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Wrist Regalia: What It's Like To Wear Ultra Luxury Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — May 1st 2011 12:06PM

Anyone who claims that timepieces are merely for telling the time simply hasn't worn enough nice watches. Even before watches were able to measure the time in a halfway decent manner they were made out of precious materials and dutifully decorated. It seems that the timepiece and luxury have been cooperating since the very beginning. It was not until the 20th century that the watch became mainstream through mass production - and even modest wage earners could afford one. Rather than destroy the elite status of having a watch, all this did was strengthen the high-end watch market as timepieces at this level needed to try even harder to separate themselves from their distant, more affordable cousins.

Writing about very expensive timepieces and the world that conceives them has been an interesting journey for me as one with no elite upbringing or sense of entitlement to the "nicest things life has to offer." This have given me a unique perspective on wearing luxury watches and the people that consume them.

Embellished Fringed Leather Shoulder Bag, Handbag of the Day

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) — Apr 30th 2011 5:01PM

Ralph Lauren Embellished fringed leather shoulder bag

We have the Ralph Lauren Collection to thank for this metallic western-meets-bohemian shoulder bag. The Embellished Fringed Leather Shoulder Bag is not for the timid as it's not only really large but metallic silver all over and covered in long, thick, light-catching fringe. It also features several metallic discs in various shades, sizes, and designs, as well as a few pieces of genuine turquoise for an all around glamorous and eclectic look. The fold-over flap fastens with a button and the interior features three roomy pocket sections and whipstitch trim. $3,995

Nivrel Deep Ocean Diver Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — Apr 30th 2011 12:01PM

German based Nivrel is finally back with a new dive watch for 2011. It is called the Deep Ocean (not a super creative name by today's standards), and has a nice sporty, yet conservative look. While Nivrel quality is high, their prices are very fair compared to some of the competitors. A few years ago Nivrel has a really awesome lineup of dive watches. Those seemed to have gone away in favor of more classic pieces, but for 2011 Nivrel couldn't hold back their sport collection any longer.

As a tool watch the 43mm wide steel Deep Ocean is an attractive piece. It has a carbon fiber dial and combo of applied Arabic and circle hour markers mixed with sword hour and minute hands. Each of them slathered in SuperLumiNova luminant for darkness viewing. The watch is made in Germany and has 500 meters of water resistance and a sapphire crystal over the dial. I love dive watches and enjoy that Nivrel has offered a sober utility watch with just a hint of style - perfect for today's conservatively dressed guy who wants a watch that hints to an active sense of adventure. The watch comes in a metal bracelet along with a rubber strap. Inside the Deep Ocean is a Swiss ETA 2824-2 automatic movement.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Marc Jacobs Snake Suede and Leather Clutch, Handbag of the Day

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) — Apr 29th 2011 5:02PM

This sherbet-hued creation from Marc Jacobs offers a lot in the way of color and personality despite being quite simple. The Snake Suede and Leather Clutch features raspberry suede paired with orange leather and raspberry python trim -- literally in the form of a python. The little snake has a small brown leather tongue and eyelash details, plus as a single pink crystal eye. The bag closes via concealed magnetic closure and the interior is divided into three compartments, the center zipped, and is lined in brown leather. $1,095

Chaumet Dandy Chronograph El Primero Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — Apr 29th 2011 12:04PM

Aside from having an interesting and artistic dial, this special limited edition Chaumet Dandy contains a high-beat Zenith El Primero automatic chronograph movement. Zenith sometimes offers El Primero movements to good brands, and having one in a designer Chaumet is a sweet deal for watch lovers and fashionistas alike.

This piece is in all platinum, and has the Chaumet Dandy cushion style case. The dial is fascinating and done in Grad Feu blue enamel. The design is meant to look like Chaumet store fronts - which was designed by J.M. Wilmotte. I like the matching blue stitching on the black alligator strap. This rare piece will be limited to just 12 watches in the limited edition set.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Jessica Alba Models For Piaget Jewelry

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — Apr 28th 2011 6:54PM

Piaget, a high-end Swiss watch and jewelry maker, has recently signed on actress Jessica Alba to be the new face of their Possession watch and jewelry collection. Piaget chose Alba because of her beauty, and known dedication as a working Hollywood wife and mother. Piaget is interested in capturing a more mature and family focused demographic with their new Possession marketing campaign and felt that Jessica was the perfect person to evoke that image. Look for her in various Piaget marketing campaigns coming up soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Falabella Faux Leather Wristlet Bag, Handbag of the Day

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) — Apr 28th 2011 5:02PM

Stella McCartney Faux Leather Falabella Wristlet Handbag

Few do faux leather as well as Stella McCartney, and this reincarnation of her Falabella style is no exception. The ultra-thin style doesn't leave much room for stashing any but the most basic of necessities but the sophisticated rocker-glam vibe it puts off is more than worth it. The Falabella Faux Leather Wristlet Bag is all bright Ecru faux leather and gleaming gunmetal hardware, plus a little designer-stamped tag and some whipstitching details. It has a zip-top closure and is fully lined inside in designer-stamped twill. $380

Casio Baby-G Watch For Married To The Mob Designer

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — Apr 28th 2011 12:01PM

Casio's latest special edition women's watch is this special Baby-G piece made in collaboration with fashion brand Married to the Mob by Leah McSweeney. Casio's durable G-Shock and more feminine Baby-G collection of pieces have proved to be highly malleable designs when it comes to creating special models.

Fashion designer Married to the Mob is an energetic urban themed clothing and fashion brand for young women who thrive on asserting their unconventional sides with hip, rebellions looks. According to McSweeney, there had been demand for a special Married to the Mob themed Baby-G watch for some time. Produced in limited quantities, the Married to the Mob Baby-G watch is based on the existing Casio ref. BG5600 line and is here called the BG5600MOB-4. It has a metallic pink/purple design with Married to the Mob branding on it. The LCD screen is done in a silvered style, while the gold toned case back has the signature Married to the Mob "lips" logo
engraved on it. Further Married to the Mob (MTTM) branding is on the strap. It is a very fun looking watch that will appeal to brand enthusiasts as well as others who enjoy the power purple look on the case and strap.

The watch itself has a series of functions found in most Baby-G watches including the time, calendar, stopwatch, alarms, world time, and more. The watch will be available at select Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, and Macy's stores starting about now for the price of $99.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Casio Baby-G Married to the Mob watch

Gucci New Bamboo Stud-Embellished Tote, Handbag of the Day

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) — Apr 27th 2011 5:01PM

Gucci New Bamboo stud-embellished leather tote

The New Bamboo Stud-Embellished Leather Tote from Gucci is a structured modern gem, and (for some reason) it makes me think of licorice. It's all layers of vibrant black leather with rows of small gold stud details, braiding, thick leather tassels, a detachable luggage tag and woven shoulder strap, and of course the single glossy black bamboo top handle. It also has a small stud and bamboo twist-lock closure on the fold-over flap front. Inside it's lined raffia and has one zippered pocket, plus a mirror and leather mirror sleeve. $4,200

Groomstars.com Review - Formal Gifts For Men

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) — Apr 27th 2011 12:04PM

The website Groomstars.com is founded on an interesting idea - that being the concept that men are hard to shop for (especially when it comes to gifts for special occasions). As the name of the site implies, the focus of the site is offering gifts for the men who participate in weddings (not like routinely or anything). Along with the fact that guys are not super easy to shop for, most gift websites usually have items that either appeal only to women, or are gifts guys don't normally want. Groomstars strives to offering an enticing selection of male-minded gifts, and like many other gift based websites, Groomstars also features most (if not all) of their products as being personalized.

Featured products including a range of decent quality pens, holders, valets, watch cases, clothing accessories, hobbyist goods, nice tools, and other things men usually like, but wouldn't normally buy for themselves. I actually appreciate the selection a lot. It is as though someone waded through most of the obvious (and many non obvious) gifts a man would like and presented them in an easy to navigate place.

A lot of people will likely enjoy the site when shopping for groomsmen, a best man, the father of the bride - or anyone else who may be a friend, boss, or relative. Prices aren't cheap, but part of what you are paying for is the curated content. One such item that is nice is the Groomstars Striped Wedge Wood Watch box. It contains space for a few watches and related accessories, while the inside is cloth lined to prevent scratching. It comes in a nicely veneered closing box case with a personalized plate near the push-button opener. The inside is lined with soft cloth and quality is better than you might expect (or perhaps I simply have jaded expectations). Their watch boxes also come in a few different finishes and retails for $265 - all of course available for purchase online.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Groomstars watch box