Thistle & Bee sells a variety of luxury objects including jewelry, picture frames, home goods and baby gifts. The company has a full range of sterling silver products including a large range of enameled pieces such as cufflinks and keychains. The American flag keychain shown above has handpainted enamel detail and sells for $250.

Thistle & Bee has now expanded into gemstones and fine jewelry with new collections of gold pieces featuring diamonds and colored stones. Examples and prices are in the gallery below.

Italian accessories company Breil Milano has opened a new flagship store at 148 Spring Street in Soho, New York City. The stores is one in a series of flagship stores which Breil Milano is opening luxury cities. It evolves from the new monobrand boutiques recently opened in Berlin (February 2008), Florence and Barcelona (April 2008) .

The New York store is located in a historical building but the boutique has a modern contemporary style which combines warm color tones with bronze and green tints. The entire left-hand wall is covered by original tiles by Dutch artist Edwin Vlassenroot who also sculpted lampshades in copper.A more private space has been created at the lower level where jewelry and watches are available to the public. The next stores are planned for Rome and Milan.

[via National Jeweler]

The designs from EV Jewelry's Masterpiece collection are meant to have a look that harkens back to ancient cultures and a time when jewelry had both aesthetic and spiritual meanings. EV Jewelry was founded in 2006 by master craftsmen Elias Vayas and Dimitri Mitsukos and each museum quality piece is designed, cast and set by hand. The Masterpiece collection features a variety of distinctive pieces, shown here on model Yamila Riaz. The ring is the Fteros which is an 18K yellow gold ring with webbed brown enameling and a large 35 carat citrine. This piece sells for $12,000.

On her wrist is the Cleopatra bracelet. The bracelet was inspired by scrolls dating back to the era of queen Cleopatra's reign. The gold surface is hand chiseled and the piece features a diamond-covered connecting lock which is set on either end with rubies.It sells for $65,000.

Certainly with more and more billionaires in Russia, the luxury market there is growing by leaps and bounds. Mostly I have written about retailers like Lamborghini, Gucci and Cartier getting their foothold in Moscow and beyond but now there are a few Russian companies seeking to sell their brands in the U.S. and Europe. In April I heard Russian billionaire Roustam Tariko, speak about his quest to sell vodka in the U.S.; last month, I met with the lovely women from the Russian company Rifesta who were kind enough to show me their diamond jewelry.

Rifesta has been agrowing name in the Russian market for a while now. Rifesta Holding opened its first jewelry shop in Ekaterinburg in 1998. In 2005, the first Rifesta boutique opened in Moscow and in June 2006 the company made their first forays into the U.S. market. At Rifesta the pieces are all made in Russia, from Russian designers and using Russian diamonds.

The pieces are rather distinctive. What struck me about the designs is that they make great use out of small diamonds. The rings are large showy pieces meant to be noticed and appreciated. Each collection has its own theme and style, some of which are more intriguing than others, their Diamond Figures collection and Legends of Elves collections were ones I found particularly striking.

Dame Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry company has been in bad shape for a while now but now that she and Kathy Ireland have terminated their licensing agreements with House of Taylor it looks like the company is officially over. The company is reportedly insolvent and the loan company is threatening to take possession of all inventory. Both Ireland and Taylor were major shareholders in the company along with Jack Abramov, the former chairman, president, and chief executive officer, and Monty Abramov, former secretary and vice president, both of whom resigned from their positions in April.

In May the company was delisted from Nasdaq and it will be forced to lose the Taylor name. Also, Lyle M. Rose, House of Taylor president and chief executive officer, left the company when they did not pay his salary, but is still hoping for a severance payment of around $150,00. Five other employees were terminated at the same time. The business will likely be liquidated. The company was in business for over three years and did create some lovely pieces such as the "Daisy" necklace shown above.

Simply good sounds more like a slogan for a food company but it's the motto of Hellmuth jewelry. Founded by Gert Hellmuth in 1983 and based in Pforzheim, Germany, the company makes a wide variety of pieces including bridal jewelry and large statement pieces. Celebrities who've worn Hellmuth include Aisha Tyler, Ali Larter and Britney Spear who wore a Hellmuth ring during her performance at the VMAs last year. Many of the Hellmuth designs incorporate crocodile or snake patterns but in a very abstract way that gives the pieces a luxe feel.

Sharon Stone may have gotten in trouble with Dior over her remarks on China recently, but she can still bring in the gigs. Jeweler Damiani has announced that Stone will be their new face. The new ad campaign for the diamond seller celebrates women throughout history starting with Eve up through Ameilia Earhart and today's modern women. Silvia Damiani, who is a longtime friend of Sharon Stone, introduced the new campaign, which was shot on March 20th by photographer Solve Sundsbo, at a press event in Beverly Hills this week.

Los Angeles jewelry store Kaviar & Kind has long been known for its unique selection and excellent service. Now one of the former owners of the store, Katherine Azami-Rose and her husband Rick Rose have opened Roseark a new expanded jewelry store and website. The West Hollywood store now includes a 1,000 square foot gallery filled with fine art, tranquil outdoor garden space and selected clothing lines for both men and women. The big draw is still the jewelry though with pieces by designers including Jennifer Meyer, Anita Ko, Carole Wallace, Wendy Brandes, and store co-owner Katherine Azarmi Rose.

Roseark also has a Jewelry of the Month club for those more money than time to shop. Selected pieces from designers carried at Roseark can arrive at your door either four times a year ($4,000) or once a month ($12,000).

The world is becoming ever more conscious of fair trade goods and ethically responsible indulgences like gems and jewelry, and Monique Péan is making that effort all the more beautiful with her nature inspired designs. And not only are many of her creations beautiful and made of rare ancient ivory (the necklace pictured here is made with 12,000 year old mammoth ivory and sells for $25,000) but 50% of her C:W (Charity: Water) collection goes towards providing water and sanitation to disadvantaged people.

[via JC Report]

Walking through the room at the JCK Luxury show in Las Vegas was a dizzying experience, diamonds and gemstones glittering behind glass in every direction. In a situation like that beauty can become a blur but the designs of Henry Dunay immediately caught my eye. Henry Dunay has had a long career in the jewelry business. He started as an apprentice at the age of 14 in New York and has spent over 50 years in the jewelry business, launching Henry Dunay Designs back in 1965. Since then he was won dozens of awards for his designs (including being named the world's best jewelry designer by the Robb Report in 2000 and 2001) and his pieces have appeared in countless magazine spreads. Last year marked the publication of his coffee table book, "Henry Dunay A Precious Life."

Dunay creates both one-of-a-kind pieces as well as collection of earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings which are sold at stores including Bergdorf Goodman. The gallery below is just a small sample of his designs which have a organic sculptural quality that makes them distinctive. Dunay also uses a finish on his gold called the Sabi finish which which is a hand-textured soft finish that he sometimes combines with a high-gloss finish for contrast. The designs are highly collectible and often fetch high prices at auctions and estate sales. The gallery below shows just a sample of this talented man's work.

Jewelry designer Emily Amey takes her inspiration from nature's small wonders. A sprig of seaweed becomes a delicate necklace, the tendril of a vine coils to form a slim bangle, the tentacles of a squid are reimagined as dramatic hoop earrings under her keen eye. She designs in both gold and silver, using found beachglass in ethereal shades of blue-green as adornment. One of her biggest inspirations from the aquatic world is the lace-like seafan, whose image is shown in the three pieces above.

Part of the fun of visiting the JCK jewelry show in Las Vegas was getting to meet people from around the world and see unique pieces shown by the manufacturers. Giovanni Apa, a company that hails from Torre del Greco, Italy, a coastal city near Naples, specializes in cameos. They manufacture and sell their own pieces and have a museum onsite, making them a popular tourist destination in this city known for cameos. The company also features a few unique handcarved pieces from the studio of the late Professor Noto. The piece shown above is a shell cameo brooch representing "The Judgement of Paris" carved by prof. Noto It has a white gold frame with diamonds and sapphire and sells for 39,000 euros.

You've likely never heard of Martin Rapaport but to the diamond world he's famous. Rapaport is to diamonds what Robert Parker is to wine, a person of tremendous influence. He runs Diamonds.Net and his Rapaport Index defines diamond pricing for the world. On Monday, Rapaport spoke to the packed room at the JCK jewelry show in Las Vegas delivering his pronouncements on the diamond market at an annual breakfast event. Right now, the diamond industry is facing similar challenges seen by the rest of the luxury market. Rapaport feels that the current economic climate offers both opportunity and pitfalls for those in the diamond business.

The news is conflicting, larger stones have been getting higher and higher prices and the huge wealth in China, Dubai, India and Russia is creating a hunger for luxury goods and diamonds and diamond jewelry specifically. This is also a time when the plummeting real estate market in the U.S. and Europe means that the Western world, which fueled the global prosperity in the beginning, is now cutting back on spending. Independent stores and small chains are having a tough time and the news is full of stories of stores having bankruptcy sales where goods are being sold off at below cost.

As of 2007, the U.S. still made up the bulk of diamond jewelry sales, clocking in at 43%. China brought in 8.5%, Europe did 11% and the Middle East was responsible for 4.6%. Until recently, the U.S. had been on a path of prolonged economic growth and our prosperity fueled the global economy expanding the middle class in India and Africa. Small jewelers in the U.S. are now competing with a global market. As I've heard mentioned at other conferences such as the Luxury Summit, the number of millionaires and billionaires is growing worldwide. This might be one reason why the price of big stones is going up far faster than the prices for smaller stones, especially those under a carat.

For jewelry sellers, as I heard in other sessions at this show, branding is more important than ever, especially to new luxury spending markets. Rapaport cautioned though that branding is a "trojan horse" for the retailers. First the retailers convince their customers which brand to buy and then the seller of the brand raises that price. Many stores are worried about the new DeBeers Forevermark, a branded diamond sold by DeBeers. Now the considerable advertising budget of DeBeers will be aimed at marketing that diamond which will be sold at premium price. Rapaport's answer to those competing against this new stone? Hang a sign in your window advertising that you are selling for diamonds for 10% less than Forevermark.

In a troubled economic time, it's quite fascinating to attend a show aimed at helping people sell jewelry, a non-essential item that might be the first thing axed out of the budget when times get tough. It does appear that many owners of jewelry stores are worried. Small independent stores, similarly to small bookstores, have been fighting a difficult battle for years, facing competition from a variety of angles including jewelry store chains, discount retailers, and the internet. At the JCK Show in Las Vegas held at the Venetian Hotel, I sat in on a couple of marketing sessions aimed at jewelers to learn how they will be selling to their customers now that they need their business perhaps more than they ever have before.

Once concern seems to be how to attract younger people. The majority of jewelry store owners appear to be in the Baby Boomer demographic and they don't always know how to connect with younger generations. Have you ever walked into a jewelry store and felt like they weren't speaking your language when it comes to selling to you? NIck Failla, of Premier Consulting Innovations suggests that part of the problem might be that they may have been selling to you as if you were your parents. At the JCK Show he spoke to jewelers explaining that the generation gap is more than just a question of age but a question of values. The issues he spoke on reminded me of similar themes discussed at the Luxury Summit back in April. Selling luxury goods to the younger consumer involves more than just a glossy ad featuring a popular celebrity. Failla brought up the successes of lifestyle brands like Cadillac and Apple; it's his assertion that "people don't buy brands, they join brands" they want to be part of what the brand represents. He also made a very important point that for Generations X and Y humor sells a lot. Until he mentioned it I hadn't really considered it but this is very true. Jewelry stores use many different types of advertising pitches but most of them focus on selection, price and luxury. What they don't stress is fun, they show you how luxurious a piece is rather than how good it would make you feel. This is something I've noticed overall in the luxury market, but I suspect it is starting to shift with the changing tastes of today's consumer. Just strolling out of the Venetian Hotel, I saw a billboard for Barney's New York touting that they offer "Taste. Luxury. Humor."

The Animal Rescue Site has harnessed the immense power of the Internet and put it to use for a good cause. The site features a button that visitors can click as many times as they want to provide much needed food to the millions of animals in shelters across the US. The food is payed for by sponsors that advertise on the site, and it's distributed by volunteers. So, next time you're bored at work... click away! Like most charities The Animal Rescue Site has an online gift store, except this one is more like and online gift mall, I was blown away by how much cool stuff they have (jewelry, cute clothing, home and garden supplies and pet accessories and much more), I put the shopping link in my favorites, I will definitely check back next time I'm buying a gift! If you're going to be shopping online it feels good to know you aren't just fueling the mass consumerism lifestyle, when a portion of the money goes to a good cause it makes shopping so much more enjoyable! Plus I can justify spending more knowing the proceeds go to animals!