What a way to kick off the weekend – with some fabulous celebrity engagement ring eye candy! Matthew Morrison, star of Glee, proposed to girlfriend Renee Puente, and their engagement was announced last night in a perfectly musical way. The couple, who have been dating since 2011, attended the White Tie and Tiara Ball in…
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Passion and creativity are two of the characteristics that have led to Lorenz Baumer’s success in the world of fine jewelry design. He has designed stunning works for names like Guerlain, Channel, and Baccarat. He also designs pieces under his personal name as well. Baumer’s works of art range from rings and earrings to bracelets…
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You might have noticed that malachite doesn’t get a lot of love among the gemstone world. Precious stones like diamonds, rubies and sapphires get most of the love in the jewelry world. And even semi-precious stones like opals, pearls and topaz seem to get a lot more attention than the deeply mysterious malachite. But, there’s…
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Selecting Quality First There are many excellent options when one seeks to purchase fine jewelry. With the investment involved, however, it is important to pay attention to three factors. First, always purchase valuable jewelry from a reputable source. There are many ways dealers without an established reputation can affect the ultimate value of your purchase.…
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Well, it’s not Blue Steel but frankly we’ll take these blue ice cocktails any day. The ring in question puts even Derek Zoolander’s best look to shame with a 16 carat precisely pear shaped aquamarine. A beryl cousin of emerald, aquamarines’ gorgeous, crystal clear facets display their brilliant blue color. And nothing complements a beautiful…
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A favorite of celebrity style icons including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Sienna Miller, as well as two wildly different and yet equally chic Ladies: Gaga and Michelle Obama, Erickson Beamon is an entirely unique jewelry line that subscribes to an unusual conceit: more is more. That Detroit natives and co-collaborators Karen and Eric Erickson…
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Christie’s This week Christie’s features one and only one fine jewelry sale ‘Jewellery’ Sale no. 8967 at the London, South Kensington location on June 19th (although we’re currently stalking the Vintage Couture handbags and accessories sale for pre owned luxury handbags along with our sister company.) Luckily, a Christie’s sale never disappoints, and even just…
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Diamonds, rubies, pearls, opals and sapphires. Though there’s no arguing over whether or not these stones are rare, beautiful and expensive, there is some confusion about which gems are precious and which are semi-precious. Do you believe that semi-precious stones are less valuable than precious, or more common, or lesser in any way? It’s a…
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Lapis Lazuli is Latin Language meaning blue stone. The stone is formed of layers of multiple minerals including Sodalite, Lazurite, Calcite and Pyrite ( which are the flecks of gold). A lower grade of the stone exists that is of a less brilliant blue with mostly white flecks and only a few of gold. Lapis…
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Alexandrite is one of the birthstones associated with June, along with the pearl and the moonstone. It is an uncommon, expensive stone that cannot be replicated synthetically because natural alexandrite has color-changing powers. They aren’t really ‘powers’, but the stone looks under different types of lighting. In daylight, alexandrite looks green with an occasional blue…
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There are three birthstones for June; moonstone, alexandrite, and the most traditional pearl. Pearls are mysterious gems that don’t even come from the places most precious gemstones are found! A pearl is an irritation that has been transformed into a beautiful globe by patient layers of nacre inside an oyster. Once, pearls were treasures discovered…
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This week shows us jewelry and watch auctions at both Christie’s and Bonham’s. At Christie’s we spotted a Chopard Happy Fish watch (plus plenty more familiar looking pre owned watches) along with a gorgeous gold Tank Americaine, which is somewhat hard to come by pre owned (of all the clients who want to sell watches,…
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The rarest gemstones are the most valuable, and usually the most beautiful as well. This is very true of the spectacularly rare and stunningly beautiful Paraiba tourmaline. It was in 1987 that Hector Barbosa, an audacious modern-day explorer had the gut feeling that something rare and beautiful lay hidden beneath Paraiba Hill, a spot near…
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There are those who claim that too much formal instruction in an art form will stifle the natural flow of a person’s inner creativity. That may be the case for jewelry designer Wendy Yue. Born in Hong Kong, Wendy’s studies were focused on language and culture. She completed those studies in Vienna and set her…
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Bavna fine jewelry was launched in 2008, and is the creation of designer Sunny Jain. The brand is deeply influenced by the ancient art of Sanskrit, and the concept of development. Jain’s design process incorporates the development of the mind, body and soul. His philosophy resonates in every piece of Bavna fine jewelry. Origins of…
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