Put two of my favorite loves together, fine jewelry and fine wine, together and you get this beauty. Chopard's artistic director Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele has created a parure of a necklace and earrings with a grapevine motif to celebrate the Festival del Sole in Napa Valley. Fashion Week Daily reports that the pieces are set in 18K rose gold and feature white and colored diamonds as well as gemstones that mimic the colors and shapes of grapes, vines, and leaves.
The ten-day festival is a luxury affair currently underway through July 20. It features concerts and presentations as well as gourmet meals and wine events throughout Napa Valley.
Across various sectors of the luxury market the story seem to be the same, the mid-range is suffering while the high end remains strong. Reuters reports that Italian jeweler Buccellati has seen a drop in less expensive jewelry in the United States. Maria Cristina Buccellati, head of communication for the company, says that they've only just started to feel affects of the faltering economy in the U.S. Bucellati's concerns follow those expressed by Buglari and Richemont. For Buccellati sales of jewelry priced between 10,000 euros ($15,880) and 30,000 euros ($47,152) had slowed in the United States but jewelry items priced above 100,000 euros ($157,175) are still having strong sales.
Buccellati is fairly protective of their brand and are not as well known as other high-end jewelers, partially because they are one of the only high-end jewelers who does not routinely lend jewelry for actresses to trot out on the red carpet. They also don't aim for the masstige market, Buccellati makes only about 3,000 jewelry pieces a year and around 500 of those are one-of-a-kind pieces.
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.
You may never have heard of Umm Kulthoum but she's famous in the Arab world. In her day she was at least as popular as Marie Callas. She died over three decades ago and one of her prized jewels was just auctioned off for $1.38 million in Dubai by Christie's. The nine-strand necklace is made up of 1,888 pearls and brought in more than 10 times its $120,000 estimate. The reason for the high price is the immense sentimental value, it was her favorite piece, given to her by the late president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The necklace had remained in Kulthoum's family and was auctioned by her descendants.
We've seen jewelry lines that feature Hello Kitty and Tweety, now the childhood icon Barbie is getting in on the act with Barbie Rocks, a new collection by Layna and Alan Friedman. The new collection, which launches this month features pink diamonds, precious and semi-precious colored stones and rare metals. Both Mattel and Layna and Alan Friedman will donate a portion of the proceeds from each item in the Barbie™ Rocks by Layna and Alan Friedman collection to the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation.
The first collection is the Silhouette collection that shows the classic ponytail, long eyelashes and ski-jump nose profile. It features two necklace styles: the "Luxe" Barbie™ Pendant and Barbie™ DogTag, in 18K white, yellow or rose gold, with white or black diamonds or yellow or pink sapphires; and the "Classic," which is done in sterling silver. The Barbie bracelets are available in sterling silver with 18K rose gold charms. The jewelry collection is currently bing sold at the Alan Friedman boutique in Beverly Hills and online with pieces ranging from $185 to $15,000.
Elsa Peretti's designs for Tiffany & Co. are aways stunning, with fluid lines and a classic feminine allure. Keira Knightley wears her Elsa Peretti Pendant with EVERYTHING! Available on the Tiffany & Co. website for $595, this 18k gold pendant sits on a 16" chain. Simple and elegant by itself or perfect to layer. Of course the little blue box that it comes in isn't bad either... who doesn't LOVE that box?!
Popular jewelry designer Rhonda Faber Green's name alone makers her a natural for "green" merchandise. Cashing in on the trend for eco-friendly merchandise, the "Green for Green" collection is two necklaces and a lapel pin, is made from recycled metals. The All Green Pendant is an 18K white gold necklace with gray rhodium and tsavorite that sells for $1,245 and the White and Green Pendant is 18K white gold with white diamonds and tsavorite set in gray rhodium for $1,395. The lapel pin is 18K white gold, gray rhodium and tsavorite for $625. "Heal the Earth" is inscribed on the back of each of the pieces, which will debut at the JA New York Show in March.
A couple of posts on Acquire led me to the accessories collections of Maison Martin Margiela on eLuxury. The designer has a quirky design sense that is echoed by their witty website. Their accessories play with the idea of recycling, a key becomes a ring or a pin, can tabs become an elaborate bib necklace and wine and Champagne corks are pressed into service as necklaces. Their Implied Champagne Cork necklace shown here is done in polished metal and sells for $295.
Mikimoto has created a $1 million South Sea cultured pearl necklace to dazzle one lucky recipient this holiday season. The lustrous strand features 27 rare AAA quality cultured pearls which measure 5.06 x 17.24 mm in diameter and took over 10 years to complette. The strand is finished with an art deco oval clasp with 11.92 carats of diamonds.
Children are precious. Taking that phrase literally is Princess Marie Chantal of Greece who designed girl and boy stick figures in diamonds. The Princess wears one for each of her four children. The boy and girl figures are done in white gold and each features approximately 1.03 carats of diamonds. The 18K gold chain sells for $200 and each figure is $1,800.
The Daily Mail has an interesting story on a case of celebrity diamond sharing. Celebs are often loaned diamonds to wear for red carpet event but what happens when two girls want the same piece? The Daily Mail says that both model Elle Macpherson and Academy-Award-winner Hilary Swank each wanted to wear a £5million Montblanc diamond necklace to a party to launch the new Montblanc collection. What to do, what to do? The situations often provide an easy measure of star power. In this case, Elle got the gem for daytime while Hilary got the more prized night time gig. I guess those Oscars are worth something...
Although citrine may not be the most luxurious of gemstones, the David Yurman Necklace still has refined style. Hanging from an 18-karat yellow gold box chain necklace, the elongated citrine and pavé diamonds shine brightly, making it quite the showstopper. At $3,900, it may feel a bit extravagant to wear casually, but if I wasn't so nervous about wearing such a luxurious and expensive necklace, I would wear this as much as possible. Stone measurements: 30x15mm.
I wonder if how you feel about Vivienne Westwood's diamond safety pin jewelry depends on your feelings on punk in general. Westwood, who was the doyenne of fashion's fringe in the 1970s now has her own diamond line that includes hearts, orbs,arrows and safety pins done in white gold and diamonds. Are these tomorrow's classics or do they just represent a mainstreaming and aging of what was once rebellious and young? The necklace shown here sells for $1,540.
I have a weakness for jewelry that uses gradient coloring of gemstones in the design. The Fiore Fiore collection from Hodel Pearls is made of white South Sea pearls surrounded by white gold petals set with blue sapphires. The collection also comes in green, pink and gold with pearls of different tones to match. The necklace sells for $9,800, the ring is $9,000 and the earrings are $18,000.
Emirates Airlines flies some of the most deep-pocketed people in the world. Not many airlines could hold auctions where customers bid to purchase high-end watches and jewelry. Last year, Montblanc and Emirates teamed up to auction off a watch (an auction that raised $250,000 for the Emirates airline Foundation) this year they have upped the ante with a million-dollar diamond necklace and earrings set. From now until 31st March 2008, customers on board all Emirates flights can register their interest in buying the Ruban d'amour diamond necklace and matching earrings. The jewelry includes the star-shaped Montblanc diamond and can be crafted with a choice of precious stones: the Ruban d'amour Neige is diamonds set in white gold; the Ruban d'amour Blanc et noir features black nephrite jade; pink sapphires complement the Ruban d'amour Rose; while Tahitian and Australian pearls adorn the Ruban d'amour Crème.
The winner will be chosen in April. The winner and a a companion, will be flown First Class on Emirates to Montblanc's jewelry workshop in Paris to watch the craftsmen finish the set. $150,000 of the sale proceeds will be donated to UNICEF in support of its educational projects for children in the Middle East.
