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Hiho Silver – Snaffle Friendship Bracelet – Advent Calendar Competition

snaffle friendship braceletYou’re in for another huge treat today – Hiho Silver has very generously donated a second prize for my Equestrian and Country Advent Calendar Competition. And it’s a gorgeous sterling silver snaffle friendship bracelet. Or, to give it its full title, the Exclusive Sterling Silver Snaffle Friendship Bracelet With Saddle And Stirrup Detail.

Why am I giving away a Snaffle Friendship Bracelet from Hiho Silver?

You’ll know that I work with Hiho Silver and am pretty much obsessed with the whole collection, I am never without at least one piece of Hiho Silver on my body, and as I type this I have five (Snaffle Ring, Cherry Roller Bangle, Springy Bangle, Cherry Roller Necklace and the Snaffle Friendship Bracelet). I have seen the friendship bracelets on the stand at shows and always liked them, but this one is extra special. The new design elements in the toggle shaping and stirrups make the piece really special. And very Hiho. And by that I mean it has that authenticity and quality. I’m very lucky to work with Hiho, but I promise you that I would not tell you I loved something I didn’t. I just can’t. And you’ll never see anything on this blog that is here because it ‘should’ be. By which I mean, I have been offered money for a number of posts in recent months and have turned each one down as I didn’t believe in what I was approached about. I digress. But let me tell you this gem from Hiho is very Hiho, very lovely and so clever!

Why do I like the Snaffle Friendship Bracelet?

There’s a few reasons. It’s an exclusive piece to Hiho and, I believe, a great example of the brand. The elements are great quality, it’s clever and it’s beautiful. Mine rarely leaves my wrist… I’ve even worn it in the shower and when bathing my children. I always mean to take it off but have a memory like a sieve with things like this, but it doesn’t mind at all. The snaffle is beautiful and a great scaled down version, the cord is  gorgeous colour and really durable. And then we come to the new bits: the saddle and the stirrups. The saddle toggle means that the piece is highly adjustable and the stirrups add another design element to the piece. In addition, when you adjust it, the stirrups make it easy to hold and adjust. It’s gorgeous.

Would you like to win a Snaffle Friendship Bracelet from Hiho Silver?

Who wouldn’t! I have one to giveaway… and the competition is only running until midnight on the day this blog is published. If you read this afterwards, worry not – you can find this bracelet and a range of other friendship bracelets over on Hiho Silver’s website. However, if you’re in time, all you need to do it pop on over to my Rhea Freeman PR Facebook page, watch the video that will be pinned to the top today and enter. That’s it! Of course, I’d love it if you’d tell your friends by sharing the post.

I hope you enjoy my advent calendar competition – best of luck!

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Why I love… the CZ Roller Bead from Hiho Silver

Hiho Silver CZ Cherry Roller BangleMy Instagram, Youtube channel, Twitter feed and Facebook page regularly feature my Cherry Roller Bangle. I flipping ADORE this piece of jewellery from Hiho Silver. So much so that it hardly ever leaves my wrist, And when I say hardly ever, I mean I sleep, shower, cook, clean, work, dog walk, run (in a fashion), manage toddlers… everything, In this bracelet. And now the CZ Roller Beads add a little bit more sparkle to all of the above!

What’s a Cherry Roller Bangle?

I wrote a blog about the iconic design of the Cherry Roller not all that long ago because it’s a cracking story. The piece is unique to Hiho Silver and was designed by the team there. The original design combined sterling silver and rose gold vermeil to mimic the tones of the cherry roller snaffle. A bit created from stainless steel and copper. But you can read more about it here. Needless to say that this pretty bangle has become iconic in equestrian and country circles. More than that, it has inspired and entire collection of necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings with roller bead detail, But it’s also inspired a range of other beads too. Including the CZ ones.

What’s a CZ Roller Bead?

The CZ Roller Bead is Hiho’s way to bling up (is that even a phrase?!) your Cherry Roller… or even Foxtail Bracelet. These sterling silver rollers are encrusted in CZ crystals that add shine and sparkle to the piece in a range of gorgeous colours including white, navy, pink, purple, turquoise and more. These beads can be switched for sterling silver or gold vermeil beads at the time of purchase, or can be retrofitted if you fancy it. Actually, Hiho has just introduced a create your own Cherry Roller feature, which shows all the options in more detail.

Why do I love them?

I’m not a huge fan of bling, I adore silver and diamonds but I find a lot of ‘bling’ rather cheap and tacky. And I don’t like that. I’ve had a Cherry Roller Bangle for about a year. Mine had a solid rose gold bead in the centre to start with, solid sterling silver beads either side, and 18ct rose gold vermeil beads beyond that. And I loved it. Bling hadn’t crossed my mind until I met up with Emma Warren, Hiho’s Queen Bee, a few months ago. She was wearing a beautiful cherry roller with a hint of a bling and it looked so special. I think because of the way the rollers have been designed, they add a touch of colour and a bit of sparkle, but they’re not ‘in your face’ – even the bangles with five CZ Roller Beads are still really classy and elegant. I’ve had the two sterling silver rollers replaced with purple CZ Roller Beads (see the pic) and I adore it. I love the way the crystals catch the light and the way they look different colours at different times of the day. And I love spinning them around the bangle’s ‘mouthpiece’ (also known as a shank I think?) too. They’re great for busy fingers!

Are the CZ Roller Beads robust?

Another thing I want to mention is how robust the CZ Roller Beads are. I’m not saying ‘smash them off anything – they’ll be fine’, but I bet they would be! Mine have a really hard life, despite my best efforts, but the way the bead has been designed means it’s really resilient. A bead with a true Hiho pedigree. It’ll take you from mucking out to going, play areas (yep – welcome to my life as a mum of toddlers!) to the pub, and it’ll look great in any situation.

I’d urge you to go and have a look at the Cherry Roller Bangle, and have a look at the CZ beads too. If you already have a Cherry Roller, you can get the beads switched and changed by sending back to Hiho (small fitting fee applies on top of product cost). Just contact them and have a chat with the Countess of Contentment.

 

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Behind iconic design – Hiho Silver’s Cherry Roller Collection

Cherry Roller Bangle

Photo by Sophie Callahan Photography

You may have noticed that I adore Hiho’s Cherry Roller Collection. Well, it’s more than bog standard adoration. I wear the bangle and necklace each day. It rarely leaves my body… and I’ll tell you why.

Why is Hiho Silver special?

Being horsey, I knew, loved and was a customer to Hiho long before I worked for them. I always loved the way the company combined genuine equestrian detail into sturdy pieces of jewellery that looked gorgeous but wouldn’t disintegrate if you wore them on the yard! I have a bit of a thing about wearing the things you love and not just keeping them for best, so this ties in perfectly with that philosophy. Now, I just want to revisit the ‘genuine equestrian detail’ line. I’m horsey BUT I don’t really want to be covered in horse heads or twee jewellery. I’m very proud of my horsiness, very proud, but I want to give a nod to it with my jewellery rather than plastered in horse heads. There’s nothing wrong with horse head jewellery (I feel I am really picking on horse heads today!) and I have seen some beautiful pieces available (can you guess where?!), but I like the more understated horsey look. That is the kind of style that people who are horsey ‘get’ and people who aren’t admire because they see it as a beautiful piece of jewellery in its own right.

What’s the Cherry Roller Collection?

So, back to the Cherry Roller. Inspired by the bit bearing the same name, Hiho’s most popular Cherry Roller pieces combine sterling silver with rose gold vermeil (vermeil being a thick plating) or solid rose gold beads, but sterling silver only and sterling silver with yellow gold vermeil are also available. The combination of rose gold and silver is truly stunning, but for the horsey amongst you, you’ll also be well aware that a cherry roller snaffle combines stainless steel with copper, which creates the same dual colour look. By substituting the metal, changing the proportions and reviewing, revising and perfecting each element, the Cherry Roller Collection burst into life… and the first piece was the bangle.

I adore the bangle for many reasons. First up, it shows the iconic cherry roller design beautifully, with the curved ‘mouthpiece’ of the bangle following the wrist’s shape, and the clever hinged closure makes it easy to put on and take off, but secure when in place because of the clip. My roller has a solid gold central bead with Hiho engraving which I find myself spinning and admiring way more than I should. I wear it stacked with my Hiho Foxtail bracelet (that’s a whole other blog!) and I honestly never take it off.

Why is the Cherry Roller iconic?

It’s iconic because it’s unique to Hiho, it was created by them and can only be purchased from them, and it’s really led the way in combining precious metals in this space. I love it… and I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t…

Have a look a the collection here – or go and see the team at the tradestand at any of the events they attend to see it in the flesh.

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