Rise & Shine

Posted by Canadian Gift Guide on December 4, 2014 · 122 Comments

I’ve featured a few jewelry companies this holiday season, but I’m particularly excited about both the vibe and practices of today’s featured brand – Barse Jewelry. Designed in Dallas, Texas and manufactured at an exclusive Barse Jewelry factory in Thailand (more on that in a bit), this gorgeous, upscale brand uses silver, bronze, copper and silver overlay to bring out the gorgeous factor of the opaque stones they primarily focus on. With custom cut stones, intense attention to detail, and classic jewelry-making practices at play, Barse Jewelry has won fans the world over. Today, I’m going to highlight a few of my favourite pieces and tell you more about what makes this hip brand so admirable.

Five Is Enough Magnesite Bracelets – $28 each
As you can tell by the colour scheme of these versatile stretch bracelets above, Barse has a largely southwestern, earthy feel to their pieces (such is the case when one works with opaque stones in particular). This makes plenty of sense when you consider that designer Melanie Barse, who is not only blessed with an innate sense of style, but the ability to pick up languages, has been traveling to and working with Mexican jewelry vendors since she was in her 20s and running an indie gift boutique in Fort Worth. Eventually, Melanie began to dream of creating her own jewelry line. She eventually opened an exclusive factory in Thailand (after learning the language) which employs 250 people specifically to create her pieces – which see influences from around the globe, including Mexico, Asia and of course, America. Today, the line offers reasonably priced, stylish pieces that work for any woman’s wardrobe – whether she’s a boho fashionista or a corporate ladder climber. Take for example, the pretty stretch bracelets I picked out above – which would pop nicely against a crisp white tailored shirt, but also look stunning with a flowy summer dress. Snaps for being super affordable too – you could gift one to each of your best friends this Xmas without breaking the bank.

Smoky Best Collection – $78 – $178
While most of Barse Jewelry’s pieces are opaque, there are a few more translucent stones used, like this beautiful smoky quartz. The pieces pictured above match that price range I listed, but in fact you can get a pair of simple, shiny studs for just $38. Rendered in genuine bronze with pretty faceted stones, another cool feature of Barse is the fact that oftentimes they’ve got a bunch of mini-collections happening all at once. So if you’re really feeling smoky quartz, you can snap up a necklace, and pair it with a range of matching (or semi-matching) earrings, bracelets, and rings. But if you just want one piece, it works equally well on its own (or with another piece from the Barse lineup). The smoky quartz collection above is just one example of this – but the Barse site is largely divided into easy-to-browse categories based on the types of stone or colours used.

Canyon Red Coral Collection – $48 – $138
Going back to what I said about Barse Jewelry using time-honored traditions when it comes to jewelry making. One of the unique functions of the brand – and benefits of having an exclusive factory – is the fact Melanie works directly with miners to select and shape stones for Barse, instead of having to rely on placing pre-cut stones from a gem distributor. In addition, the Barse factory uses a traditional method called ‘lost wax casting’ as opposed to ‘stamped out’, which ultimately gives their pieces more exquisite detail – like the gorgeous and intricate Spanish-inspired flair each of these Canyon Red Coral pieces have. Again, there are a few other pieces in this line that actually retail for less than the price range I highlighted above, so if you fall in love with this rust-coloured stone, you’ve got plenty of choices for how to work it into your wardrobe (and budget).

Imara Collection – $22 – $168
One of the coolest things about Barse is the range of materials they use. Some brands can be stuck in sticking to one type of metal or one type of stone – but Barse, as I mentioned earlier, actually uses several different types of metals, including the oxidized cast bronze pictured above. Ditto on the stones front – the complementary Imara collection includes faceted copper (a pretty unexpected material), brilliant turquoise, and earthy bronzite to create a stunning mixture of materials. Here’s another fun fact that speaks to the artistry of the brand. Barse was also the last name of Melanie’s great uncle, a renowned American artist who has his works hanging in museums and other notable places, including the Library of Congress. Just more proof that creativity can be part of your bloodline.

Bright Fall Color Collection – $16 – $178
Touches of medieval flair are coupled with bright, contrasting colours in this beautiful and versatile line. I particularly enjoy these pieces because they can be worn individually for a single striking slash of colour, or they can be paired for a polished appearance. Turquoise, green jasper, orange coral, and bronzite all have a distinctly earthy yet modern vibe, making this one of Barse’s most coveted collections. And on that note – Barse’s pieces really do sell out fast. MANY of the items I wrote about in this post had a little meter on them highlighting that only a handful are left, so if you see something you like, snap it up quick as the brand is wildly popular (yet always introducing new pieces too). You can order direct from Barse’s website and they will ship up to Canada, but you can also check out some of their line on The Shopping Channel website.

Now to wrap things up – see those three pieces of jewelry above from the Bright Fall Color Collection? I’m actually giving all three of them away to one lucky winner, with a total prize value of $294! If you’re interested in winning this striking necklace, ring and bracelet, here’s how to enter:

1) Peruse the Barse Jewelry website and pick out your favourite piece(s). Then leave a comment on this post before midnight on December 16, 2014, with a link back to your fave items!

2) Entries are limited to one per person / per email address / per household (or more if you score bonus entries). A random draw will be conducted on or around December 17, 2014 to select the winner(s), who will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen in their place.

3) Entries are limited to Canadians that have reached the age of majority in their province. Quebec is not eligible for this promotion.

4) Bonus Entry: There are 3 ways to nab bonus entries on this post. For each bonus entry you ‘earn’ be sure to leave a separate comment or your entries won’t be counted.

– Like Barse Jewelry on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall on your favourite piece. Then link back to your comment in a separate comment below.

– Follow Barse Jewelry on Pinterest and repin one of their pins. Then link back to your pin in a separate comment below.

– Follow Barse Jewelry on Instagram and either Regram one of their photos, or share one of the photos from their site in your feed. Link back to your shared photo below.