Beautiful Blogger

To the left is a $25 million watch encrusted with gems by Chopard. Besides being extremely ugly, you also can’t use it to tell time, as the face is buried in bling. To add insult to luxury, we’ve heard it has a small indicator that lights up every minute to represent each time a sucker [...]

“Green gold” jewellery is a niche in a fast-growing wider market for ethical goods, ranging from day-to-day foodstuffs like tea, coffee and chocolate to designer fashions and travel.

Analysts say global sales of ethical gold jewellery are probably less than one per cent of the total $56 billion gold jewellery market based on figures from London-based consultancy GFMS – and the Fairtrade label is a year or so away.

Although the ethical product is priced at a premium and gold is at record highs, the market has been ballooning. Among a plethora of online offers are companies including one called greenKarat that argues industrial mining methods damage the land and endanger ecosystems, so recycled gold would be better for society.

Source / Read more Ethical jewellery good as gold

Now that the holidays are officially over, and the days are getting longer, it’s time to turn your focus from shopping for other people to shopping for yourself. Late winter is the perfect time to revitalize your wardrobe and get ready for spring. The big question on every fashion-forward gal’s mind: What trends are hot this season? Last year, it was all about fussy fabrics and flouncy details, which made it hard to wear bold jewelry, which couldn’t compete. This year, all the pomp has been relegated to the back of the fashion closet, and style gurus, including me, are calling for clean, classic lines with little or no fuss.

For jewelry lovers, this spring’s sleek fashion forecast is welcome news: The minimalist styles we’re seeing all over the hottest designer runways and in top fashion magazines’ spring fashion previews are the perfect blank canvases on which to showcase our most spectacular jewelry. Now is the time to add a few fun jewelry pieces to your collection and dust off pieces that have been in hiding in your jewelry box waiting for their time to shine.

As Clairee Belcher, Olympia Dukakis’s character in Steel Magnolias said, “The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize.” Indeed. Without further ado, here are my top six jewelry looks for spring 2008, along with the celebs who love them.

1. The pendant necklace. Like a charm bracelet, a pendant necklace is the perfect accessory if you’re looking for something to personalize. Take a chain or cord, and add anything that will give the world a glimpse of your personal style. Whether it’s a pretty stone in your favorite color, a teardrop-shaped pearl or an item that means something to you such as your grandmother’s wedding ring, a peace symbol, locket, heart or other lucky talisman, you can thread it on a chain and make it the focal piece of your ensemble. Wear the necklace long if you want to draw the eye down and create the illusion of a longer neck, or shorter if you want to accent your face. Pair the pendant necklace with an open-necked oxford, a simple dress or a vee-neck top. Jennifer Aniston has long been a fan of the pendant necklace, which is a perfect accessory for her boho vibe. For a super modern take, do like Jessica Simpson does and display your pendant on a leather cord rather than a chain.

2. Layered necklaces. After several seasons in the spotlight, the layered necklace look is still going strong. Dare we say the style might even become a classic? It’s certainly interesting, giving the eye a lot to take in, and, because it’s versatile and the combinations are endless, it works well with many different types of necklines. To pull off the look, pair a shorter, 16- or 18-inch necklace with a much longer chain or three. For added contrast, choose different thicknesses, metals or materials. For instance, pair a pearl pendant and a long, pearl-and-chain rope. So fun because it allows you to wear two or more of your favorite necklaces at once, the layered look is favored by fashion-forward celebs like Maria Menounos and Joy Bryant.

3. Dangle earrings. While I adore diamond or pearl studs for day, dangle earrings are all the rage this season for both day and night. Cate Blanchett and Rihanna love the style, and who can forget the huge turquoise dangle earrings Marcia Cross wore to the Emmys? Those giant blue babies, by designer Lorraine Schwartz, were the talk of the awards show! That’s because dangle earrings are anything but subtle, adding punch to any hairstyle or outfit. Just make sure you don’t wear other jewelry that will compete. Let the dangles do the talking.

4. Interlocking Hoops. Because bare skin is in this season, it’sokay to forego wearing a necklace once in a while so that your earrings (and sleek, bare neck) can be the focus. Want to be in vogue? The hot earring style right now is the interlocking triple hoop. What it is: three hoops starting at your earlobe that gradually get bigger to form a triple hoop style that’ fun think hoops and sophisticated think dangle. Gold hoops are especially popular right now, as are diamonds, if you can afford them, or CZs, if you’re on a budget. Jessica Alba and Uma Thurman have both been spotted with this sassy style, so you know the triple hoop earring is a trend worth emulating.

5. Oversize hoops. Like the layered chain look, oversize hoops are here to stay. Kate Bosworth, Alicia Keys, Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl are fans of the style, and it’s no wonder: Oversize hoops have an edgy feel that adds a funky, playful, urban vibe to an otherwise staid outfit. No wonder J.Lo and Jessica Alba rock the style so often. To make the style even more exciting, choose big hoops with dangling stones in a springy color, like green aventurine, or sterling silver hoops with peridot drops.

6. Cocktail rings. Cocktail rings pack a surprisingly big punch in a terrific little package! Draw attention to your hands (and look younger) by choosing unfussy rings with one big stone rather than stones with diamonds or other detailing. Choose rings made of bold, colorful materials like turquoise, onyx, mother-of-pearl or jade. Black pearls and oversize white pearls make great cocktail rings too. Trendsetters like Eva Mendes, Jennifer Lopez, Heidi Klum, Cameron Diaz and Catherine Zeta-Jones are all fans.

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About the Author

A graduate of the Gemological Institute of America’s Graduate Pearls program, Amy Drescher is a fashion writer and accessories buyer for http://www.moonriverpearls.com/ . Visit her blog at http://www.amysstylecafe.com/ . She welcomes your questions. Reach her at adrescher@moonriverpearls.com.

Vintage costume jewelry has become a highly collectible niche in the antiques and collectibles world. Here are some of the most collectible names in vintage costume jewelry and some background on them.

Weiss Created in 1942 by a former Coro company employee named Albert Weiss, Weiss has become one of the most popular and collectible names in vintage costume jewelry collecting. Weiss is synonymous with gorgeous and elegant rhinestone pieces including brooches, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Sadly, the Weiss company went out of business in 1971, therefore their pieces are very collectible and the most beautiful pieces including figurals like birds and animals routinely sell for high prices on auction sites and in both online and offline stores.

Watch out for reproductions of Weiss jewelry, many less knowledgeable sellers on eBay will sell a reproduction as a true Weiss. Real Weiss jewelry is of exceptional quality, you can often tell a fake from a real piece by viewing the details of the piece with a loupe. Also, some Weiss fakes have a textured backing, where real Weiss is very smooth. The stamp may also be offset or a bit difficult to read. Real Weiss generally has a strong stamp with clear lettering.

Eisenberg The Eisenberg company began in 1914 as an apparel company. Then sometime in the 1930’s, they created and began to market jewelry pieces. Like Weiss, Eisenberg is known for high quality craftsmanship and for using high quality materials, including sparkling Austrian crystals. Their earliest pieces were marked as “Eisenberg Original” and later on they marked their pieces simply “Eisenberg” or “Eisenberg Ice”. The Eisenberg company still makes jewelry today but obviously the older pieces are the most collectible.

For a time in the 1940’s, Eisenberg used sterling silver in their pieces and any pieces in sterling silver are very collectible. Their pieces in sterling silver will be marked as such. Hobe Pronounced ho-bee, Hobe has been a name synonymous with fine quality costume jewelry since the 1920’s. The Hobe family actually started making jewelry in France in the late 19th century, then William Hobe founded the official company when he came to the US from France in the late 1920’s. Hobe jewelry is characterized by it’s excellent quality of craftsmanship, usage of gold and silver plated settings and quality stones.

During Hollywood’s golden age, Hobe jewelry was a favorite of Hollywood stars and their finest pieces could be seen adorning starlets wardrobe’s in many classic movies. Hobe pieces were all marked, with the name Hobe typically stamped in a stylized Art Deco style script with an elongated H or B or in block letters. The original, family run Hobe company stopped producing jewelry in the early 1990’s, however a Hobe company exists that still produces jewelry marked as Hobe up to today.

Coro The name Coro actually comes from an abbreviation of the original founders last names, which were Cohn and Rosenberger. The company was founded in New York around the turn of the century and later incorporated with the name Coro. The Coro company was one of the most, if not the most, prolific producer of costume jewelry in the 20th century. At one point during the 1920’s, the company was said to have employed more than 2000 workers in producing their lines of costume jewelry. The Coro company prided itself on producing costume jewelry for a wide range of customers, and as a result you could find Coro pieces available in both a local five and dime store and also find finer Coro pieces in high end department stores.

Coro’s finest pieces could certainly compare in craftsmanship, design and quality to well known, highly collectible names like Weiss and Eisenberg. Due to their massive production, Coro used well over 100 styles of marks, stamps and variations of marks on their jewelry, sometimes changing their marks every year. Coro also produced jewelry under other brand names such as Vendome, which is highly collectible, CoroCraft, Cellini, Francois among many others. Highly collectible Coro pieces include their famous “jelly belly” pieces, sterling silver pieces including those marked MEXICO and their “Coro Duette” line.

Other Collectible Names While these names are some of the most collectible names in costume jewelry , they certainly aren’t the only collectible names. More collectible names include Art, Lisner, Napier, Trifari, Boucher, Miriam Haskell, Carnegie, Florenza, Kramer, Sarah Coventry, Schreiner, Van Dell, Whiting & Davis, Bogoff, as well as others.

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Ricky Alberta writes for Always Treasured Antiques & Collectibles, offering vintage costume jewelry , porcelain, glass and glassware, jewelry boxes and men’s vintage jewelry. Visit us at: http://www.alwaystreasured.com/

Vintage costume jewelry produced between 1910-1970 is now a hot collector’s item despite being relatively inexpensive when first purchased. Unlike costume or fashion jewelry produced in places like India and China made in dizzying numbers and using poor quality materials in most cases, vintage costume jewelry continues to appreciate in value as demand continues to grow for a shrinking supply. Any of the costume or fashion jewelry pieces made today will not retain value and most likely will not last long due to shabby craftsmanship and inferior materials.

Manufacturers of vintage fashion jewelry include: Coro Eisenberg Weiss Coventry Trifari Antique costume jewelry is typically viewed as any piece of jewelry not manufactured with precious metals (yet it is common for pieces to be plated with a precious metal) or gemstones while also being mass produced and sold for relatively low cost. Despite costing relatively little when first launched, authentic costume jewelry manufactured between 1920-1970 can fetch some serious money on today’s market.

In many cases, there are many pieces being sold in flea markets for a measly dollar but actually worth hundreds. There are three main things that help determine the value of authentic vintage pieces: Demand Stone/Gemstone Quality Craftsmanship Despite dozens of companies producing thousands of pieces annually, they produced jewelry in varying quantities. On the one hand, you had large players such as Coro and Trifari flooded the market with thousands of copies for each design.

On the other side of the coin there was: DeMario, McClelland, and Barclays who only produced much smaller volumes hence making them both rarer and enhancing their value. Generally speaking, a Coro necklace will have a lower market value than a Barclays piece. Doing your homework is important because times occurred when even the larger companies produced some designs in small quantities making them more valuable than typical pieces from the company.

The value of vintage fashion bracelets, rings, and other pieces is the quality of the stone. Among the dozens of manufacturers, there were companies that crafted pieces consistently using high quality stones and semi-precious gemstones, such as: Eisenberg Bogoff Weiss Hollycraft Eisenberg costume pieces are renowned for having superior quality stones so that makes it difficult to find a piece by them that is not already high-priced yet it is possible to find a cheap an unsigned one.

Focus your efforts on locating pieces by Weiss, Bogoff, and Hollycraft as they tend to be under priced on the market and will certainly be better investments with greater profit potential. In addition to materials, the quality of metal and craftsmanship affect the overall value of vintage jewelry. Those companies renown for superior craftsmanship include: Eisenberg Trifari Kramer Money Danecraft While the vintage jewelry is typically more expensive than similar fashion jewelry pieces made today, the great thing about the genuine costume jewelry is that it still looks great and it’s a perfect investment opportunity.

You can enjoy the jewelry today, and sell it for a profit tomorrow—it’s the perfect investment!

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Jon Kreps is a vintage jewelry expert specializing in Cameo’s, Native American Jewelry, and vintage costume jewelry