van cleef arpels

Luxury fragrances make some of the best holiday gifts. Finding a unique scent that becomes your lady's signature scent can become a gift you both enjoy throughout the year. We sniffed, viewed, and sampled some of the hottest new scents out this season, some traditonal, some non, and some simply divine, to bring you the absolute best gifts for the holiday to satisfy any variety of perfume wearing personalities.

Juliette Has a Gun

Romano Ricci knows a thing or two about perfume. The grandson of Robert Ricci (creator of the cult classic L'Air du Temps) established his own name after creating four killer scents under his Juliette Has a Gun line, the sexiest thing to come out of Paris in a long time. Created for a woman who wants a more masculine perfume (yes, please!), the newest bottle in the collection, Calamity J., is inspired by Calamity Jane, the first cowgirl to act, drink, and shoot like a man. This decadent scent, however, is made without the hesperide or dihydromircenol, which are present in 90% of men's fragrances. Actress Lou Doillon (below), daughter of singer Jane Birken and director Jacques Doillon, serves as the perfect muse for Calamity J, the perfect scent for a strong, fierce woman. Fans of the line will love Juliette's other decadent fragrances: Lady Vengeance is a sultry sweet musk made of Bulgarian Rose, Patchouli and Vanilla. For a lighter scent, Miss Charming has notes of Morrocan Rose, Musks and wild fruits, and Citizen Queen, which focuses on the delicate rose, harps on the elegant classicism of perfume of the 1950s. Juliette Has a Gun scents are truly deadly and not for the faint of heart. One spritz will make you swoon. Be careful because a little goes a long way.



Available from Henri Bendel, Studio Beauty Mix stores, and beautyhabit.com.

Hong Kong's fall sales have been great for records, for Christie's in particular. After several were broken at the art auction this week, the gem scene was ignited. A pink diamond no larger than a chickpea went for $10.8 million, according to Bloomberg News. The stone had the second-highest rating available (potentially flawless) and a weight of 5 carats. It shattered the per-carat record set back in May. Back then, Hong Kong property investor Joseph Lau picked up a 7.03-carat blue diamond at an auction in Geneva for $10.5 million.

The pink diamond was sent under the gavel by Graff Diamonds, a London-based jeweler. The stone was sold to a phone bidder who beat out Liu Yiqian and his wife, Wang Wei. But, those two have bought enough already, right?

Overall, the 255 lots sold (an 89 percent sell rate) brought in HK$372 million, with the action pushed forward by mainland Chinese, a growing trend in the auction world this year. Donald May, a ruby and sapphire dealer based in Hong Kong, attended the auction and told Bloomberg, "There's a lot of mainland Chinese buying; either they didn't know what the items are worth or they wanted them so badly that price didn't matter." He believes that prices were pushed way out of control.

There were other records set in Hong Kong, as well. A sapphire weighing 16.65 carats, set by Van Cleef & Arpels, brought in HK$18.6 million, also setting a per-carat record.

[Photo courtesy of Christie's]

What feels like a follow up to the Van Cleef & Arpels Viscount watch comes the Vicomte collection. This piece is not a wrist watch at all, but a neck-borne timepiece for women. Lovely as a piece of jewelry, the timepiece continues Van Cleef & Arpel's tradition as a maker of beautiful, if not extravagant jewelry timepieces. The piece is part of their Les Jardins collection and looks more like something from 200 years ago than a modern foray into the hearts of luxury lovers. I think the venture is a move toward the special place people have in their hearts for antiquity. If you look closely, you can tell that the dial design almost looks like a fountain of water flowing upwards. This is more or less the theme of the watch, with the "fountain" being made up of a series of large sapphire jewels as well as different cuts of diamonds.

The dial itself is inlaid mother of pearl, and I love the classic styling of the 18k white gold and diamond designs under the 36mm wide watch face. Van Cleef & Arpels calls the piece the Vicomte Watch Pendant Necklace, but I find the name to be rather dull to say out loud. Interestingly, the watch case itself can be detached from the necklace and worn separately. A nice timepiece for the classic lady (or the one in your life).

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

On October 19th, Sotheby's will auction off a dazzling array of jewels, from a 29.53 carat flawless pear-shaped diamond ring to exquisite pieces designed by Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, David Webb and Tiffany & Co. The sale, which will take place at Sotheby's New York headquarters, will feature jewels from private American collections, as well as a selection of high quality white diamonds and signed and period pieces.

The 29.53 carat pear-shaped diamond is the centerpiece of the auction. The D color, internally flawless stone has been recently determined to be both potentially flawless and type IIa by the Gemological Institute of America. The ring has an estimate of $1.8 million to $2.2 million or $61,000 per carat.

Another stunning piece is a fancy vivid yellow diamond ring by Tiffany & Co., which is set with a potentially flawless emerald-cut stone of 9.55 carats in a diamond crossover mounting. Its estimate is $250,000 to $350,000.

Also featured at the sale will be an 18 Karat gold, diamond and amethyst "Botticelli" necklace by Van Cleef & Arpels. Designed with a foliate motif, it has an estimate of $50,000 to $70,000.

A diamond butterfly brooch by Bulgari, which is set with over 24 carats of diamonds, has an estimate of $50,000 to $70,000, while a David Webb-designed abstract star-shaped Abalone Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Diamond and Emerald Brooch has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.

The jewels will be on exhibition at Sotheby's New York showroom beginning on October 14th, 2009. An online catalogue is available to preview at Sotheby's website.

These watches are beautiful, and celebrate the love of gardens all over the world. The Van Cleef & Arpels Les Jardins watch collection starts with their manufacture made "quantièmes de saisons" movement that they released in 2006. The movement is unique in that is utilizes a disc plate as the back of the face that makes a full turn each 365 days. Meaning that the watch looks a little bit different each day of the year. Painted on enamel, are four garden varieties placed on the rotating discs. First is the Jardin romantique Anglais (for English gardens), the Jardin Italien (Italian gardens), Jardin à la Française (French gardens), and finally the Jardin d'Extrême-Orient (Oriental gardens). If you look closely at the colorful images you should be able to identify which is each. In front of the enamel discs are white toned cut-out frames that help enhance the daily imagery changes.

The watches are limited to 100 pieces each and constructed in 18k white gold. Mother of pearl lines the mechanical movement, while a diamonds stud the bezel and crown. The watch strap is white alligator. These watches are pure art pieces, and a testament to the ingenuity and creativity that French Van Cleef & Arpels is known for. For the lucky few, the bright imagery on these watches may help ease the melancholy colors of these difficult-for-luxury good times.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

This is a very charming woman's watch. Not only because it is something new from Van Cleef & Arpels, but because it celebrates simple city adventuring in one of the most scenic places: Paris, France. No one will deny that Paris is a visually splendid place to explore; can you think of other locations with as many world famous landmarks?

The Journée à Paris watch is aptly named ("day in Paris") and along with telling the time, it has a special disc with a female character enjoying Parisian locales. The partially viewable disc makes a full revolution each 24 hours. The disc tells the tale of a day's adventure, I'll leave it to Van Cleef & Arpels to explain:

"The day begins in the Tuileries, with a diamond, mandarin garnet, and tsavorite ring of overlapping leaves, not to mention bouquets of different kinds of flowers in various collections of astonishing gems of blooming beauty. The day continues through the Ile de la Cité (a diamond bracelet whose graceful arches pay homage to the arches of the Pont des Arts, which connects the island to the Louvre), the Avenue Montaigne (a diamond "cravat" necklace representing tradition, where the "tie" can be detached and worn as a bracelet), and the Paris Garnier Opera (a sapphire and diamond ballerina pin). The twinkling midnight fairy lights of the Eiffel Tower are represented by a necklace of yellow and white diamonds that flows down the neck with the same geometry as the structure, and the octagonal square of Place Vendome, by the art deco design of a Minaudiere in onyx and diamonds."

Apparently the sequence took Van Cleef & Arpels nine months to develop along with the watch itself. Only 80 pieces will be available with a choice of 18k white or pink gold cases. The main dial is mother of pearl with gold inserts, and the black 24 hour disc is onyx with gold and various gems as mentioned above. The watch itself is beautifully decorated with 201 diamonds around the bezel and carefully placed on the t-shaped lugs and crown. The mechanical movement inside ensures that this is as much haute horologie as it is jewelry.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

The ultra-luxe Byblos hotel in St. Tropez is selling ten limited edition $150,000 wood and leather caskets containing an oversized bottle of Perrier-Jouët Belle Époque champagne and a Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry set. The casket, available from the hotel's exclusive club Les Caves du Roy and made to celebrate the Byblos' 41st anniversary, contains a Salmanazar of the vintage 1999 Belle Époque, which is 9 liters or the equivalent of 12 standard bottles. In addition to the Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry set, which is designed to resemble the Anemone, the flower that adorns the Belle Époque bottle, there are four hand-decorated champagne glasses in the casket.

[via Elite Choice]