Each year Mikimoto does a series of jewelry pieces for breast cancer. This year Mikimoto has stepped up their actions, promising to donate 50 percent of all sales from the Everything is Possible with Hope collection to the Young Survival Coalition. The Young Survival Coalition (YSC) is an international, non-profit network of breast cancer survivors and supporters dedicated to addressing the unique needs of young women affected by breast cancer. The piece shown above, features 8mm pink freshwater cultured pearls and a clasp with .20 ct of diamonds in a 19-inch, 18K white gold chain. It sells for $2,200.

Diamonds, chocolate, pearls ... so good, together or apart. In this case, however, chocolate refers to the color, not the ingredients. Jared now offers LeVian Chocolatier Natural Color Chocolate Diamonds, including rings, earrings, necklaces/pendants, one bracelet, and two watches. Jared also has Le Vian's chocolate cultured pearls. I've never seen this color in diamonds or in pearls, and I like it, but I'm partial to brown. Prices for the diamonds range from $780 - $6,000, and for the pearls, from $400 - $1,700. See much more from Le Vian on its own site, and see the gallery for a few quirky pieces.

Japan has dominated the pearl market for years but according to a report from Reuters, the pearl empire is facing a crisis. The cultured pearl empire created by Kokichi Mikimoto has had a run of over one hundred years but now the decrease in jewelry sales and the rise of the pearl industry in China is changing things. The Reuters report says that domestic production hit a high of 88.5 billion yen ($900 million) in 1990 but last year's number was one fifth of that. Growers who have been cultivating pearls for years are considering getting out of the industry. Pearl farms are closing down as the market shifts.

In China, growers have had great success in cultivating pearls that can be as big and round as the prized Japanese akoya pearls. China has 50 times Japan's pearl production capacity and can flood the market with cheaper pearls. Japan is also facing competition from South Sea and Tahitian pearls. Japan now imports more than double the amount of pearls it exports.

Another problem may also be that the market for pearls just isn't there anymore. Pearls are considered traditional and are often out of favor with young people. Pearls were once a classic gift for life transitions like graduations and weddings but that is not as common anymore. Tiffany & Co.announced the closing of their their pearl-only Irdidesse stores in March of this year. Also while the diamond industry has made huge promotional efforts to educate consumers, most people don't know why they should choose one type of pearl over another. The company that started it all, Mikimoto, has learned to roll with the times selling pearls from a variety of places and combining pearls with diamonds to create a variety of jewelry styles.

Here's a little eyecandy for your Saturday, the newest earrings from EV Jewelry Designs. The Lizabeta earrings are handcrafted in 18-karat white gold and have more than six carats of hand-set diamonds set to highlight four South Sea pearls. The pearls at the top of each earring feature a bezel-set diamond. The earrings also have screw back posts and backings for added security. They sell for $15,000.

Diamond prices are falling but it looks like the stones may still be more popular than pearls. Tiffany & Co.is in the process of closing Iridesse, its spin-off brand of stores focusing exclusively on pearls. The stores launched in 2004 and there are currently 16 Irdiesse stores open. Tiffany spokeswoman Linda Buckley is quoted by JCK as saying that the store closings will occur as they make arrangements with landlords and sell off inventory but that the move should happen within the next few months. Buckley also says that Tiffany believes in the concept of pearls-only stores but that the current economy couldn't support the separate business. The news come just as Michelle Obama's official White House portrait is revealed. The First Lady shows off toned bare arms and a double strand of pearls around her neck.

Many years ago my mother went to Japan, and one of the things she brought back was a string of pearls from Mikimoto. I've always associated pearls with Mikimoto, and I'm sure many others do as well -- the company originated the cultured pearl and has been in business since 1893. Thanks to Mikimoto, there's a bright spot in this challenging holiday season: The company is sponsoring a contest whereby one random winner will receive a strand of Mikimoto Akoya Pearls estimated at $2,500. No purchase necessary, and contest ends March 31, 2009. Rules are here.

Last year Mikimoto unveiled a million-dollar necklace. This year's one-of-a-kind pearl creation is called The Goddess,. The Goddess is 18" long and is comprised of 25 perfectly matched, perfectly round South Sea White cultured pearls ranging in size from 17.0 mm to 19.6 mm. The pearls have a unique luster, a faint silvery pink orient with a mirror-like reflection which is rare on pearls of this size, Mikimoto says it took over a decade to assemble this necklace. The custom-designed diamond clasp totals almost 7 carats with pear-shaped diamonds radiating from a marquise-cut center stone, all mounted in platinum. The Goddess necklace is priced at $1,600,000 and it is available at the Mikimoto flagship boutique at 730 Fifth Avenue, New York.

Dubai is making a big move into developing the pearl industry. The Dubai Pearl Exchange, a subsidiary of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), has announced that it will host the first-ever World Pearl Forum to bring together the global pearl industry, revitalize the global pearl trade, and build on Dubai's historic status as the pearl center of the Gulf. The event will be held at the Atlantis hotel, Palm Jumeirah from 17-18 February, 2009. More than 200 leading pearl specialists from around the world will take part in the event. Gaiti Rabbani, Executive Director, Coloured Stones and Pearls, DMCC, shown at right above with Farid Mohammed Ahmed and Ahmed Bin Sulayem, says that the purpose of the event is to help advance pearls as gems and strategize on how to "better represent the luxury, value, and economic potential of the pearl itself."

[via Diamonds.net]

A mysterious pearl necklace that may have once belonged to Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, will be auctioned off by Bonhams in New York in December. Automotive billionaire Horace Elgin Dodge purchased the necklace from Cartier in Paris in 1920 for his wife Anna Thomson Dodge at the astonishing price of $825,000 - about $8 million in today's dollars.

The original Cartier invoice states that the "five row pearl necklace, consisting of 389 pearls weighing 4305 grains" was accompanied by an "enamel clasp representing Catherine, Empress of Russia" and "two diamond alternate clasps." Several newspaper accounts from the '20s suggested that the pearls did indeed once belong to Catherine; Anna Thomson Dodge's heirs maintain that Horace bought the pearls from Cartier on that basis.

Now reduced to three strands comprised of 224 pearls and two Cartier diamond clasps, the necklace (above) is estimated at $500,000- $700,000 - a hefty sum, to be sure, but far less than Horace originally paid. The reason for the depreciation has less to do with the reduction in strands than with changing fashion and an evolving jewelry marketplace.

In 1920, before the advent of cultured pearls, they were exceedingly rare and valuable, much more so than diamonds. Nowadays pearls have become more commonplace while diamonds are more precious, though a true connoisseur recognizes the value of the Dodge necklace, which is made of all natural pearls.

Jewelry designer Sarena Traver is more than just a maker of fine jewelry, she's also a race car driver. Traver's company, JeTalia has four collections, Cage, Synchro, Apex, and T2. Traver's father was in the gem business and she grew up as his apprentice.

Racing informs her designs in a subtle way, she likes to incorporate movement into the designs. She works primarily in gold, diamonds, and pearls with prices ranging from $1,000 to $18,000. My favorite are her Cage pieces which feature pearls inside gold scroll cages. The ring shown at right sells for $2250.

Sarah Jessica Parker has been wearing a lot of pearls lately. In the Sex and the City movie, her character Carrie Bradshaw is seen wearing opera-length pearls in many different scenes. The 32-inch strand of 8.5-millimeter akoya cultured pearls is showcased in a scene is which she climbs into bed with "Mr. Big" wearing the pearls with undies and a tank top. The necklace is from Mikimoto and sells for $11,900. Sarah Jessica Parker has also been sporting pearls in her real life showing up at several press events this season in both white and black pearl necklaces in various lengths.

You can buy your mother Mikimoto pearls and help fund breast cancer support this Mother's Day. Mikimoto donates 20% of proceeds from Everything is Possible With Hope, a special collection inspired by the pink ribbon, to the Young Survival Coalition. The YSC is a non-profit network of breast cancer survivors and supporters dedicated to young women, pushing for an effective breast cancer screening tool for women under 40 and research and support for this younger population of breast cancer survivors.

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.

[Thanks, Lana]

We don't know too much about this watch except that is will be introduced during the SIHH show in Switzerland in April. The Cartier Perles watch is part of the Cartier Libre watch collection which also includes Cartier's Crash watches. The Cartier Perle is done in 18K white gold with 389 diamonds (a total of 2.9 carats) and highlighted by two pearls. The movement is a Swiss quartz module. The style is very striking but it looks like might be awkward to wear.

Both Christie's and Sotheby's had auctions this week with some very important items that failed to sell. Perhaps the last few weeks before the Christmas holiday is not the best time to hold big auctions, although certainly either one of these items could have made a once-on-a-lifetime present.

The only Oscar given to Orson Welles, the one for writing Citizen Kane, did not receive a suitable bid and Sotheby's pulled it off the auction block. All offers were well below the minimum price set by the seller. It was hoped that the Oscar would sell for between $800,000 and $1.2 million, raising money for the Dax Foundation, a Los Angeles-based charitable group. The statuette may now be sold privately. A screenplay of Citizen Kane did bring in $97,000.

For Christie's it was a set of historic pearls that turned out not to sell. The pearls which had been given by Marie Antoinette to a British countess for safekeeping after she was imprisoned during the French Revolution, did not sell during the Christie's Magnificent Jewels sale on Wednesday. The pearls, which were later set into a necklace containing rubies and diamonds, were estimated to sell for up to $815,000.