What's New at Bella Tutto

Things have been very busy at Bella Tutto as we get ready for the upcoming holiday season.  We've worked hard to acquire a fantastic assortment of designer jewelry at low prices.  We have a lot of David Yurman jewelry right now but we also have Lagos, John Hardy, Judith Ripka, Roberto Coin and more. Here are some of our newest items.  With the holiday's quickly approaching, now is the time to make your purchase as these pieces will go fast!  So pour that big glass of wine, sit down at your computer and let's go shopping.  Nothing says Christmas like seeing the USPS, UPS or Fed-Ex truck with your package on it!

You can find these and more at bellatutto.com or call us at 267-607-9070 for personal assistance.

David Yurman SS/14K 10mm Buckle Bracelet
Retail:  $3300
Bella Tutto:  $1995

David Yurman SS/18K .86tcw 34mm Mother of Pearl & Diamond Classic Watch
Retail:  $7600
Bella Tutto:  $5000

John Hardy SS/18K .35tcw Large Round Mystic Pink Batu Sari Ring
Retail:  $2395
Bella Tutto:  $1250

Judith Ripka SS/18K .10tcw 10mm Pia Cuff Bracelet
Retail:   $1850
Bella Tutto:  $895

Lagos SS/18K 1.00tcw Pearl & Diamond Caviar Cuff
Retail:  $3000
Bella Tutto:  $1795

Roberto Coin 18K White Gold 1.67tcw Black & White Diamond Fantasia Hoop Earrings
Retail:  $5400
Bella Tutto:  $2695

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

More Watch News - This Time From The Sportsworld

Color coordinated all the way.

There is controversy swirling around the IOC due to Jamaican sprinter, Yohan Blake's decision to wear a one of a kind, custom made, Jamaican flag rendition, Richard Mille tourbillon prototype watch valued at $500,000 during the semi-finals and finals of the 100 meter dash.  There are strict regulations and subsequent fines regarding allowable apparel, which is limited to country sponsored items only.  If it is a non-clothing item, athletes are required to use Olympic sponsored merchandise.  Therefore, Blake should have been wearing a $500,000 Omega - as they are the official timekeeper of the Games.

Let's stay tuned to see if Blake wears the watch during the 200 meter final Thursday night.

Yeah man, you heard me - the guy behind us is the Timex ambassador!

However, Blake is not the first athlete to sport this exclusive watch.  Richard Mille worked with Rafael Nadal to create a watch light enough (20 grams) to withstand the rigors of a tennis swing.  Nadal was seen sporting the $525,000 RM027 at Wimbeldon in 2010 and again at the French Open in June.  Interesting note, during the Open, Nadal had his Mille stolen from his hotel room.  This time it was found.  A few years ago, he had another half-million dollar Mille stolen from his locker at the Rogers Cup in Toronto.  Not sure if he ever got that one back.

Bubba Watson incurred grief when he wore his custom made, $525,000, super-light Richard Mille RM038 tourbillon at this years Masters.  A fan negatively tweeted that he was wearing a watch that cost more than some people made in a lifetime.  Another wished Bubba would pay off his mortgage with the money instead.

The front of Bubba's watch.

The back of Bubba's Richard Mille - sweat goobers and all.

Luxury watches and sports have gone hand in hand for years.  Many of today's top athletes wear Rolex, Tag Heuer, Audemars Piguet, Omega, and more.  They are paid to wear these watches much like they are paid to wear hats, clubs, shirts, pants, shoes, underwear...whatever.  The pro's are lucky enough to wear this schwag in return for some of the best, yet subtle advertising out there.  And, as long as their star shines, they will be courted as brand ambassadors.  Even Tiger Woods is wiping the tarnish off his star as we speak.  He recently re-signed with Rolex who believe strongly in their international clients who, unlike Americans, forgave Tiger for his infidelities a long time ago.

Spoiler Alert! Angelina Jolie Is Getting A Watch As Her Wedding Gift

Reportedly, Brad Pitt has purchased a Patek Philippe Minute Repeater as a wedding gift for Angelina Jolie because soon they will have a wedding that will be so ordinary/incredible; low-key/mind-blowing; understated/over-the-top that you won't believe it until you read it in Us Weekly.

A Patek Philippe Minute Repeater is rare in the watch world.  Basically, a repeater is a watch that sounds on the hour, which is how often Jolie does a child count to make sure she has not misplaced one of her brood.  Jolie's Patek will reportedly sound chimes based on Big Ben (of course it will).  Like the guy version of the Berkin Bag waiting list, it can take up to two years to get one of these watches.  The classically beautiful watch is custom made, 18K rose gold, mother of pearl dial and a leather strap and costs in the neighborhood of $400,000.  Every one is checked by a member of the Stern family (owner's of Patek) at their headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The company said in a statement: “The Patek Philippe Ladies Minute Repeater has a two year waiting list and is only granted to those who apply for the watch and meet the required criteria to own it."  I guess Brad and Angelina qualify.

Watches and Athletes

Had to show Fletcher Cox, my hometown Eagles pick.

I was at Iron Hill Brewery the other night watching young men win the instant lottery...I mean the NFL draft picks...with my husband and my son.  You know Iron Hill...that's the restaurant where they sit you at those really high tables so everyone walking on the floor looks like some weird suburban version of Toulouse-Lautrec. I thought it interesting in a time when watch sales are way down, most of these athletes were wearing them.  Try as I may to see what brand would emerge as the most popular, most appeared to be "no brand big sporty cheapo watches".  But the real money is just beginning to roll in...give these guys time...soon will come the cars, the houses and the Brietling's, the Omegas, the Panerai's and the Rolex's...and, unfortunately for some, the bad behavior. 

It seems the watches we associate with athletes are the brands they are paid to wear.  The industry refers to these individuals as their "ambassadors".  Sounds like a really easy job, right?  Just wear a luxury watch worth thousands and you'll earn millions as you go about your daily business.  The thing is, once in a while, some of that business isn't fit for publication.  It would seem Rolex played that card smartly by associating their brand with golf.  Golfers are the usually the gentlemen and gentlewomen of the sports arena and one would wonder what inside info Rolex had on Tiger Woods that allowed them to dodge a vampire bullet by signing almost every other golfer in the history of the game except him.  Tag Heuer must still be kicking themselves in the ass for trying to stay with Tiger as long as they could.  But, in the end, they had to let him go because they knew the brand was more important than their amb"ass"ador. 

Tiger has been one of the best examples of schadenfreude known to man in the history of the world.

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