Babies Are The New Jewelry!

I'm constantly checking out celebrities looking for new jewelry trends but this year all I see are babies and baby bumps.  In fact, babies have become the new celebrity jewelry.  Babies are hanging off arms where bracelets and watches should be.  Looking back, I remember my bracelets, earrings and big rings had to go for fear my babies would be scratched.  So sad.

There have been so many celebrity babies born this year the east and west coasts have been virtual hatching stations.  One could reverse menopause just by visiting.  Penelope Cruz and Hillary Scott from Lady Antebellum gave birth on the same date as the Duchess, and JImmy Fallon and his wife welcomed a daughter yesterday.  Other celebrity and pseudo celebrity baby explosions of note this year include Anna Chlumsky, Elton John and David Furnish, Shakira, Michael Lohan and Kate Major, Perez Hilton, Amber Rose and Wiz Khalifa, Holly Madison (of Playmate fame), Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, beauty Malin Ackerman, Channing and his wife, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Jessica Simpson, and Busy Phillips, Jenna Bush-Hager, Jeremy Renner's girlfriend (surprise!), Lisa Ling, and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West just to name a few.  How odd that we haven't seen Kim and Kanye's baby yet but we've already seen the Prince of Cambridge.  Perhaps it's because Kate and William don't need to sell the photos.

Kate showing her post-delivery baby bump.  No rush here to look like she's never been pregnant. 
Perhaps she will start a new trend.

Mindy Kaling Says Little Women Need To Wear Big Jewelry...Makes Perfect Sense

I've always thought petite women needed to wear larger jewelry.  Even if it's only one piece like a bracelet or a statement necklace.  Alas, many smaller girls insist on wearing "why bother" gems that get lost on their bod's.

Mindy Kaling, from The Office and The Mindy Project, says..."I have an overtly 'new money' aesthetic -- I am the child of immigrants after all!" admits Massachusetts native Kaling. "I like jewelry that's big. I like conspicuous jewelry!" "For the most part, I like for my jewelry to make me feel dainty -- not the other way around."  That makes perfect sense to me.  Obviously, her Dartmouth degree is in Defensible Image Shopping and Acquisition of Overly Expensive Goods.

As the actress explains, her collection of baubles is so impressive that it often attracts extra attention. "At the airport, it takes me 30 minutes to get through security with all of my jewelry," jokes the star, 33. One of Kaling's favorite pieces in her collection is a vintage rose gold 1968 Rolex oyster watch.

18K Rose Gold Day Date President's Rolex Watch, circa 1973, $14,950.
1stdibs

Beyonce Is Singlehandedly Bringing Back The 80's With Her Gigantic Earrings

Those of us who are a certain age (you know who you are) remember the 80's as the next best thing since the 60's.  We were still young, but old enough to enjoy the loads of money we made, loved our big hair, shoulder pads, Princess Diana and cell phones that were as big as shoes.  Now, I see that Beyonce is a one woman diesel fashion train driving a jewelry statement back to the 80's by wearing some of the most outrageous earrings ever seen on a human.

Beyonce hangs Oscars on either side of her head when meeting Ban Ki-moon as they join forces to launch a campaign in honor of World Humanitarian Day.

This is a close up.  Yes, they are her earrings...or a pair of those yellow Nike Volts, I'm not sure.

Here is Beyonce holding up two worlds on either side of her head.  Who needs Atlas.

Diamond dusters - always acceptable.

One thing I learned from the 80's is that it's hard on your lobes to wear ear muffs like this.  However, you won't know it for 30 years or so.

Angelina Jolie's New Jewelry Line Is As Bland As She Appears To Be

Superfierce enough already.  

Angelina Jolie is partnering with Robert Procop, the designer who worked with Brad Pitt to make her engagement ring, to exhibit a jewelry collection bearing her name, Style of Jolie, at the Grand Hotel in Cap Ferrat and Monaco's Hotel de Paris from July 15 through August 15, with proceeds from sales going to a charity of Jolie's choice.

Take a look at the jewelry, along with her engagement ring.  Jewelry supposedly reflects your personality and Jolie's pieces seem to be as blank as she is.  She rarely smiles in photos, afraid to project any aspect of what's really going on in her life lest she be judged or revealed.

Jolie seldom wears jewelry that sparkles.  She seems so serious all the time.  I wonder if she's ever been one of those crazy moms who rolls around on the floor with her children, build forts out of blankets over chairs, makes baking soda volcanoes, lets her daughters into her makeup, or allow her kids to eat chocolate for breakfast?  Someone needs to give Jolie a zzuugghh.

Emeralds...said to be Jolie's favorite.

 

Matching emerald bracelet.

Looks like Pier 1 jewelry but is actually a 27 carat emerald ring.

Green quartz tablet earrings.

Emerald cut diamonds have fewer facets so they're don't have the sparkle of other cuts, but that also means that they need to be the best quality.  Jolie's ring was designed by Brad Pitt and is thought to be 17 carats made from the finest diamonds available.  But even it is flat.

PBS And Their Dasterdly "Downton Abbey" Deed

If you are like many people in America right now, you have been sucked into the Downton Abbey" vortex on Sunday nights.  My Sunday night television obsession has gone from the depths of the Real Housewives of Wherever to the current highbrow Downton Abbey, and directly following, "Sherlock".  Now I feel very intelligent when I watch TV on Sunday night instead of the goober I used to feel like when I watched the housewives.

But PBS has recently come under fire for selling a collection of jewelry based on Downton Abbey on their website.  They are under fire not because as some have said, the collection is tacky, but because they did it without informing the shows creator.  See for yourself...

A replica of a cameo from the show.  Cameos were very popular in the early 20th century.  Typically carved in shell, cameos were also carved in gemstones like agate, onyx and sardonyx.

Pearls were often used in jewelry during the Victorian and Edwardian age.  They were small and natural, (unlike these Downton Abbey replicas which are faux).

Downton Abbey's Crawley women. 
This is what women looked like before Gloria Steinem, masters degrees, the gym, wine and Starbucks.

The girls and their pearls.  Here are the ladies and some of their PBS knock-offs.
Some felt the tea set (shown in the bottom right corner) was particularly heinous.

So really, what is all the fuss about?  Did Willow or Patrick at PBS get a little too aggressive when brainstorming beg-a-thon ideas?  PBS stuck their neck out in an effort to raise funds and with all the cutbacks in contributions, if they don't stay on their toes, they will go dark...and that would be bad. 

It's a shame PBS had to pull the jewelry off their website.  Had they collaborated with the shows creator from the beginning, together they could have spawned a new trend in clothing and jewelry.  Yes people, women now want the clothes too - especially the blouses. 

Come on...who would you rather see in pearls?

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton-Can't Live With Him, Can't Live Without Him

I liked them best old, drunk and nasty.

We're all familiar with the tempestuous marriages of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton so I won't bore you with their legendary stories.  Sigh...we just don't hear those kinds of tales about today's celebrities. We're much more interested in news of recent plastic surgery, like Meg Ryan's jaw dropping corrective face lift...it's about time she noticed how weird she looked.  Or how scary skinny Kelly Ripa (who looks like she can't wait to throw up in the nearest toilet so she can get rid of that forkful of food she is allowing herself  just because she's being photographed) is.

Meg Ryan as the Joker on the left.  Today, post Joker surgery.

Gag...Ripa looks like a little boy but eats like an anorexic.

Taylor and Burton adored, hated, adored and hated each other. I believe they shared a unique passion for love and life, however, when you have sombrero sized egos, only one can fit in a room. Between both marriages, Burton bejeweled Taylor with some of the most important gems in the world...ever. There are so many...here are the best of them.

The Grand Duchess Vladimir suite started off with the amazing emerald and diamond brooch Liz is wearing.  Burton and Taylor met in the early 60's on the set of Cleopatra. Their love affair caused so much gossip back then you would have thought they were filming porn.  As it was, Liz only showed a little cleavage in the movie. 

Burton built upon the Bulgari Grand Duchess Vladimir Suite in the early 60's when he added this magnificent Bulgari emerald and diamond necklace. Then, he went jewelry crazy.  The necklace pre-auction estimate: $1,000,000-$1,500,000; the pendant: $500,000-$700,000; the ring: $600,000-$800,000; and the earrings: $150,000-$200,000.

 

Burton said the only Italian word Liz new was "Bulgari".  I know a few curse words.

What happens to us?

Tiffany's, Jean Schlumberger, "Night of the Iguana" brooch, 1964.  Estimated pre-auction value $200,00-$300,000.

The Taylor-Burton Diamond, a 69.42 carat, D-IF, pear shaped stone, was purchased by Burton in 1967 from Cartier for $1.1 million.  The stone was quickly re-set into the more frequently seen cleavage necklace Liz dangled between her bubbies, because even Liz thought it was too big to wear as a ring.  In 1978, Taylor sold the stone for $3,000,000, two years after the end of her second marriage to Burton, in part to help fund a school in Botswanna (and is said to have later regretted selling it).  Today, the stone is reported to be in the hands of Lebanese diamond dealer, Robert Mouawad, who paid in the neighborhood of $5,000,000 for it and then had the stone re-cut to a more manageable 68.09 carats. This will not be in the Christie's auction.

The Krupp Diamond (now known as the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond), 33.19 carats, D- VS1, a gift from Burton in 1968 (purchase price then, $305,000).  Previously owned by Nazi sympathizer, Alfried Krupp, Taylor thought it funny a little Jewish girl like her wound up with the diamond.  She wore it almost every day of her life.  Estimated pre-auction value of $2,500,000-$3,500,000.

A close-up of "this old thang".

La Peregrina pearl.  Burton gave Taylor this historical bird's egg pearl in 1961.  It was once owned by Queen Mary I.  Extra necklace sparkly parts courtesy of Cartier.  Estimated pre-auction value of $2,000,000-$3,000,000.

The "Granny Suite".  Burton gave this Van Cleef and Arpels suite to Taylor in honor of her first grandchild at age 39, born in 1971.  Estimated pre-auction value of the necklace is $120,000-$180,000.

Van Cleef and Arpels "Granny" earrings.  Estimated pre-auction value of $25,000-$35,000.

The main component of the Bulgari sautoir is a 52.72 carat sugarloaf Burmese sapphire.  Burton gave this to Taylor in 1972 for her 40th birthday. 

Bulgari sapphire and diamond ring was added later.  Pre-auction value of $600,000.

The Taj Mahal diamond circa 1627.  This historically significant diamond was once owned by the man who built it.  Another outstanding gift given to Taylor by Burton for her 40th birthday in 1972.  Estimated pre-auction value of $300,000-$500,000

It will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for those lucky enough to view Taylor's jewel collection while on tour this fall.  The proceeds of the sale, some of which will benefit the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, will leave a legacy for generations to come. Initial estimates of her collection are around $30,000,000 but experts believe it will be triple that, or more. I just can't believe her children, especially her daughters, are not lusting after at least one of the important gems in her collection - just to remember her by.

You’re Going On Your First Job Interview…What Should You Wear (or Not Wear)

This is a Don't......  
unless you work at the MAC counter.

The first thing you should do is make sure all visible tattoos are covered; hopefully, you don’t have any on your face. The second thing to do is remove your nose ring, your lip ring, your chin ring, your eyebrow ring, your tongue ring, your ear cartilage ring, your nipple ring, your hoo-ha ring; just remove all your head and body jewelry before you meet the HR representative. The key is to not make noise as you move. You know what--don’t even wear earrings, just to be safe.

If you are interviewing anywhere remotely connected to the corporate arena, please do the following to put together an easy universal look that will work for most job interviews: purchase the best black or navy suit you can afford (pants or skirt - it doesn't matter), along with a tailored blouse or top (white is best) as well as black shoes with a reasonable heel - nothing hoochy mamma. If you're wearing pants, don’t forget a nice belt with a silver buckle--nothing with chains, sheriff badges, antlers or sequins on it--just a plain silver buckle…kind of like the Pilgrims but smaller.  You can wear pantyhose, or not; however, if you're wearing a skirt be sure to shave and moisturize your legs. I'll never forget the woman I once interviewed for a sales job who didn't wear stockings and had not shaved her legs. I couldn't stop looking at her caveman leg stubble. She was unforgettable...and not in a good way.  

Splurge and get a manicure. Ask to have your nails cut shorter. Get Essie’s Limo-Scene on your nails.  It’s pale pink, natural looking, and looks like a French manicure but lasts longer. I hope you already know you shouldn’t have talons. Check your nose for boogers and your teeth for spinach. Sounds silly, but it's mortifying to make these discoveries after the interview is over.

Your make-up should be simple as well: no Joker-Mouth lipstick. Just a little foundation, a small amount of blush, and mascara. Chanel makes a nice lip gloss, #87, that's a pale pink. Put this on after you've used Lancôme's "Ideal" lip liner and it defines your face but looks natural.

If your hair is long make sure you've had a recent cut and be sure to get a touch up if your roots are showing. This is not the time for weasel nest hair – no Amy Winehouse (RIP) or Lily Munster do's. Get a bob if your hair is on the shorter side, or wear a ponytail if it’s longer…the simpler the better.

Lagos Caviar Fluted Bracelet $395

Lagos Caviar Luxe Bracelet $395

Lagos Caviar Bracelet $395

Lagos Caviar Bar Bracelet $395

Now…down to the jewelry. In this case, it’s much better to underdress than overdo. Maybe a silver bracelet, like one of the Lagos Caviar bracelets. There are four designs, and they are relatively inexpensive and extremely wearable at all times, even after your interview. You should wear a watch on your other wrist. I know the younger generation uses their cell phones to tell time, but guess what: you’re killing the watch business. Please buy a nice watch. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but a watch on one’s wrist has been a style standard for eons. If I were living in the Stone Age, I would have strapped a sundial on my arm – that’s how important I feel a watch is. Plus, it’s considered rude to take out your cell phone anytime during the interview process; it’s much easier to look at a watch instead, and your interviewer won't think you're checking your messages. As a matter of fact, be sure to turn your cell phone off. Now, go look for that watch you got as a graduation gift and see if it still works.

If you promise to remove all hardware, you could wear pearl studs, diamond studs, or small silver or gold hoops in your ears if you have them. If you don’t have a discreet earring, don’t wear any. This is not the time for your Gypsy La Straga or Jersey Shore jewelry. Go small or not at all.  

This is a Do - almost everywhere.

All this being said, if you are interviewing outside of the corporate world, you could ramp it up a notch or two, but don’t go crazy. Once you have the job, check out the people who have the job you aspire to. Their appearance can give you an idea of what’s acceptable and what’s not. Remember that boring saying, “first impressions count”?  Guess what...they still do.  

 

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston…Jewels, Gems, and Treasures and...Mary Todd Lincoln

Mary Todd, 1847.

I just had to write about poor Mary Todd Lincoln. Misunderstood, misrepresented, and overextended on her personal budgets, she was not unlike a few of the customers I’ve known over the years. By far, the majority of people I deal with are very responsible about the money they spend with me. Let’s face it, people don’t need what I sell. I sell luxury items that are usually the first thing to go when things get tough…or so you would think. For some, it's impossible to let go of the image of prosperity. They’re just not comfortable enough with themselves to stop the kind of spending that is putting them in jeopardy with either their spouse who sees things differently, or a budget that can’t sustain this kind of spending…for whatever reason.

Mary Todd Lincoln was a person who came from wealth and prominence and wound up marrying an older, more common man. Later, she came under a most painful type of scrutiny by the entire United States population while experiencing intense personal disaster. Was it really such a crime to buy drapes that were never hung or to purchase too much  china for the White House? Just read up on Nancy Reagan for a modern version of this kind of First Lady.

Mary Todd was born in 1818 to a privileged, influential and aristocratic family whose ancestors had a distinguished record in the American Revolution. She was more educated than most women of her time, and some felt this may have given her the confidence to speak her opinions openly, something that women did not do a great deal of at this time. She was smart, ambitious and very interested in politics, and she took an active role in promoting her husband’s political career. "Lincoln had great respect for her judgment and never took an important step without consulting her," recalled Emilie Todd Helm, Mary’s half-sister. Mary viewed her extravagant redecoration of the White House and money spent on her wardrobe as a necessary expense in order to earn respect for her husband and the Union, while others saw it as gross consumption during a time of restraint and strife.

Mrs. Lincoln was probably one of the first women to find solace in retail therapy. Just imagine if you were in her shoes: she lost half-brothers in the Civil War, three of her four children died, she suffered from a severe head injury in a carriage accident, and then her husband was shot in the head as she sat next to him. After all of this, her surviving son had her committed, and she later suffered a spinal cord injury in a fall. As if this wasn't enough for one person to handle, she eventually fell on hard financial times and stood by and watched as many of her personal belongings were sold off. All this while fighting Congress for the right to a measly widow’s pension. So maybe she went a little cagoots and bought 100 pairs of gloves and never wore them. Good taste is a curse.

She remains a mystery as far as First Ladies go. Was she a feminist fame-seeker, a woman who was used to having nice things, or was she just feeling a little Black Swan now and then?  Many considered her bi-polar. My god, bi-polar people are some of my best customers.

This earring brooch suite is Mary Todd Lincoln's mourning jewelry. Totaling approximately 4.70 carats, the 58 mine cut diamonds color range is J-K with VS-VS1 clarity.  It was part of a large group of Mrs. Lincoln's clothes, jewelry, and furnishings that were offered for sale through Brady & Company of New York City. Mrs. Lincoln fell into dire financial circumstances after the assassination of her husband, Abraham Lincoln. The sale price was listed as $350.00.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston purchased this suite in 2008 for their current exhibition for $24,150.

 

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston…Jewels, Gems, and Treasures and...Hummingbirds?

Angry Birds

Jewelry lovers must thank the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation (of the Kaplan Learning Center fame) for opening a gallery specifically devoted to the display of jewelry, and for hiring Yvonne Markowitz, the Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator of Jewelry.  We have these people to thank for bringing us examples of some of the more bizarre pieces of jewelry ever known to man.

Entomological and ornithological jewelry was very popular during the mid to late 19^th century and was viewed as one of the ways for women to reconnect with nature as the onset of the industrial age crept up on them.  Women’s magazines encouraged women to skin and mount their own creations, while more intricate and upscale pieces were made by jewelers.  I’m sure you were laying low if you were the family dog during these times. 

So it’s no wonder women of the Victorian era were thought to swoon…they were probably driven insane by the endless sound of flapping hummingbird wings hovering on the sides of their heads.  Oh, they were stuffed you say?  There goes my vision of no earring hardware needed – just birds, endlessly fidgeting, suspended on your lobes.

When I think of gems and pearls, especially earrings, I think of the time it takes to find two perfectly matching stones – in size, color and quality.  Just think about finding perfectly matching hummingbirds.  I’ve seen less than ten in my lifetime, let alone enough birds to make a matching pair of earrings and brooch.  And think of the poor taxidermist who had to stuff these things.  I guess it’s pretty amazing what you can do with eyebrow tweezers and a cotton ball.  This suite of jewelry gives a whole new meaning to Angry Birds.

Brooch in gold with foliate design and mounted head of hummingbirds with ruby eyes and gold beak; matching earrings.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston…Jewels, Gems, and Treasures - Ancient to Modern

Ka-Ka-Ching for Ba-Ba Bling at the Museum

My sister--you know the one with that Queen doll--is in Boston this week with her husband.  He is a retired Army colonel who works in the Pentagon and is in Boston this week taking a senior management course at the JFK School of Government at Harvard. She is tagging along as extra baggage but took on a special assignment on behalf of gemsaboutjewels.  She stopped by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to check out “Jewels, Gems and Treasures – Ancient to Modern” which started July 19, 2011 and runs until November 25, 2012.  The 11,000  piece jewelry collection features pieces that span ancient Egyptian times to the 21st century in America.  It seems as though museums all over the country are starting to catch on to this new and interesting equation:

Jewelry + Gems + Story = Big $$$$ to museums featuring same old thing.

As I discussed in my earlier blog post, “Why Do People Wear Jewelry?” we learned that jewelry gets most people (especially women) really, really excited. It may boost our egos to think how great we’re going to look in it, or maybe it's the chance to wear something expensive and flaunt it in front of our friends. Or perhaps it's just the investment value. Over all these years, noted jewelry icons like Wilma Flintstone, Cleopatra and Elizabeth Taylor have steered the course, and they can’t be wrong.

The first piece we’ll look at is an important ancient Egyptian broadcollar that was uncovered during a museum expedition in 1913. This was during a time when long-dead, undisturbed little Egyptian people were being dug up all over the place from their cat pee smell tombs because Egyptomania was the rage.  Actually taken from the mummified body of Ptah-Shepses Impy, an official of King Pepy II, the collar was made from gold, turquoise, lapis lazuli and hundreds of small blue glazed steatite (soapstone) beads. The collar was important because some of the original beadwork survived, and it was studied by conservators who were able to reconstruct the collar in the same manner as the ancients. Because of this, it served as a model for the reconstruction of other broadcollars.

Wesekh Broadcollar - Egyptian

2246–2152 B.C.

6 7/8" x 6 7/8" x 1"

Zara Phillips Wears the Meander Tiara

Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, (1981-), pierced-tongue daughter of Princess Anne, Princess Royal, (1950-) was married July 30, 2011 in Scotland to Michael James Tindall, (1978-), an English rugby player who plays for Gloucester Rugby.  Not quite the too-doo of the April wedding of Prince William and clothes hanger Kate Middleton, this brawny and sports minded bride and groom will live a more casual lifestyle.  No honeymoon for them as they are both off to prior sporting commitments, Phillips in career as a show-jumper, and Tindall due back at his England rugby training camp on Monday.

Phillips chose to wear her mother’s tiara, The Meander, which was given to Princess Anne by her mother, Queen Elizabeth in 1972.  The Meander is well known because Anne has worn it time and time again as if it was the only piece of jewelry she ever owned.  The tiara is made from platinum and features a center brilliant cut diamond surrounded by a laurel wreath motif.  The sides of the tiara feature a Greek key design with a floral scroll component on each side.  Originally owned by Princess Alice of Battenberg, (1885-1969), later Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, mother of Prince Phillip.  Alice gave the tiara to her daughter in law, Queen Elizabeth as a wedding gift…as if she needed it.  But you know how it sometimes is with mother in law gifts…the Queen has never been seen in public wearing this particular tiara.  Not unlike the sequined sweatshirt from the Stone Harbor collection I received from my mother in law.

Princess Alice of Battenburg, mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

A young Princess Anne wearing The Meander.

  

An older Princess Anne wearing The Meander...again. 

Annie and Granny.  When we were little girls, my sister and I had Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret dolls.  Of course, my sister had the Queen doll.

I'm 50 - My tiara thanks you Spanx.

 A more recent photo and she's still wearing it.  
I am now calling this the Groundhog Day Tiara because it keeps coming back the next day.

Zara and her father, Mark Phillips, former husband of Princess Anne.  In August 1985 Phillips fathered a daughter as a result of an extramarital affair.  He was confirmed as the father as a result of DNA testing during a paternity suit in 1991.  Phillips and Anne divorced in 1992.

 

Zara in The Meander and her Stewart Parvin dress.  He is a favorite of the Queen.  What every young girl wants, her Grandmother's dress designer to make her wedding dress.

From some angles he's very handsome...and from others he looks like that guy from Goonies.

 

She is getting a gaunt.  Even the size 0’s are hanging off her.

Nothing that a little Round-Up can’t help.

I thought these girls were being coached.  
Next time, they must get more than the shoes right.