wish you all the very happiest of Decembers.  

Statement Pieces – L &G’s Favourite Picks

Statement Pieces – L &G’s Favourite Picks

One of the hottest statements this season is Statements Pieces - Wherever you go Statement Pieces are everywhere.

Recently as seen on the catwalk, all the big designers where showcasing their big statement pieces Lanvin and Yves Saint Laurent went all out for statement jewellery. Some of favourites include:

LANVIN

YVES SAINT LAURENT

One of the up and coming designers, Annabelle Lucilla who recently won the award IJL Choice Award, has created some great seasonal statement necklaces.

Her designs are inspired by ‘exotic landscapes and decadent decoration’ where she uses traditional etching techniques to translate her illustrations into 3D mini interactive, tactile sculptures. Her debut collection ‘Oriental Embodiments’ comprises of designs ranging from tasselled statement pieces through decadent pieces which can be worn daily. We wish her the best with her new collection.

Lolo and Galago- Meet our designers

 

We’re getting closer to launching our beautiful designer jewellery collections and it’s time to introduce you to the talent behind the pieces. We are both excited and proud to work with some of London’s most prestigious designer talent- and at being able to offer our customers such a versatile collection of designer jewellery.
Read on to get a taste of the designer styles here in London that will be available to you.


Alex Davis: Named as New Designer of the Year at the 2010 Jewellery Awards, Alex’s background, perhaps surprisingly, comes from science and engineering.

But it is this technical understanding that inspired the beautiful and intricate shapes created across his collections, and it is his embracement of architecture and natural forms that marries in with the Lolo and Galago's ethos of drawing inspiration from all walks of life to create high design. At Lolo and Galago, Alex’s fine collections, all created in London, will be available.

 

Jayce Wong: After graduating from Saint Martin’s and winning the New Designer of the Year at the Retail Jewellery awards in 2012, Jayce has gone from strength to strength as her beautiful designer collections gain renowned recognition.

 

 

With her designs evoking her Chinese heritage and 1930’s American architecture, Jayce embraces style and design worldwide- and was a perfect fit for Lolo and Galago. A combination of city-chic with a classic element, we are pleased to be working with Jayce from our launch. 

 

Jessica DeLotz: Commended for “Jewellery of the Year” at the 2012 UK jewellery awards and winner of the Coutts New Jewellers Award in 2009, Saint Martins graduate Jessica has made a storm in recent years with her collections blessed with personal stories.

 

We loved Jessica’s work as she draws inspiration from the World of antiquities and cherished possessions, and focuses on creating jewellery that is emotive and evocative. Jessica’s attitude to engraining a high level of physical and emotional inspiration into her pieces is perfectly in tune with our design philosophy and we are proud to have her collections available at Lolo and Galago.

Sophie Breitmeyer: Another graduate of Saint Martins and an incredibly exciting emerging talent, Sophie is a London based designer who has won the Bright Young Gem award and has been cited by Vogue as one of the major talents to watch.

 

Sophie focuses on recreating the structure and manipulation possible within fabric and fashion into metal- tying in perfectly with Lolo and Galago’s concept of drawing inspiration from the catwalk directly to our pieces. It’s a perfect match and we cannot wait to showcase Sophie’s full collections.

Tomasz Donocik: As UK Jewellery of the year 2011, as well as the holder of several Goldsmiths’ Gold awards, Tomasz’s jewellery needs no introduction.

Tomasz brings together literature, architecture and surrealism into contemporary accessories, whilst his broad cultural upbringing have helped shape his work. At Lolo and Galago, we believe Tomasz’s work fits perfectly with our desire to find beauty and design in all aspects of life, and look forward to promoting his work with us.

Rosie Reddington: Having being selected for the catwalk of the International Jewellery fair, Rosie’s signature Amara Origins collection gained significant attention and the focus on the gemstone and its properties rather than the setting of a particular design was an interesting concept that at Lolo and Galago we wanted to be a part of.

We are now excited to be able to offer Rosie’s beautiful, gemstone-focused pieces which offer bold and colourful ways of enhancing your catwalk looks.

November What’s Hot – Bespoke Luxury

Anna Hindmarsh has recently opened a new store and I attended an evening with her speaking at her new shop in Manhattan. One of the key areas of luxury she has been focusing on is bespoke designs. She believes that ‘ bespoke is the new form of luxury’. Since launching she has created a range which can be personalised for individual clients – her latest client was foodie AA Gill who bought a crocodile leather wallet with his own phrase inside.

Leather is big this season, it is all about leather and fur, faux fur or not it is all over the highstreet. David Beckham is one of the big leaders in this trend as he has been recently been commissioned by Belfstaff to promote this Great British brand. They are now offering leathers which are  inspired by "reviving luxury moto classics that have been redefined by Beckham's iconic personal style. The Belstaff campaign depicts a "band of brothers" led by Beckham, biking in the English countyside, Buckinghamshire. Beckham a keen motor enthusiast said "I've always loved motorbikes but I've never really been allowed to ride them. Obviously now that I've finished playing, it's enabled me to spend more time on my bikes, which is great."

This winter we have also seen a big growth in men wearing jewellery – beads and silver crosses with leather are definitely hot this month, especially wearing them over suits and styling with layers. A couple of styles we like at Lolo & Galago are listed below:

The History behind an engagement ring – why do we wear an engagement ring, what does it mean?

The History behind an engagement ring – why do we wear an engagement ring, what does it mean?

We often focus on the type of engagement ring we like, but have you ever thought of why you wear an engagement ring, what does it mean and the history behind an engagement ring? At Lolo & Galago we took a look at the history behind engagement rings, which we found was a treasure of a story in itself.

Engagement bands date back to Ancient Egypt and were designed in the shape of a circle, made in brass, iron or bonze.  it was worn to symbolize a never ending cycle of life and love.

 

Another popular style especially with Romans, was an engagement ring that included a small key. The idea was the ring, like a key, unlocked a new life for the married woman. These keys sometimes even unlocked jewellery boxes with special treasures hidden deep inside and other rings would be given with another key, a key to their new home which it would be delicately hung around the brides waist. Even the wedding service incorporated  the engagement ring at the ceremony: “I give thee my daughter to be thy honor and thy wife, to keep thy keys, and to share with thee in thy bed and goods.”

However, in the 15th century, the type of engagement ring began to change when royal families, joining together through marriage, began to use gemstones. Each stone enveloped a special meaning for example, the ruby stood for love; the emerald for home and diamonds sparkled for fidelity and durability. Around this same time, well-to-do brides often received special rings with hidden messages.

 

 

Most popular was the gimmel engagement ring a rectangular ring which comprised of  two rectangular gems, traditionally a diamond and ruby for commitment and passion, and below these stones you would find satyrs and nymphs were displayed in coloured enamel and symbolised “ a playful courtship.” When a couple became engaged, the ring was evenly split into two parts. The secret? The ring contained a special opening on the band. She wore one half, he wore the other. Inside the rings, traditional sayings or verses were often inscribed. One of the more popular sayings resulted from the wedding ceremony: “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”

In 18^th  century Europe,  the fashion changed again and the diamond engagement ring took center stage. This was due to a steady supply of diamonds being discovered in Brazil which in turn made diamond engagement rings more accessible. These rings were often found in silver and gold, beautifully displaying a center diamond stone and two side diamonds. It also was at this time that a second ring—known today as the wedding band— came into use. It was joined with the engagement ring at the time of the ceremony. Queen Charlotte, wife of George III of England, opted to nestle a diamond band with her engagement ring.

In 1886, the Tiffany setting took the engagement ring market by storm. The setting allowed the stone to suspend high above the band, allowing greater amounts of light to pass through the stone. This, in turn, created an illumination atop the hands of married (and soon-to-be married) women across much of the world. The design’s creator, Charles Lewis Tiffany, knew the importance of a diamond engagement ring and wished for a stage to display its prominence and symbolism of love. Today, this style continues to be the most popular design of engagement ring.

 Which type of engagement ring would you choose?

Written by Rosie May Reddington