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Annoushka:
Hi, Annoushka here. In this series, I'd really like to take the opportunity to tell
you a
little bit about
The Brilliant Breakfast, an initiative that I set up two years ago to help the Prince's Trust
support disadvantaged
young women. It really can be as simple as putting the kettle on, inviting a few friends around, or
hosting a breakfast
for the team at work, and asking everyone to give what they can to help change a girl's life. That's
The Brilliant Breakfast starting October the 10th this year. For more details,
visit the
brilliantbreakfast.co.uk. Thank
You. I'm Annoushka Ducas and welcome back to
My Life in Seven Charms. For me, there are so few
things which can evoke a
memory like a tiny detailed
charm. In this new series, I'll be meeting seven extraordinary women and
hearing their
stories, through this very special
18ct gold biography.
Annoushka:
Today's guest is an authority in the world of jewelry. She has written a definitive
book
on key designers,
and rights for the Economist, Vogue and Vanity Fair. One of her earliest memories is twirling
around
her grandmother's
garden, wearing all of her jewelry, and being captivated by the experience. I'm
delighted
to welcome Melanie
Grant to
My Life in Seven Charms. Okay, so your first
charm, great bunches of pink roses, wild
and
free, you describe
them. Because they're little
charms, I haven't made them all carved in opaques and opals. I
really
made them three
dimensional in
yellow gold,
green tsavorite leaves, and then different colored graded
pink
sapphires. But
tell me about these roses.
Melanie Grant:
My grandma, Eileen, was kind of one of my closest friends. She was
one of
those
phenomenal women who
everyone felt that they were her favorites. She loved you so profound that you felt that you
were
the only person in the
world for her. As the oldest grandchild, we just got on, we just became friends. She
was
a fantastic cook.
She had this big kitchen and we were always cooking together, well I say cooking, I was the soup
or
the gravy stirrer.
My job was stir gravy. She used to make gravy from bones, from scratch. I used to have to stir
it
for hours. She just...
I was mesmerized by her as a child, because everyone loved her, but she just gave all the time.
She
was so selfless, but
she had a streak of steel, which I really admired. She was that rare combination of
steely, but loving.
Annoushka:
Sorry, was she your mother's mother?
Melanie Grant:
Yeah.