The Beading Gem

Ear suspenders created by Los Angeles based handmade jewelry designers Sara Smith and Mara Rothbart, of Smith+Mara have been trending among young celebrities like Gigi Hadid recently.  This simple style is novel as it is a cross between a stud earrings and an ear cuff!

Wrapped bracelets are all the rage.  Indeed this ethnic style is a global trend and the trendsetting designer is Chan Luu. The Los Angeles based jewelry designer, originally from Vietnam, counts celebrities among her many fans. Count me in as one, too!

Kiss Kiss Bracelet

Jane Austen (1775-1817), the celebrated English novelist lived about 200 years ago. She wrote just 6 complete romantic fiction novels.  Her acute and sometimes amusing observation of the landed gentry and the social mores of her day continue to delight both readers and scholars alike to this day.

Jane Austen at 13/14 Rice (descendants of Jane's brother) Portrait by Ozias Humphry

Image via Wikipedia

Elizabeth Taylor's fabulous jewelry collection set a world record yesterday when it fetched a total of $115 million.  It way surpassed Christie's estimate of "more than $30 million".

It's an incredible sum considering it was from a single owner.  Some of her best pieces commanded the highest prices.

Image Source

An extraordinary auction will soon take place. From December 13-15, Elizabeth Taylor's legendary collection will be sold at the Rockefeller Center in New York.

The sale of her bedazzling 270 pieces of jewelry alone will take two days. It's very rare to have such a large single owner jewelry collection to go on auction.

The two royal brides this year both have impeccable taste but neither wore necklaces to their weddings.

But the newly minted Princess Charlene of Monaco  has a spectacular ocean inspired necklace and tiara commissioned for the occasion.

Both the Van Cleef and Arpels diamond and sapphire Ocean Spray necklace and the Lorenz Baumer Diamond Spray tiara designs were clearly influenced by Princess Charlene's love of the sea.  Not surprising as she is a former Olympic swimmer. Her preference for contemporary styles is also evident especially for the asymmetrical tiara.

Elizabeth Taylor

Many of you may have already caught the news that one of Hollywood's icons, Elizabeth Taylor, just passed away at the age of 79.

She will be remembered not just for her film achievements but her flamboyant life. She loved the many men in her life but she also loved jewels and fine jewelry.

Last year, lamp work artisan, Susan Hood, of Glass Harp Jewelry here in Nova Scotia had the incredible experience of presenting her work at the Toronto International Film Festival. All film and TV award ceremonies have gifting lounges - my past post explained what they are and how Susan got involved.

Susan Hood with Jennifer Love-Hewitt

It really didn't take long. Just hours after the news broke about Prince William and Kate Middleton's long awaited engagement, jewelers started getting calls from well-heeled women for copies of THE sapphire and diamond ring.

Ahoy, me hearties! Today be Talk Like A Pirate Day! Arrrrr! So I've a fierce fire in me belly t' talk like one - at least for the first paragraph! I want t' show the lasses some fine bedazzling eye patches sure t' turn the heads of any buccaneer!

Fashion photographer, Jorg Schieferecke's photo shoot of model Belinda Hirt shows his skill in making the bejeweled eye patch seem like a hot fashion accessory.

Pearls are classic. You can never go wrong wearing them. Even fake ones. But if the faux pearls once belonged to a style icon such as Jacqueline Kennedy (1929-1994), they are worth a lot.

Her triple strand fake pearl necklace recently sold for an astounding $47,000 at Bonhams' Pioneers of Popular Culture auction recently.  She wore them in the late 1950's and during her White House years.

For the second straight year, many of the A-listers who attended the Academy Awards wore no necklaces. But they did sparkle in other ways especially their ears and their hair. Diamonds were hugely popular.

My favorites of all the red carpet jewelry were the real historical pieces from Fred Leighton - who specialize in gorgeous vintage jewelry. British actress Carey Mulligan, the Best Actress nominee had the evening's most stunning earrings -a spectacular 19th century cascading diamond earrings which only recently came into the Fred Leighton collection.

Do you like whodunits? I do and one of the first mystery authors I read when I was younger was Agatha Christie (1890-1976). I also enjoy the dramatized Poirot and Miss Marple series. Long after her death, there is another Agatha Christie mystery.

One fan, Jennifer Grant, purchased an old trunk auctioned at the estate sale of Christie's only daughter Rosalind Hicks back in 2006.  The trunk bore the initials of Christie's mother, Clara Margaret Miller.

Sometime ago, I wrote a post about the gemstones in skin care fad. Crushed pearls were used by Imperial Chinese women for centuries as a pigment and for its anti-aging properties (acts like a sunblock).



Lady Gaga, the singer and performance artiste skipped the pulverizing step and just glued pearl beads all over her face and her body when she performed at the amFAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research)annual gala last month. With white skin makeup, white pearl encrusted bikini jacket, hats and boots, she was a pearl wannabee in the flesh. I wonder if she used water soluble glue for easy removal?

Edwardian Beauties
Part 2 of 2
Princess Alexandra of Denmark, known as Alix, was just 16 when she was chosen as the bride for the future Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Queen Victoria (see my past bejeweled biography) was getting desperate as Bertie, as her eldest son and heir was known as, was sowing his wild oats rather too liberally. Indeed she blamed Bertie for the death of her beloved Albert. He therefore had to marry. Quickly.

Edwardian Beauties
Part 1 of 2
Sometimes it is worth watching the acting award ceremonies for jewelry inspiration. At the 16th Annual SAG Awards recently, Kate Hudson wore a Cartier diamond sautoir down her bare back. Several diamond tassels hung from the pave set diamond ball.

A sautoir (French for chain or long collar) is a long necklace decorated with a pendant and/or tassel. This necklace style was popular during the Edwardian era when King Edward VII was on the throne of Great Britain (1901-1910).

I know some readers are huge Michael Jackson fans. So here is a breaking news item - his bejeweled white glove sold earlier today for $49,000 in Australia.

It is the first of his iconic gloves to be offered for sale since his tragic death back in June. Not surprisingly, it went for twice the expected price after fierce bidding. The new owner is the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The former US Secretary of State, Madeline Albright is famous of her extensive personal collection of pins. You can now see some 200 of them at the Museum of Art and Design in New York . The exhibition runs until January 31, 2010.

The exhibition also coincides with the launch of her latest book Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box.Albright said, "I try to talk about foreign policy in a way that people find interesting. I thought this was the ultimate way -- to use the pins to tell the stories."

Celebrity Jewelry Part 1 of 2
The serpent has been a powerful symbol for thousands of years for many cultures and features in many myths. The Ancient Egyptians considered the snake sacred and the motif appears in jewelry and on the Pharaoh's crown. Snakes are still popular in jewelry design in modern times - see my past post on WireBliss Mei's incredible cobra bracelet.

The latest snake jewelry collection launched earlier this week, the brainchild of celebrity couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. She is shown on the right wearing a serpent bracelet at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA)back in February.