In November last year, HSN released a collection of ‘bling’ Star Wars jewelry. As HSN does not ship outside the US, or accept international credit cards, I was really frustrated to see such a fantastic collection released that international fans couldn’t purchase. An amazing friend in the US helped me purchase a few of my favourite items from the range, which I was able to pick up while visiting the US for the Run Disney Star Wars event last month (yay, saving on international postage). I am so excited to finally see these items in person, and of course photograph them for review. I was able to buy eight items from the range – I’ve picked the ‘bling’ R2-D2 necklace to review first.
All of the items I bought came packaged in blue cardboard gift boxes. The each box has a removable lid, with an outer slip band featuring the text ‘Little Box Of Bling’. Inside the box the jewelry item is carefully packaged between two pieces of foam – the ‘top’ of each foam piece has a black velvet-type finish. Sitting on the top of the upper foam piece is a little black card featuring the Star Wars logo. I was really keen to see if the packaging included any information about the manufacturer of this range, so it was great to see that the back of the insert card notes these are made by SG@NYC, LLC. I have only come across this company once before – they made the ‘long chain’ TIE Fighter necklace that was sold at Hot Topic back in October/November last year (read my review here).
The R2-D2 necklace features a 3D sculpt of R2-D2, with a hollow/flat back (not completely 3D like the Han Cholo R2-D2 necklace). The pendant features blue, red, and clear gemstones, and blue and black enamel details for R2-D2’s classic features. This is definitely a ‘bling’ R2-D2 necklace – I love how the stones sparkle! Some are standard little circular rhinestone shapes, while others are squares and rectangles, to suit the astromech details. With some ‘costume’ jewelry, there is a risk of stones coming loose – I haven’t worn this necklace yet, so I can’t attest to the security of the settings – but I plan to apply a coat of clear nail polish over the smaller stones before wearing (a trick I’ve done with other rhinestone-detailed items, to help avoid loosing stones). Neither the original website listing or the packaging notes what metal the necklace is made from, so I’m not sure myself. The pendant is very sturdy, with a lovely silver-tone finish – it measures approximately 4.1cm tall, 2.7cm wide, and 0.8cm deep (at the widest parts, not including hanger ring). The chain measures approximately 46cm long, with a further 8cm of wider link chain for adjustment – the clasp is a standard ‘lobster’ style. There is a small circular pendant at the end of the adjustment chain that features ‘(c) LFL’ stamped on one side, and ‘CN’ on the other (I have no idea what ‘CN’ stands for?).
Strangely I forgot to note the exact price of this necklace – though the price range for the whole Star Wars jewelry collection was US$20.95 to US$39.95. This necklace is no longer available – some of the other items in the range are still available from HSN, but frustratingly they will only accept orders from US residents. If you’re really keen on finding a ‘bling’ R2-D2 necklace, there is a similar version made by Body Vibe – it is available from sellers on Amazon. I now have a number of R2-D2 necklaces in my collection – I love how each company has a slightly different take on a classic idea. This is definitely the most ‘bling’ version I own, the rhinestones are such a fun detail – I’m definitely happy to add this necklace to my collection!
