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 in January (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 – today’s review features the ‘bling’ Rebel Alliance open pave’ negative space ring, and ‘The Light Side’ pave’ swirl bypass ring.
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 this collection – 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 Rebel Alliance negative space ring has a dual band design, with a Rebel Alliance symbol joining the two bands at the front/top, and two small plain lengths joining the bands at the back/underside of the ring. When worn, this ring has the allusion of two small rings, with the symbol joining them together – I love this style, as it doesn’t shorten my fingers as much as large ‘closed’ ring designs, which hide more skin. The top and sides of the two horizontal bands feature small clear rhinestones, while the bands are plain on the underside. The band measures approximately 1.5mm wide, while the Rebel Alliance symbol measures approximately 12mm high. I bought mine in ring size 6 – it measures approximately 17.5mm across (internally).
The Rebel Alliance negative space ring originally retailed for US$29.95 each – it is still available from HSN. This design is available in silvertone or goldtone, in ring sizes 5 to 10 (some sizes are low in stock at time of writing).
The Light Side swirl bypass ring has a coil design that wraps under the finger twice, with a central band across the top – each end features a small Rebel Alliance symbol. The band has small clear rhinestones across the top/sides, with a plain band underneath. As with the Rebel Alliane negative spacer ring, this open design shows more skin, which I find quite flattering for shorter fingers (like mine). The band measures approximately 1mm wide, while the Rebel Alliance symbols each measure approximately 8mm high. With gentle force, you can adjust the coil to be more closed/shorter or open/longer if you prefer. I bought mine in size 6 – it measures approximately 17.5mm across (internally).
The Light Side swirl bypass ring originally retailed for US$29.95 each – it is still available from HSN. This design is available in silvertone or goldtone, in ring sizes 5 to 10 (some sizes are low in stock at time of writing).
Both rings have reviews from buyers at HSN – several reviews mention that the stones of both rings fell out soon after wearing. I haven’t worn mine yet, so I can’t personally attest to the security of the settings, but I definitely will use glue/clear nail polish to help seal the stones in their settings. One review suggests these rings would have been better with plain bands, so to avoid problems with stones – I agree. While I love the stones, a plain band would be much more durable – a stone falling out from a jewelry item really affects it’s appearance. If you’re looking for a Rebel Alliance themed ring durable enough for regular everyday wear, I would suggest this ring by Body Vibe available on Amazon.
I do love the fine, slender design of these rings – thin ring bands are very popular, and I would love to see more Star Wars rings in this style. They are definitely designed for women – I have short fingers, so I personally prefer thin bands – there are so many ‘chunky’ Star Wars ring designs that I just can’t wear. It’s interesting to note that the bands on these two rings are not the same width – the Rebel Alliance negative space ring has slightly larger bands (and therefore slightly larger rhinestones) than the Light Side swirl bypass ring. It is a shame to hear about stones falling out, which makes me hesitant to wear these as often as I had planned to, but I still really love the designs.
