Ruby

Isabella Stewart Gardner's Ruby Ring Sold by Sotheby's

This week, Sotheby's sold the ruby ring that once belonged to Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924).

The cushion-shaped ruby ring weighs 8.66 carats. The ruby is flanked by single-cut diamonds weighing approximately .12 carat and is mounted in platinum. The ring sold for $2.098 million, including the buyer's premium. Its pre-sale estimate was $1 million to $1.5 million. The ring was sold as part of the Magnificent Jewels sale at Sotheby's, along with the collection of impressive jewels that belonged to philanthropist Patricia Kluge.

Gardner was a philanthropist and visionary patron of the arts whose personal collection of fine and decorative art is housed in her former home, now an esteemed Boston museum, called the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The Gardner Museum, which is filled with paintings, sculpture, tapestries, furniture and decorative arts from cultures spanning thirty centuries, has remained essentially unchanged since her death in 1924.

Gardner was born to a prominent New York family and in 1860 married financier John 'Jack' Lowell Gardner of Boston. She was strong-minded and intellectually curious and enjoyed her reputation in Victorian era Boston for leading an avant-garde lifestyle. Gardner frequently traveled abroad to expand their knowledge of art as well as European and Asian cultures.

Tags: auction, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, magnificent jewels, magnificent jewels auction, ruby, ruby ring, Sothebys

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Jewel-Studded Coffee Mugs, Tea Cups, Drinking Glass

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Jewel-Studded Coffee Mugs, Tea Cups, Drinking Glass

A leading diamond manufacturer in India is offering a range of extravagant crockery that lets you sip hot coffee from a bejeweled mug for about $11,000. The melamine glass mug is studded with 8 carats of diamonds and 3 carats of colored stones set in 25 to 50 grams of gold. For tea lovers, there is a set of six tea cups for $9,600. Each cup is adorned with a replaceable glass design of 1.2 carat of diamonds set on 25 grams of gold. For platinum kids, there is a $1,500 milk glass festooned with 2 carats of rubies and 3 carats of diamonds studded on 20 grams of gold. Exhibited at Sparkle-09, a gem and jewelry exhibition, these products are all the rage among well-heeled inhabitants of India.

[Via LuxuryLaunches.com]

Tags: coffee, coffee cup, coffee mug, CoffeeCup, CoffeeMug, diamond, diamonds, glass, gold, India, mug, rubies, ruby, tea, tea cup, TeaCup

Lagerfeld Debuts Mink-Covered iPod Helmets

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Gadgets, Luxury Cars & Autos

At his Paris fashion show on Sunday, the ever-entertaining Karl Lagerfeld debuted a new line of luxurious mink-covered scooter helmets with built-in iPod capability. The over-the-top accessories were created in collaboration with French luxury helmet maker Les Ateliers Ruby and Apple. They're road legal and feature full carbon fiber shells and ultra-soft burgundy nappa lambskin linings. The iPod hookup lets you pipe music directly to the earpieces.

Lagerfeld, who also heads up Chanel and Fendi, showed matching mink vests and other garments in the futuristic fashion show for his eponymous label. Apparently the haute helmets are Lagerfeld's comment on the recessed economy. "Now everyone is on scooters, even chic women, so we had to do the helmet," he explained. No word yet on when the helmets might be made available for sale or what their price would be, but safe to say they'll be extremely expensive.

Tags: Apple, Ateliers Ruby, AteliersRuby, Chanel, fashion show, FashionShow, French fashion, FrenchFashion, fur, helmet, iPod, Karl Lagerfeld, KarlLagerfeld, Les Ateliers Ruby, LesAteliersRuby, mink, motorcycle, Paris, Paris Fashion Week, ParisFashionWeek, Ruby, scooter

Golden Cradle Studded with Diamonds, Rubies, and Emeralds

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Events

Wow, way back in the 18th century they really knew how to bling things up. And unlikely things too, like this baby's cradle. Covered in gold and set with more than 2,000 gems including diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, it's currently on display in Tokyo at a special exhibit that includes about 140 other antique treasures from the Ottoman Empire (which came before the Republic of Turkey). The items will be on display through September 24th in honor of the birth of Prince Hisahito to the Japanese Emporer's son Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Kiko (got that straight?). No word on what the cradle's valued at, although since it isn't for sale I guess it's more about admiring it's gaudy beauty than hoping to get one for yourself.

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Tags: baby, cradle, crib, diamond, diamonds, emerald, emeralds, gem, gems, gold, golden, infant, jewel, jewels, prince, princess, rocker, rocking, rubies, ruby, tokyo

Chanel J12 Limited Edition Watch

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

One of the latest to join the Chanel J12 family, this watch is truly limited edition as only 12 are being made -- if you're lucky enough to get one you're in an very small club. There's not much information out yet, but we do know this Chanel J12 Limited Edition watch comes in a 38mm case of 18k white gold and ceramics. The dial is set with 84 diamonds and 12 rubies, the bezel is set with 36 rubies, and the crown features a cabochon ruby. It will also come in a 33 mm version if you prefer a smaller size, and no word yet on price.

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Tags: 12, chanel, diamond, diamonds, j, j12, rubies, ruby, timepiece, watch

Baby Devil Art Pendant

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

This fun Baby Devil Art Pendant from designer Theo Fennell seems like it is the idea accessory for a Halloween outfit, whether you want to dress up a costume or just add a little flair to an ordinary outfit. The heart is double-sided and covered in pavé rubies. The devil horns and other details are all done in white gold and, as a whole, the charm measures 1" x 1/2". Fennell also has a winged angel heart charm if you don't feel like being a little bit bad with the devil charm despite the upcoming holiday. Price: $3,300.

[via boingboing]

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Tags: charm, devil, fennell, halloween, necklace, pendant, rubies, ruby, white gold

Greenland's Largest Carved Ruby

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

The largest recorded ruby ever discovered in the northwestern hemisphere, according to True North Gems Inc., has now been unveiled in its new carved format. The Canadian exploration company, unearthed the 440 carat uncut ruby in 2005 in the Fiskenaesset district of Greenland. It took Canadian gemstone carver Thomas McPhee 10 months to produce this 302 carat gemstone which is the first ever carved Greenland ruby. It has an estimated value of $500,000 Canadian.

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Tags: gem, greenland, jewel, ruby

$100,000 Cigarette Pack

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Lucky Strike has been a popular cigarette brand since its founding in 1871, but to boost the popularity of the brand, BAT International has launched an advertising tour centered around a $100,000 pack of cigarettes that will be displayed at major international airports, where many duty-free cigarettes are purchased, for the remainder of the year. The pack is made of 18-ct white gold and features both a large ruby and a large diamond on the front. The rest of the package bears the traditional markings of retail packages, including a large health warning. The pack can be seen in Frankfurt in September, in Düsseldorf in November and Munich in December.