Zara Simon studied Jewellery Design at Central St Martins and since 2008, when she started Zara Simon Jewellery, she’s collaborated with Felder Felder and Turquoise mountain, designed a collection for the 2012 Rolling Stones tour and has had countless celebrity commissions for it-girls like Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Cara Delevigne, Poppy Delevigne, and Natasha McElhorne. She’s also the designer of our stunning collection, Z for Accessorize. 

What does IWD mean to you?
IWD is important to me as it highlights all the female jewellers in the industry more so on this day as we can celebrate their achievements as a whole. It also encourages us to appreciate how many more women there are in the industry these days.

How will you chose to challenge?
I will always be aware of everyone around me and close to me, in particular my children, who I will teach not to stereotype.

Tell us what it’s like being a woman within the PR industry? And what challenges you have faced?  
It is exciting to be a women in the jewellery industry as I get to wear my creations along with the women I design for.

Why is it important to celebrate other women’s achievements?  
I have been inspired by some amazing female jewellers since I started, including Elsa Schiaparelli, Elsa Perretti and Pippa Small, and more recently Jessica McCormack.

I faced challenges in my early career when I worked in Jaipur as it was a very male orientated industry, there were times I felt I was being disrespected as a women working on my own.

What advice would you give to your younger self, having the knowledge you have now?
I’d encourage myself to do a business course when I was starting out, as I found out the creative can be smaller part of having your own brand.

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Check out our Role Models’ series 

Jenny Halpern Prince is the CEO and founder of Halpern, a global PR and influencer agency, part of the WPP network and The&Partnership. Jenny founded Access Aspiration in 2012, an educational charity promoting social mobility via aspirational work placements and introductions. Access Aspiration is now part of the Mayor’s Fund for London, they work with 32 schools, securing over 5,000 placements with state and academy students. In 2014, The Lady Garden Foundation, a national women’s health charity, was co-founded by Jenny, who is Chair of the charity. The aim is to increase awareness and raise funds to fight the five gynaecological cancers, to date they have raised over £1.6m.

What does IWD mean to you?
IWD is a reminder of how we should be all year long. It is a moment to celebrate the progress we all are making as women worldwide and oh my, are we making huge strides in many areas. BUT the areas where we are struggling, we need to champion those to support us further and that includes, very importantly, men.

Tell us what it like being a woman within the PR industry? And what challenges you have faced?  
Being a woman in the PR industry is easy as our industry is dominated by women. I have cherished the allegiance of so many women over my career in PR. My partners at Halpern are women and make my business a joy to still be involved and increase our relevancy and differentiate ourselves from others.

We strive to have a well-balanced agency of individuals from all ethnicities and backgrounds so we must encourage the industry to proactively bring in more talent from those arenas.

I have faced many challenges but more in my personal life with gynae issues especially with trying to become a mother for a long journey of 11 years. In all areas of my life, I have a mantra JFDI, just ****ing do it. So many people talk but don’t action.

Why is it important to celebrate other women’s achievements?  
We must celebrate women’s achievements to encourage more women to speak up, start their own businesses, overcome anxiety, to be their best self they can be.

What advice would you give to your younger self, having the knowledge you have now?
I would give my younger self this advice; never give up. Be a gladiator and fight. Then encourage more to fight too and achieve their dreams.

We’re completely obsessed with our new Z by Accessorize collection (and we think you will be too!)

You know all those chunky chains and curated ear looks you see on Instagram? We’ve got those pieces so now you can express your personal style through on-trend, quality pieces.

Featuring gold-plated pieces with semi-precious, this is a collection you’ll want to get – quick!

All of the beautiful pieces are brought to life by luxury jewellery designer Zara Simon.

First things first, the one piece everyone should have in their collection – a stunning, ‘where did you get that’ chain. And oh do we have the chains, all of the chains. 

Get your hands on a hero pieces – and once you start, you’ll be ready to layer up. Master the layered necklace look (perfect for the Z chains!)

Someone’s calling, it’s your friends asking where you got all those super cute rings from … I know, I know, cheesy (but true!). 

A personal favourite for me, a chunky ring on a middle finger and then stacking thinner rings on your other fingers (don’t forget a little sparkle!)

Our Z by Accessorize earrings offer the perfect pairs for upping your ear game. Achieve the Instagram-adored look by following 2 very simple rules.

ONE: more is more. Don’t be afraid to stack ’em up!
TWO: Mix chunky hoops and delicate studs.

Why not pop into one of our piercing parlours to really take it a step further. 

Shop Gold Vermeil

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Shop Z Leather
Shop Z Jewellery

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Learn more about the Z vermeil range
Discover our Z Healing Stone range

Somehow it’s already October and that means Pumpkin Spice Lattes, darker nights and Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

While we encourage getting up close and personal with breast checks all year round, this month we are taking part in the Change & Check campaign. This life-saving campaign is all about learning what changes to check for (hence the name!)

It was set up by Helen Addis (also know as @thetittygritty), who is the Features Editor for Lorraine ITV, after her own experience being diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.

Change & Check

Helen discovered people didn’t really know what to look for when they were checking their breasts, so she created a handy guide which you can download here  – don’t forget to share it with your family and friends.

Dr Hilary has also shared his step-by-step guide to checking your breasts – you can watch via the ITV website.

Signs and symptoms to look for:

Visible changes in shape or size.
Skin changes such as; dimpling, puckering or rash around the nipple.
Lumps or bumps.
Bloody discharge from the nipple.

How to check:

Sit comfortably in front of a mirror with hands on your hips so chest muscles are relaxed.

Firstly, look at the contour of the breast to check that it matches on each side and see if there is any puckering or dimpling.

Look for any change in the nipple such as a rash, indrawing or pulling in.

Look for any skin change all around the nipple.

Using the fingers of your left hand to examine the right breast, walk your middle three fingers around the breast. You’re feeling for any abnormal lumps or bumps or any irregularity that hasn’t been there before.

Divide the breast into four quarters.

Start on the inner upper quarter, walking those fingers around the breast.

Do the same on the lower inner quarter and then across to the lower right quarter and then the upper right quarter.

Walk fingers up to the tail of the breast in the armpit.

Walk your fingers back to the areola around the nipple.

Repeat steps above on the left breast, using your right hand to do so.

Dr Hilary advises that menstruating women check their breasts following their period each month. For menopausal and post-menopausal women, pick a date each month that suits you.

If you notice anything unusual, see your doctor or nurse as soon as possible. Early diagnosis could mean a better chance of successful treatment.