Holiday gift ideas for women: fine jewelry for the animal lover

By Rachel Garrahan in New York

Holiday shopping is a wild time of crowds, bad weather and the desperate search for an original gift. We have tamed the process with our selection of jewelry that your animal-adoring other half is bound to fall for.

First up in our animal menagerie is Temple St Clair's pretty Sitting Fox pendant, which, with its diamond-tipped tail, is guaranteed to bring out anyone's inner fox.

Dog lovers will immediately fall for one of Holly Dyment's gold, enamel and diamond canine pendants, available at Bergdorf Goodman, which are glamorous, colorful and guaranteed to bring a smile to the face, while Pisceans will appreciate the chic whimsy of McTeigue and McClelland's handmade Flora Fish pin.

While we can't give you Seven Swans a Swimming for Christmas, we can offer two perfectly matched swans in Wendy Brandes' elegant Cleves ring, as inspired by Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII's fourth wife, who was born in Schwanenburg, or Swan Castle.

Finally, it was hard to imagine anyone treasuring an actual insect before Daniela Villegas launched her collection of luxurious gems. The designer's love of nature is captured here in the iridescent beauty of a weevil's shell complemented by green garnets and a South Sea Pearl. Creepy crawlies go chic.

Wendy Brandes Cleves ring, inspired by Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII's fourth wife who was born in Schwanenburg, or Swan Castle ($9,000).
McTeigue & McClelland Flora Fish pin made in yellow gold with a cabochon ruby eye ($4,700).
Daniela Villegas one-of-a-kind rose gold, South Sea pearl, garnet and weevil bracelet. Available at net-a-porter.com ($6,250).
Holly Dyment Labrador dog pendant with diamonds and blue enamel. Available at Bergdorf Goodman ($5,175).
Temple St Clair Sitting Fox gold pendant with a diamond-tipped tail ($3,500).