Midnight Bloom – Mandalas and Peacock Pearls by Caprilicious

Hello folks, lovely to catch up with you again. Hubby has been off his feet for the last couple of weeks and I've been playing nursemaid, cook and chief bottle washer as well as doing my day job. He's finally decided that he feels well enough to get out of bed and totter about, and he's obviously much better today - I can hear him singing away in the kitchen as he loads the dishwasher! 

There’s something intoxicating about the blue lotus. Imagine a flower that opens up at night, basking in moonlight instead of sunlight, as if to say: “I’ll bloom on my own schedule, thank you very much.” In ancient Egypt, it symbolised rebirth and the sun — which seems a bit ironic, given its penchant for nocturnal glamour. The yogis and Buddhists of the world took a different view: for them, the blue lotus represented enlightenment, wisdom, and the expansion of the mind. I suppose that’s the magic of flowers and symbols — they carry whatever meaning you’re ready to give them. Personally, I think the blue lotus is nature’s way of reminding us that beauty often flourishes in the dark.

​The pendant in Midnight Bloom is a silver mandala, and mandalas themselves are a story worth telling. You’ve probably seen them in temples, art, colouring books, and tattoo designs, all those intricate circles within circles. The word “mandala” comes from Sanskrit and means “circle”, — though a mandala is never just a circle. It’s the universe in miniature, a map of balance, wholeness, and the journey inward. Monks create them in painstaking detail with coloured sand, only to sweep them away when they’re finished, as a reminder of impermanence. Now, I haven’t swept away my mandala — mine is set in silver and adorned with blue stones, because impermanence is all very well in theory, but jewellery should last longer than a sandcastle.

​Of course, a pendant this striking needs pearls with personality to match. Enter the peacock pearl. These aren’t your grandmother’s polite, cream-coloured rows (though those certainly had their time and place). Peacock pearls are cultured freshwater pearls that have been treated to reveal iridescent shades of green, violet, blue and bronze — a rainbow that shifts as the light catches them. How does that happen? A natural pearl is made inside a mollusc, layer upon layer of nacre (that mother-of-pearl sheen). When you introduce just the right conditions — and sometimes a little bit of alchemy from skilled pearl farmers — you get pearls that gleam like spilled oil on water, only infinitely more chic. They’re the rebellious younger cousins of classic pearls: moody, dramatic, and utterly captivating.

And what could be more appropriate than pearls that shimmer like moonlight scattered across the surface of dark water? That’s the essence of Midnight Bloom — twilight mystery captured in jewellery. The tiny haematite beads glimmer like distant stars, the silver mandala reflects the cyclical calm of the moon, and the pearls themselves seem to carry a secret glow, as though they’ve stolen a fragment of the night sky.

​I’ve strung them together with tiny faceted haematite beads, just enough sparkle to echo the glimmer of the pendant, and finished the necklace with a laurel-leaf clasp — a little nod to victory and achievement. And then there are the two silver drum beads, with their pointed ends that cradle the mandala pendant perfectly, keeping it centred and steady, just like the meditative practice it symbolises.

So what does Midnight Bloom really give you? A whisper of mysticism, a touch of rebellion, and a lot of iridescent glamour. It’s a necklace that says you’re more than just surface sparkle — you carry depth, symbolism, and maybe even a little enlightenment around your neck. And if anyone asks, you can smile mysteriously and say it’s your mandala, your lotus, your bloom at midnight.

That's me for this week, folks. Have a wonderful weekend and I'll catch you soon,
Until then
​xx