SHE SELLS SEA SHELLS BY THE SEA SHORE

The precious materials used to make jewelry tend to get very standard. I personally admire the jeweler who reaches outside of the box for something different. Something as ordinary as a shell, perhaps. By incorporating it into his design, the jeweler elevates it to a level where we stop taking the shell for granted and really take a look at it.

Children love seashells. For the avere person, they are a passing fancy. But once a shell - seemingly something we can pick up for free at the shore - is suddenly worth five thousand dollars, it grabs our attention! Set in gold and studded in a few percious gems,  it never fails to bring out an "ooh" of admiration.

One must allow me a brief tangent on the subject. The very act of dressing up a simple shell with a little gold and pearls, framing it and turning it into an object of desire, sounds similar to the relationship between jewelry and women, does it not? Both the woman and the shell were just as beautiful to begin with. So why does a small bit of polish and gold make such a difference? But back to the topic at hand.



Shells are used in jewelry in more ways than are at first obvious. Mother of pearl is an obvious exmaple, and is used very commonly. Cameos are traditionally carved from shells. It was a clever step for jewelers to take advantage of the natural transition of colors between layers in a piece of shell. My favorite is when designers use the shell itself, as a whole, crust and all. Its cleaned and polished to reveal the pattern, or sometimes rasped and polished to expose the pearly sheen found on the inside of some shells. The shapes themselves are so organic, cunning, and perfect. The colors, textures, and patterns are utterly captivating. I cannot get enough!

Seaman Schepps and Trianon are two designers who use shells playfully and elegantly in their work. When a shell is studded with gold an dpearls, it almost looks like bits of ocean water still clinging to its surface. Vhernier takes a deconstructive approcah. He carves a shell shape into clear quartz, and sets it on top of mother of pearl, bubbling and exploring the textures and light effects. David Webb often uses very realistic shell motifs in his work (almost like he cast the shell in gold).



Next time you are on the prowl for jewelry, I urge you to consider the humble shell.

GOLDEN GLOBES

There are many big fashion events over the course of one year, but nothing brings out the best in everyone like a red carpet event! This year, starlets dazzled us with decadent colors, glamorous bangles, and surprisingly chic headbands!

This round at the golden globes, it appears that most designers wear a slightly sophisticated shade of bright colors (midnight blue, dark emerald green, Fuchsia, cream, and royal purple) with no patterns. Instead, textures and creative seam lines break up the large blocks of color. The dresses this year are also creating fascinating conteours for our hollywood starlets. Angelina goes with a beautiful form hugging cream gown that reminds us of the glamorous 30's, while Tina Fey and Sofia verger go with the hip hugging mermaid dress. Even young Ariel Winter is wearing a slightly off bell shape on her dress. An intriguing length for all the starlets.

Angelina Jolie swept the carpet up with her bold classic look. She wore a cream form-fitting Atelier Versace gown with a red collar, a tight bun, and bright red lipstick. As for her jewelry accessory, she paired her striking outfit with something simple and faint. Just a touch of glimmer. Smart move to put the jewelry in second place here. Her outfit wasn't exactly loud, but it commanded a lot of attention and aristocracy, something gaudy jewelry would have detracted from.

Sofia Vergara (Gloria in Modern Family) wore an impressive midnight blue mermaid dress by Vera Wang. This woman has an incredible body, and has the ability to wear the dress to show that off! Despite leaving her shoulders and neck bare, she wore a small collection of Harry Winston's Jewelry (two glittering diamond cuff bracelets, two rings, and stud earrings), totaling 5 million dollars


Vintage jewelry also made an appearance at the Golden Globes with Charlize Theron, who wore a vintage Cartier headband to emphasize her flowing 30's look. Tilda Swinton also had some vintage pieces, but more on that later!

 January 14,  Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images North America

As far as jewelry designers go, Lorraine Schwartz seems to be reeling them in this year! Bangles for Elle Macpherson, a jewelry set for Lea Michele, a necklace for Heidi Klum - the list keeps going!  However, our two favorites of the evening go out to Lea Michele (Rachel on Glee), and Tilda Swinton!

Lea Michele came out in a show stopping scalloped feather number. A scandalously sheer top embroidered with black, white, and grey feathers could have been a disaster, but Miss Michele looked stunning! The classic contour helped to keep this dress grounded. Her choice of earrings were perfect. The shape of the earrings themselves accented the forms in her hair and dress. She also featured a green emerald ring (to detract from the black and white ensemble), and some beautiful diamond bracelets.

Tilda Swiinton's has a knack for being slightly androgens. From her roles like Orlando and Archangel Gabriel, to her fashion sense, she has always favored suit tops and trousers. However, she always wore them with the utmost femininity. This year at the Golden Globes was no different. She wore her designer friend Haider Ackermann's Skirt Suit. Tilda Swilton was bold, glamorous, and fierce in her perfectly tailored suit and dress.

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

To offset her icy look, she wore beautiful floral 18K gold coil cuff bracelets by Fred Leighton. Each one was set with sapphire and 1940's rose cut diamonds. Fred Leighton had also done a few of the other star's pieces, including Julianne Moore's emerald dangle earrings (the perfect pair for a deep redhead).

photo by Danny Moloshok/reuters sun, jan 15, 2012

ELIZABETH TAYLOR JEWELRY AUCTION

photo AP: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

Elizabeth Taylor - the hollywood icon and fashion starlet - passed away in march 2011. She was the owner of one of the most extensive and "fabulous" wardrobes and jewels in America.

This past mid December, Christie's held an estate sale of late starlet Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry, clothing, and fashion accessories. Their auction totaled a 150 million dollars - 115 of which was jewelry alone. Jewelry pieces ranged from 30 thousand to 300 thousand a piece, and no article of clothing was sold for under $2,000.

This collection is considered to be the world's most impressive and best private collections, and has taken several world records along with it. Her jewelry collection was valued at $30,000. It ended up selling for 38 times more, making it not only the record breaker for an auction revenue in jewelry, but a record breaker for any auction in history! Included are also the Taj Mahal - the most expensive piece of Indian jewelry ever sold, and the La Peregrina pearl, the most expensive pearl in the world.

There are a myriad of factors which explains why her things sold for such a jaw dropping amount. All other variables aside, the pieces of jewelry themselves were the largest finest of their kind. The best designers, Large gems, perfectly cut diamonds, boldly designed arrangements; these themselves would fetch a higher price than their peers. Another reason is the collection itself. It is the most varied and extensive private jewelry collection, with pieces from all over the world, and pieces with deep histories. Her collection is the kind written about by the likes of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. On top of it all, it was her personal collection. These pieces were owned by a Hollywood icon and superstar, and also worn by her.

Today's red carpet stars have armies designers create their looks for them, head to toe. But in Mrs. Taylor's day, the artist had to do it all herself. She created her own look and paid for it all herself. Well, almost everything.

There were many gifts featured in her collection, most famously the record breaking $11.8 million "La Peregrina" pearl necklace designed by Cartier and given to her by Richard Burton, one of Taylor's seven husbands and biggest contributor to her collection.  He bought the necklace for her in 1969 for $37,000. (pictured above) "It's a 16th century pearl which belonged to many kings and queens and other royals" says Chairman of Christie's Jewelry Department, Francois Curiel. Burton also gave her a 33.19-carat diamond ring which sold for $8.8 million. Taylor also received gifts from the late singer, Michael Jackson. A personal favorite of hers was a whimsical jewel encrusted necklace made of figures of monkeys, and a matching set of earrings. Another gift featured in her collection was an ivory necklace featuring ivory opera passes from the estate of Edith Head


Van Cleef and Arpels, along with Bvlgari and Cartier made a multitude of appearances amongst her jewels, each one more sumptuous than the last. Click here to see online catalogue of her entire collection.


Elizabeth Taylor wasn't covered in glittering gems merely because she was a movie star and could afford it. Jewelry was a burning passion for her. So much so that in 2002 she wrote a book about them tilted "My Love Affair With Jewelry." It is probably the world's most expensive hobby, but she sought it out with gusto. She was known to all the top jewelers, and was fortunate enough to be married to both Richard Burton and Mike Todd, who showered her from head to foot in the most expensive and historically rich pieces they could find. She ironically writes:

"As I look at some of my jewels I realize what a very lucky girl I am. Sometimes I wonder what will become of everything, because just like the Duchess of Windsor's collection, they will be up for auction one day. They will be scattered to the four corners of the world, and I hope that whoever buys each pieces loves it as much as I do and takes care of it and realizes that having jewelry is a temporary gift. In truth, we 'owners' are just the caretakers. Nobody owns beautiful paintings. Nobody every owns anything that is beautiful. We are only the guardians."

JOHN HARDY

Sometimes it is a mystery where designers get their inspiration. Naturally, a piece of art needs to be able to stand on its own and communicate the ideas clearly. However, meeting the designer or understanding where the designer comes from always gives the beholder a deeper layer of understanding, and a deeper connection with the piece itself.

John Hardy's designs are dangerously dark and bold, spiritual, and very enigmatic. Unfortnately they sometimes fall under the radar. As a designer, however, John Hardy is very passionate and very close to earth. Like other designers (such as Gurhan, LaLaounis) he draws his inspiration from the past. But rather trying to recreate elements of old, he hones in on a very specific design element, and follows it through with an entire collection.

His youtube channel and home site offers a wonderful series of videos that take one behind the scenes to draw a direct link from his inspiration to his design process. Take this necklace from his Kali collection. This pattern is taken from wet stone walls found by creek or riversides, and is reflected elegantly in the entire collection.

John Hardy is also a very environmentally aware brand. It was the basic principle on which the company was established. It didn't "become green" for the sake of following the current trend, it was its leader.

Overall John Hardy brand is very exotic, very close to earth, and very spiritual. Their beautiful videos offer wonderful imagery and concise explanations of their company that are truly worth taking a closer look at. You can see more at www.johnhardy.com

CHARRIOL

Charriol is a slightly unique jewelry company. Granted, most jewelry designers have their own look and feel, but Charriol comes with an unusual "twist." By twist, of course, i mean that he uses stainless steel cables -something no other jewelry brand does, not even David Yurman who uses the rope motif often in his work.

Charriol's designs have the same effect on you as champagne. They are warm, slightly bubbly, and sophisticated. It comes with distinctive design elements that make it instantly recognizable: the stainless steel cable,  and the cushion cut pale gemstones. Phillipe Charriol's designs were greatly inspired by the Celtic torque, and uses modern takes on Celtic motifs often.






With new collections coming out almost every year, Charriol somehow still manages to be consistent. His work is classy, sporty, and just eccentric enough to be enjoyed by conservative jewelry collectors and young fashionistas alike.

BREITLING

Breitling is a watch company that was started in 1884. For the longest time it turned its business exclusively to manufacturing and developing the most accurate and dependable time tools they could, spending all of their power on precision.

Their dogged loyalty to quality was responsible for most of the developments which result in the modern day watch. They helped pioneer the wrist watch (as opposed to the pocket watch), they combined the wristwatch with chronograph features, they patented the automatic windup mechanism, and many, many, more.

They were considered the number one watch brand for aviators because they needed very precise tools for their jobs (which is why most of their branding features planes and pilots).

Their watches are designed for the hardworking professional who depends on accuracy. Historically, Brietling made chronographs, not watches. Its designs don't reflect leisure or luxury, but rather reflect dependence and utilitarianism.

This shows in their crisp, aggressive designs. They don't seek to simplify their watch face, but rather reflect the complexity and brilliance of their inner workings.

 

  

A MARTINEZ

A Martinez is very easy to distinguish amongst other fine jewelers. Big clues into what makes an A Martinez piece is its hefty size and weight, the use of Sterling Silver, peculiar abstract design work, and the large turquoise stones. The influence of A Martinez's designs comes from Native American Navajo style jewelry.

The work itself looks very man made, with uneven contours, textured metal, and a hammered style. The design work on the bracelets themselves can vary from something more symmetrical and methodical, to a collection of heavy cuff bracelets that have punched out metal scraps arranged cleverly on their surfaces.

From a scale of 1 to 10 in boldness, where Cathy Waterman is a 1, and David Webb is a 9 or a 10, A Martinez is probably a 13 or 14. Although slightly uncouth, these pieces pair stunningly with cowboy boots or the little black dress.