Posts Tagged ‘jewelry’

The 4th season of AMC’s heat series, “Mad Men”, has finally started and it’s fabulous as the previous seasons. And  not just because of the strong characters or precise screenplay. It’s no secret that the wardrobe and accessories has a big part in this show, and it’s all thanks to the talented Janie Bryant, the costume designer.

For adding some vintage charm to your daily outfit, Bryant recommends on pearls, and the more the merrier. “I love the pearls from the period”, she says in an interview for Elle Magazine, “but to make it contemporary, pile them on. I love mixing the period jewelry with a contemporary look, like a modern dress with a fantastic period cocktail ring or several charm bracelets”.

» Antique Engagement Rings

Now that the Draper family and they’re friends are going into the post JFK assassination and the mid 60’s, the fashion part is even more fun. A side from the timeless pearls there’s a lot of Jackie O, Chanel and Grace Kelly’s inspirations such as big dramatic brooches, huge cocktail rings, long gold chains and lots of multi stranded bead necklaces.

By the way, Janie Bryant released a new clothing and jewelry line for QVC called “Mod by Janie Bryant”, and it’s all inspired by Mad Men’s atmosphere.

pics via AMCTV

Paris Haute Couture shows came to its end and a side from the gorgeous clothes we’ve managed to spot some jewelry that worth drooling over.

Carl Lagerfeld failed to disappoint  with some crazy creative cuffs:

Jean Paul Gaultier managed to impress with his fantastic creations:

And Armani continued with his solid calm line and presented combination of wood and metal:

So, what are your favorites?
(pic via style.com)

» Naomi Campbell to Testify Over Blood Diamond

It’s safe to say that the entire fashion world held their breath during the waiting for the annual Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Annual Gala. This special evening represents to many of us what true fashion is all about. The 2010 Gala was a celebration of beauty, talent, fashion and jewelry.
Much have already been said about the dresses of the Gala and although it’s difficult to ignore it- this time we will try to look at the event from the jewelry aspect of it.

It seems that this time, the dresses took all the focus at the Gala and that’s why most celebrities attending decided not wear too many pieces of jewelry (Just like at the Oscars a few months ago). When you wear a dress that lights up in the dark, like Katy Perry wore for example, wearing jewelry might look excessive, however Perry did wear an amazing pink bolt lightning bolts necklace and proved to us that only she can pull off such a look.
Most of the jewelry choices however weren’t as bold as Perry’s choice and we were able to see lots of precious stones on the red carpet and amazing couture pieces that matched the dresses perfectly.

Among the pieces that were noticed during the evening we can mention Marishka Hargitay and her amazing Egyptian beetle necklace that looked both colorful and ethnic, Model Hilary Rhoda that looked astounding with a gorgeous Cartier Onyx and diamond necklace and Emmy Rossum that wore an ethnic inspired necklace by House of Lavande. It seems that the other starlets chose to go for a more classical look with diamond pedants and diamond bracelets and we bless them for their fine choice.
We feel lucky that we don’t have to pick our top favorite dresses because we probably won’t know what to choose from.
To see all the looks from the event, please click here.

Unlike other award ceremonies that are usually more toned down, this evening was all about splurge and the celebration of fashion and that’s probably why we were able to witness such incredible dresses and such amazing pieces of jewelry. We can only hope that all the celebrities will take on this approach in other events as well and will always look glamorous and accessorized and giving us more  eye candies such as this.

Unless you use the banned Nickel or the expensive Palladium alloys. “White gold” is actually yellowish Alloy that was dipped in the chrome-look Rhodium bath to cover it (see photos). This is a thin cover
Called “Flash cover” and it is only about 0.002 mm.
These jewels need maintenance once or twice a year depending on the wearing conditions.
It is a common procedure and takes 15 minutes and can be applied on any other metals that require the removal of starches and dirt!

18k “White” Gold, rough metal, not covered.

18k Gold ring after finish and Rhodium dipping.

Pure gold is too soft to hold valuables like Diamonds with claws (prongs) therefore the Gold Alloys were invented. 58.5% pure gold in any alloy will be called 14k Gold, 75% of pure Gold is 18k Gold, 24k is pure gold, %100.
Since Gold is a yellow metal “18k White gold” is an alloy of Gold (75%) and Nickel (8%) or Gold (75%) and Palladium (15%).

10 to 15% of women are allergic to Nickel released to their skin while wearing a jewel. This will result in different skin rash levels.

Metal prices as of 13th April 2010

Pure Platinum      US$ 55      per Gram.
Pure Gold           US$ 37      per Gram.
Pure Palladium    US$ 16.4    per Gram.
Nickel                  US$ 0.025  per Gram !!!

It is clearly seen that using Palladium to make the alloy white will significantly increase the price and put it close to Platinum price.
The use of Nickel is banned by countries like Switzerland and controlled by regulations in the EU community; there is yet any Nickel use regulation in the USA.
European regulations limit the amount of nickel that could be released from any item which is intended to come into prolonged and direct contact with the skin.The regulations entitled “The Dangerous Substances and Preparations (Nickel) (Safety) Regulations 2005″ clearly require that any finding component that pierces the skin may not release more than .2 micrograms of nickel per cubic centimeter per week, and that no other jewelry component release no more than .5 micrograms of nickel per cubic centimeter per week.
Nickel exposure is tested under BS EN12472 and BS EN 1811:1999. The first of these separate tests replicates two years of wear under normal use, and the second tests for subsequent exposure to nickel.
We at Diamonds-USA.com use only “Nickel free” metal alloys as required by the EU regulations.

Spring is approaching ahead in firm steps towards us and that means that we must prepare not only our bodies and minds for the warm seasons but also our wardrobe.
In recent posts we have already concluded that jewelry is an important part of every girl’s wardrobe so for the blooming season we should be prepared for all the right jewelry trends:

The romantic trend- ‘Alice in wonderland’ brought to our world not only a massive amount of merchandise but also the trend of romantic pieces.
Bows, bunnies, hearts, miniature kitchen supplies- everything goes and you can wear just about anything as a necklace or as a ring.
How to wear this trend? Well, since these pieces are so cute and trendy you can wear them with just about anything- you can go for the classic sweet look if you’re looking for an Alice total look or you can mix it up with casual pieces of clothing like a tank top and a nice pair of jeans.

(From Etsy)

The floral trend- The entire world went crazy for h&m’s garden collection and that might have launched the floral trend. What can be more appropriate for spring that patterns and shapes of roses, daises and butterflies?
We were happy to find out that our beloved floral prints are appearing not only on clothes and fabrics but also in pedants, cameos and earrings.

(From Etsy)

The Eco trend- Since spring is all about getting in touch with nature and with our environment it’s no wonder that the Eco trend is catching speed as well. Recycled pieces are all the rage not only in clothing but also in the jewelry department. Eco friendly jewelry are just as trendy and good looking asother fashion jewelry with the unique perk of being environment friendly .

(From Etsy)
Colors- when we thing of spring, pastel and almost angelic colors pop into our minds.  When spring times arrive we enjoy feeling like a butterfly ourselves and we wear lots of nude colors as well as pinks and purples. Since we enjoy wearing color so much, why shouldn’t we integrate it in our jewelry selection as well? Colorful gemstones are all the rage in the jewelry world therefore you should definitely consider adding a pink cocktail ring or a emerald pedant to your collection.

(From Marie Claire)

When it comes to applying hot trends always make sure to find your personal taste and tendencies in order to become a fashion dictator instead of a fashion victim.
Happy spring time!