For several years, we have been successful in keeping our prices unchanged. Now, with the recent steady rise in the cost of precious metals, especially gold, we are having to implement a price increase across our collection.

We were thrilled that we were able to absorb the VAT increase last year so that it wasn’t passed on to our customers. In fact our prices have remained mostly unchanged for a long while now. This forthcoming price increase will allow us to keep doing what we love, which is making beautiful jewellery by hand, in the UK.

The world’s best Hotel (where else would you spend your last night as a single girl before marrying a Prince?! The Goring of course!) asked Alex to come up with a quirky idea for their afternoon teas, of which they change the theme throughout the year.

The Goring.

Well, as usual Alex managed to come up with some wonderful childhood tales…..memories of ‘Shrimp Teas’ he enjoyed as a youngster came to mind, with fresh shrimp bought straight from East Anglian fishermen, and enjoyed in the sunshine with a huge pot of tea and an endless supply of  bread and butter. Mmm, sounds delicious!

And so here we introduce the Goring Shrimp.  A lovely little fellow made in silver with a rose gold plate, and two black pearls for eyes.

The Goring Shrimp

He hangs on a 24 inch chain and would make the perfect addition to anybody’s jewellery collection – distinctive and quirky, yet somehow still incredibly pretty!

Alex actually worked alongside The Goring’s chefs to create the perfect ‘Alex Monroe Afternoon Tea‘, delicate finger sandwiches, and mini loaves of wholemeal bread filled with potted shrimp…..plus the essential scones, jam and clotted cream, and some stunning floral, honey and mint cakes!

The ‘Alex Monroe Afternoon Tea‘ will be available at the Goring Hotel from May the 1st, coming complete with the exclusive Shrimp Necklace for £195.  Call 020 7396 9000 to book.

The tea in all of it's glory!

The Goring Shrimp can also be purchased separately for £165 and traditional afternoon tea at The Goring is £35 per person.

From June, The Goring Shrimp will also be available directly from us! Drop us a line if you would like to go on our waiting list to purchase one: shop@alexmonroe.com

Afternoon Tea and a beautiful piece of jewellery……wouldn’t that make just about the perfect treat?!

It’s all terribly civilized!

Emma x

If you are a husband/boyfriend who is still desperately looking for a piece of beautiful jewellery for your sweetheart this Christmas then give me a ring on 020 3117 0640 for further info, stock availability or just directions to the shop.

We’ll be open 10am – 6pm till Friday 23rd December and then again of course in the New Year.

Our classic pieces are available in the shop as well as some very unique 18ct solid gold jewellery such as our very adorable Eyebright rings.

And because our 12 Days of Christmas Calendar was so successful Alex, Mayo & team have re-created a real working calendar and all the special jewellery for the shop too. So if you missed out online on any of the 12 Days jewellery come on down to Snowsfields or call Jutta on 020 3117 0640 for a telephone order.

The official launch for the boutique will not be until Spring 2012 now when the cladding is finally installed on the building, but we’ll be keeping you informed in the usual way with our newsletter, blog and facebook updates.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

with love from all of us at Alex Monroe

x

December is upon us, Christmas is nearly here. So it’s time for our 12 Days of Christmas!

Visit the homepage at www.alexmonroe.com and click the banner to be whisked away to our winter woodland, where you’ll get a chance to meet our cute new friends.

12 completely unique new pieces, in very limited numbers.

With 1 available on the first, 2 on the second, and so on, ending with 12 pieces available on the twelfth.

Each new piece will be available from 9am, so you’ll need to be quick!

We have lots planned to help you out, the only trouble will be deciding where, and when to start!

First up, is this Thursday, the 1st of December, when we have two events planned:

Head to Harrods to “Meet the Masters” from 5-8pm. Say hello to Alex and a whole host of other amazing designers……

Come and check out Harrods' amazing jewellery hall.

While this is going, we will also rather excitingly, be holding our *only* Trunk Show this Christmas at Ede & Ravenscroft in Chancery Lane!

Members of our team will be on hand to advise, and I believe the lovely ladies at Ede & Ravenscroft will be keeping you refreshed with champagne…… The Trunk Show runs from 4-8pm and Alex will be calling in to say hello here too.

Trunk Show delights at Ede & Ravenscroft.

Following on swiftly from this is our open studio event in Iliffe Yard, on Friday 2nd, Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th.

This is a great opportunity to visit lots of designer’s studios around the Pullens Yards, and we will be selling off slight-seconds at bargain prices. (please note that there will be no first-quality stock available at this sale)

Find us at number 9a Iliffe Yard.

Next up is the launch of our *exclusive* Black Chrysanthemum collection at Liberty, which makes it’s debut on Friday 9th December. Alex will be in-store, alongside members of our team to advise and help you pick your dream piece. (The AM team will also be around on Saturday 10th)

It’s a darker twist on the sophisticated Chrysanthemum collection, making the pieces a bit more edgy……I think these pearl earrings might be my favourite:

Sneak preview from our Ruthenium plated Chrysanthemum range.

For our North London residents, Alex & Family will be at the Primrose Hill Designer Sale on Saturday 10th December, from 10-6pm.

This is held at St Mary-the-Virgin Church on Elsworthy Road, and again, we will only be selling seconds here.

This is a really cute little sale and great for pressie buying!

For all of our fans who aren’t residing in London, be sure to keep an eye on our website, as for the second year we will be running our ’12 Days of Christmas’! This was a huge success last year, and very exciting, as it really is a case of being quick off the mark – numbers are very limited……

It’s all very top-secret, and I haven’t even seen all of the pieces yet, but here’s an ultra-sneak preview that happened to pass my way……

(.....just don't tell anyone I showed you!!)

We will also be launching new Trunk Show pieces soon, with a magical wintery theme.

PHEW! Think that’s about it……oh and somewhere in amongst all of that we will be opening our FIRST EVER SHOP!!

Number 37 Snowsfields.

We have yet to set a date, so keep your eyes firmly fixed on our website for news.

Finally, we have been doing some celeb-spotting, and it seems like Feathers are the way to go this party season…..

Zoe Ball recently opted for our Little Feather Necklace…..

Zoe Ball on 'Strictly'.

And the ever-glamorous Elle Macpherson went for our Peacock Feather Earrings to complete her 70′s chic outfit at a thanksgiving parade in New York…..

Elle looking stunning in our Peacock Earrings!

Be sure to let us know if you spot anyone wearing Alex Monroe……or even if you want to share your own outfits with us! Either way, it’s always great to see Alex Monroe jewellery being worn and loved.

Emma x

And here’s a pic or two…
Back soon,
A

Me before the trim, and Lee in the Covent Garden Penhaligon’s

Here’s some of the things we saw on our travels……

Arriving on a very sunny Monday afternoon.

Off to explore.....

Sound sculpture.

"Artist Unknown"

Walking through the park.

Vienna was quite a peaceful city, with lots of beautiful buildings.

Seeking out our dinner!

Relaxing over a nice glass of wine....very nice!

Day 2 - off to the Ambassador's residence to set up the show.....

Inside was quite special......

......with so many lovely details.

Sadly there weren't any Ferrero Rocher at the Amassador's reception - but there were lots of lovely canapés!

And at the end of the day we finished with a well deserved drink - although admittedly, not one quite this big!

We made lots of contacts at the event, and if all goes according to plan, we should have new stockists in Vienna and Prague….

And an important part of the trip was to choose suitable treats to take back to the studio.....

Apparently we chose wisely, as these didn't last long!

Back in London, yesterday we went to visit our building to see how it’s coming along…. There still seems to be a little way to go, but apparently we are only weeks away from moving in now!

Looking up to the top.....

Our shop doorway.....

Watch this space for more news on our move, and the opening of our first ever shop!!

Emma x

Every March and October Alex goes off to Paris with our new collections to take part in Premiere Classe, which is an amazing accessories trade show. This time, Alex had handed the job over to Suzy.A and myself, which we were really excited about…..although having done the show once before, I knew what hard work it was……!

But when we arrived the weather was glorious, so we quickly set up our stand, then headed out into the City and off to Le Marais…..

Arriving on Thursday Afternoon.

Attracted by the Swallows on the wall (very Alex Monroe!) we had a quick coffee at Comme A Lisbonne……

Comme A Lisbonne.

Then it was just up the road (Rue du Roi de Sicile) to visit Valentina in her lovely boutique Joy…..

Suzy chats to Valentina....

Valentina takes great pride in creating such cute displays!

We loved how our pieces were displayed on props Valentina had found.

This was a favourite little touch found sitting on the floor!

Me and Valentina outside the store.

We really wanted to visit all of our stockists in Paris, but sadly ran out of time……but if you are in Paris you can also find Alex Monroe in Saïki Bijoux and Avril Gau. If we’d had more time, we would have also visited Merci Merci – which is a charity shop with a difference…..they pick a different charity each year which they ask the designers they stock to donate their profits to. We’d heard so many great things about the store and their displays…..

One of Merci Merci's infamous displays.

But then it was time for a beer.....

Friday was the first day of the show, so we were up very bright & early!

Busy at the stand.....sharing out our breakfast pastries!!

We had lots of lovely visitors, including some of the gang from HP France in Japan…..

Suzy.A and some of the HP gang!

HP France have been doing very well with our ‘Heritage’ collection of wedding rings, and Misato told us that lots of couples in Japan decided to get married after the tsunami, including herself, which was very touching. If you’re ok with Japanese, you can read Misato’s blog here.

The weather was amazing, but it was sooooooo hot in the show! It was lovely to have a break and try and get some air in the Jardins Tuileries, but then very difficult to step back inside the show!

Lunch in the park.

We were also very happy to spend some time with the lovely girls from Laura Lee Jewellery, Dominique and Rea…..

Dominique, Suzy and Rea.

We had especially great fun at the designer’s party, which was held on a boat on the Sunday night……

So after all of that, we were pretty tired, but very sad to leave Paris!

Emma x

Paris was beautiful of course. We had supper at my old favourite Yanase near Porte de Versailles on Saturday night. Japanese-French mix. Luverley.

Tuileries Sunshine.

Sunset on the way home.

Talking food… we had a super meal at Jamie’s Italian in Angel last week. Very nice too but nowadays we are such a big group the table was about half a mile long!

Jamie's Italian

Then back just in time for Mayo’s birthday. Dim Sum out in the yard with chocolate cake to follow.

Mayo and Susie polish off the Dim Sum

Feeling rather stuffed now…

Alex

Eliza Doolittle

Thanks to everyone who came to the London Fashion Week-end sale. The girls had great fun, but poor Jutta had to take Monday off because she was sooo exhausted, they were incredibly busy again! Thanks to you all.

See you,

Alex