End Of The Year Wrap Up

It's been a pretty interesting year in jewelry, fashion and human observation in general.  Here are some of the highlights...

I started off my blog with the one of the most awaited events in a long time: the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Evoking only the best memories of Princess Diana, I felt as if she was happily observing their every move. And who could be lovelier and skinnier than Kate. Her choice of jewels, fashion, and protruding clavicle is on par, but not greater than Diana's was, just like a good daughter-in-law should be: skinny enough so all your friends are envious, but not skinnier than you.  You know Di would have approved.

Oprah...pretending to look interested.

We said goodbye to Oprah this year...thank God.  I was really getting tired of her solving the problems of the world. I think I'm not alone as we all witnessed her new project, OWN, not realize the same level of success as her show. Oprah...please just go away and spend your OWN money.

And who knew so many people were interested in Paula Deen's diamonds? Next to Kim Kardashian, Paula Deen was the most popular blog I wrote. I don't know if it's her diamond rings or that she condones the use of huge amounts of butter, but people really like her.

Next it was the Van Cleef & Arpels, "Set In Style" exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt, a little boutique museum currently in the process of getting a 5th Avenue face-lift. Gorgeous sparkles with stories to match, we got a unique glimpse of the kind of jewelry women rarely wear today. When the occasion calls for it, I can pull some decent diamonds out of my safe, but nothing like the jewelry privileged women wore prior to WWII. Today we can't even smoke, let alone buy a $50,000 VC&A ruby and diamond studded cigarette case to carry them in. Women were so glamorous back then, even with emphysema as their accessory.

FYI - hands down, VC& A had the best holiday windows this year.   Each one had moving parts and told a little French story featuring their magnificent jewels.  What you can't see is the homeless person who was outside the store on the sidewalk loudly begging for money.  Quite a contrast to what was in the windows....

And who the hell knew the earth had spewed up so many big yellow diamonds? It seemed like every other day a 30 carat stone was being unearthed and auctioned off to a couple in Tennessee who looked like they lived in a trailer park. That's the millionaire next door for ya'.

Kim's diamonds on their honeymoon.

I did far too many Google searches of Kim Kardashian this year. What a waste of my time; however, her name was searched for so often I felt I needed to write about her, even if it was to write about what a waste of time she was.

I know they're easy to throw on, but come on...

Then there was Elizabeth Taylor.  An icon for most of her life, she amassed a serious collection of jewelry and art that belied her frivolous love life.  And her contribution to AIDS research cannot be denied. She was unique and generous, even if she lived most of her life in those ridiculous caftans.

I can't wait to see what 2012 has to offer jewelry, fashion and people-wise.

Farewell, Oprah – I’m Sorta Sad to See You Go

OK!  OK!  Enough already.  We’re all sad that Oprah is leaving.  What will the city of Chicago do once she’s gone?  I heard Chicago was only loaning her out from time to time because they claim to OWN her (ha).  Frankly, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Oprah over the last 10 years or so.  I vacillate between finding her very inspiring to being embarrassed I’m watching the show.  I appreciated the early years that brought insightful shows with compelling content we could relate to; however, at some point (about the time her wealth was approaching Vulcan warp uberness) some guests, usually celebrities, started to make me feel a little uncomfortable in the way they thanked her for just about everything in their lives.  Oprah’s last two weeks of shows had guests and clips of some pretty famous people saying goodbye.  They didn’t just say farewell, they licked her feet.  And the way Oprah sat in her chair, taking it all in, turning loaves into fishes, made me a little uncomfortable.  She is obviously the leader of a special group of people who, based on their wealth, live in another cosmos and share inside information on life we mere mortals will never know.

The recent show featuring relationship expert, Iyanla Vanzant, was a good example of the type of snarfing I’m talking about.  Apparently Oprah resurrected her from her self-imposed obscurity after Iyanla had the nerve to think about going in a different direction after Oprah got her started.  After mutual namastes, Iyanla started the episode with a tearful apology saying how sorry she was and how much she loved Oprah.  After much flagellation on Iyanla’s part (did you see those cat ‘o nine tail anywhere?), there appeared to be some sort of reconciliation between the women.  There was so much angst going on it could only be presented in a two-part episode.  I thought I saw Oprah sprinkle pixie dust on Iyanla as she told her, “You were already forgiven” – aka - “You had me at hello."  Iyanla Vanzant Apologizes to Oprah Video.   

It seems as though Oprah needed to haul out a few of the people who pissed her off or embarrassed her over the years.  Poor James Frey from A Million Little Pieces fame. Her continued badgering of the guy and his refusal to capitulate to the total ruination of his life turned this into an uncomfortable two-parter.  He had to remind Oprah that the death of his infant son was actually the worst moment of his life, not the hissy fit she threw because she chose HIS BOOK OF LIES to rocket to famedom. 

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett were guests on her farewell extravaganza.  How fitting.  Two more self-important celebrities that pontificated about how Oprah gave them lung and brain.  Smith, who recently was denied the privilege of resting in an 1100 square foot double decker trailer on the streets of New York, while filming the upcoming Men In Black III (for real, a third?), felt maybe no one would notice a vehicle spewing fumes and exhaust that was bigger than many apartments in NYC.  

However, it’s her knack for balancing schmaltz against devotion that is one of the reasons her show is such good TV.  By interviewing traumatized people in one episode, then ripping off her Snuggie and announcing it’s the Favorite Things show in the next, she offered us never ending variety.  But, come on now, admit it.  The Favorite Things show disturbs you a little – right?  If you are post-menopausal, you might remember the daytime show,  Queen For a Day!  which, like OFT’s, was just another hour long commercial presenting products to sobbing women.  I guess after she’s off the air I’ll just have to be satisfied remembering the hysterical images of all of the people in the audience (mostly women) losing their minds and experiencing their first orgasm….in Chicago of all places.  SNL Favorite Things Parody

Oprah--you are yin and yang, and I can’t believe I’m not a little more tolerant since I am totally a Libra and believe in balance.  Just as I reach ultimate annoyance level, you come up with a show like the Rwandan sisters who were reunited with the family they thought was lost forever, and I'm back on the Oprah train again .  The thing is--once in a while, whether I like to admit it or not, your shows actually make me stop what I’m doing, sit down and listen, unlike other shows I "non-watch" which is watching TV in my multi-tasking, distracted way.  Over the years you have challenged the way I think and for that, I will miss you.

TAGS: Oprah, farewell, television

Goodbye, Oprah! I Will Miss Your Jewelry...

As a nod to Oprah’s farewell week, let’s take a look at her jewelry and her style over the years.  I just spent the weekend viewing hundreds of images of her and girrrrrllllll…….she's got some bodacious jewels.  I’m not sure I’m in total sync with her clothing stylist because her looks have been hit or miss over the years, but one thing is for sure: as she acquired wealth, she definitely got better jewelry.  







Oprah’s Earrings

 

Starting with the 1970’s look.  Not fair because we all looked like dorks back then.  Funny how we thought we looked so good. Do you suppose she still wears these peace earrings every now and then?

By the 80’s, the hair was getting bigger as were the earrings.  These were the years we ruined our ear lobes.  We all talked about getting surgery on them but few of us did.  There are lots of little lobe  backs and discs you can use to camouflage any flaw you have.  Look closely at the image above.  Her earrings look eerily like Michael Jackson’s gloves.

In the 1990’s we still had big hair and big earrings and Toontown gave birth to the smoky eye.  However, in the image above you can see she has discovered yellow diamonds.  Oprah seems to favor drops, and although I don’t know for sure, they look like they could be detachable.  Her diamond necklace is gorgeous as well.   

1997-These must be an extra pair she keeps laying around.  They are small compared to what she owns today.

2004-Chandelier earrings were new on the scene and we sold lots of them.  Oprah looks good in hanging earrings.

2006-I used to see her wear her yellow diamonds a lot but I haven’t seen them in a while.  These could be about 10 carats per ear and could easily cost over $250,000 each.

2011 - It’s really hard to estimate the carat weight of these earrings but they are huge.  Could be 5-10 carats each.   If you check out Blue Nile, you can find radiant cut diamonds at approximately 6.0 tcw, G, VS-1, and are selling for around $233,000 each, making the approximate value of Oprah’s earrings close to a half million dollars.

I was really surprised not to find any definitive information on the size and value of Oprah's earrings, or of the diamond house that sold them to her.  I found very general estimates of “10 carats," but they did not indicate whether or not that was total weight for one earring, or the total weight for both. In my opinion, the bottom of one earring (one pear stone) could be as much as 10 carats.  And, of course, Oprah would only have the best quality diamonds available. On eBay right now in the loose diamond category, a 7.89 carat, pear shaped, D-IF, GIA certified loose diamond (D-IF is the top quality you can buy) is selling for $1,922,004.  If you want to sacrifice a little clarity, you can find a 12.15 carat, pear shaped, D-VVS2, GIA certified loose diamond for $1,321,876.  This gives you some idea of how much just one stone can cost.  The thing is, you must find four equally matched stones to create these earrings, and that is not easy to do.  So as you can imagine, Oprah has a very special pair of earrings.

Oprah’s Watches

Considering how much she spends on her diamonds, I’m surprised by her watches.  You don’t see her wear one in many photos, but she is very faithful to Philip Stein.  Oprah gave them away on her Favorite Things shows in 2003, 2005 and 2010.

In 2010, Philip Stein commemorated her 25 years on TV with a special edition diamond and non-diamond version.  The two and the five are highlighted to recognize 25 years on the Oprah Show.  We carry Philip Stein in my store and I remember when these watches came in right before the holidays.  We only got one diamond and one non-diamond version as they were limited editions.  No sooner had we put them in the case when someone came in for the diamond watch.  She was a true Oprah devotee, and although her head didn’t exactly spin 360° around, and she looked like Susan Boyle, pre-makeover, she was damn happy to get this watch.

TAGS: Oprah, Diamonds, Philip Stein, Watches,Earrings