Black Friday- Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

Here kitty, kitty, kitty...I love Astley Clarke's Lucky Cat Friendship Bracelet...Wouldn't he be perfect for a Friday the 13th? 


Black rhodium friendship bracelet in 18 karat yellow gold vermeil on sterling silver with a black rhodium cat attached to the black rhodium faceted bead and gold vermeil double bracelet



He would also be perfect with any of Astley Clarke's 18 kt vermeil on sterling silver and enamel bracelets.

I LOVE how all of these colors come together- and still include black.  They definitely would elevate any stack to which they were added.  I think I would get a purple, red, or orange just because my wardrobe is desperately in need of a jolt- and because it would set off my turquoise.  Maybe even sunshine yellow...How about you?

 

Both of these, and many other fun, yummy things you cannot live without, are on Astley Clarke.

 

**This style of bracelet looks like a DIY begging to be made.  You could have one to match your favorite nail polish.  

OMG!!!!!!

I thought I would pass out and die when I saw this necklace.



Chiara Ferragne at New York Fashion Week

I scrambled to find who made it...and it's a wonderful store on Etsy!  Doloris Petunia has amazing, superlative inducing, vibrant, exciting, colorful pieces "because one of a kind is the new black."

I have to go take a cold shower.   

This pretty little thing swam over to Lang Antiques from Disney's Fantasia...

18 kt gold, enamel, rubies, and diamonds

What and Where Is Your Treasure?

Queen Alexandra's kokoshnik, owned by the British crown 

Fellow jewelry-fiends, does Matthew 6: 19-21 make you twitch?  "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."


Wheat Tiara from the 1850s, found on Collecting Fine Jewels

This subversive verse is more universal and uplifting than a simple indictment of jewelry, wealth, or the wealthy.   


The Danish Ruby Tiara

Treasure is whatever you value most- it's where you put your heart and time...and it's a fact that every treasure will be consumed, lost, or become dust.* 


The Delhi Durbar Tiara, owned by the British Crown, is HUGE.

God isn't a killjoy, hating on or threatening His earthly creations.  He's asking us to acknowledge that all earthly things are transitory and mutable, and He gives us an otherwise impossible option-eternal treasure with the eternal Him if we treasure Him.    


The Naasut Tiara, was made in Greenland of recycled gold for Queen Margrethe of Denmark.

Me, I dig promised treasures in heaven.  A heavenly crown is the only way I'll ever get a tiara!

*Genesis 3:19 "For of dust you are made and to dust you will return." 

All tiaras except the Wheat Tiara,are from The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor, a wonderful site for royal bling. 


   

Manufacturing Hype at the Grammys

Let's quickly get over the tacky part of the Grammys' jewelry coverage hype...cost.  Bleh...lots of chatter about Carrie Underwood's $31M, 381 carat Jonathon Arndt necklace...all of it about price.  Even she fretted about the cost and how the necklace made her feel like a target...

...Chatter about the $5M price tag on JLo's Norman Silverman diamond bracelets, rings, and 10 carats of diamond stud earrings... but nothing on that fabulous gold bangle.  Has anyone found anything about that unusual piece? 

LOVE the gold!



...More manufactured buzz, but by fans about Rihanna's supposed engagement ring... she wore a diamond Neil Lane ring on her left hand ring finger with her other Neil Lane rings, including a great snake.

LOVE the snake!

Doesn't look like an engagement ring to me; looks like an on-trend wearing of multiple rings.  If Chris Brown gives her an engagement ring, it will probably be blatant and lack class or originality.  

Of course, most manufactured buzz centered on CBS' dress code.  Nipples, "puffy areas," too much or too little leg- CBS should give the guy who wrote that memo a raise for the buzz it generated before and during the Grammys.  Entertainers had to think about being  scandalous this year...and viewers ogled and commented about women's bodies like they haven't in past years (pervs).  Katy Perry, who usually downplays her curves, demonstrated her rebelliousness and stuck it to the man with her beaded neckline.  

LOVE the ring!

Beaded necklines are gaining headway in fashion, and, and if you rock one like she did, it is wise to emulate her restraint with the rest of her jewels.  

But stacking jewelry is still here in a big way and was a norm at the 2013 Grammys.  Of interest is the ubiquity of the men stacking their necklaces, bracelets, and rings, too.  My favorite Grammy photo shows this.

LOVE the smiles!

Not Jay-Z and Beyonce, but the fella photo bombing them with the Mr. T. bling and stacked watch and bracelets.   

Isn't this a great picture ?  No one is posing, and the body language between Beyonce, wearing Lorraine Schwartz, and Jay-Z, with a Cartier Panther ring, is comfortably intimate.   They know who they are and don't need to be anyone else.  Everyone in the picture is happy, having a good time, and wearing jewelry that makes them look good and compliments their overall look.  That combination is so unusual in Grammy coverage that it is almost scandalous.   

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Whoot whoot- Fat Tuesday!  What a great day- and if you've never spent this Tuesday dancing with a stranger wearing a mink coat in the back of a pick up truck in the French Quarter watching the assistant DA proposition every woman who walked by, then add it to your bucket list.  It's a crazy day- until midnight.  

As long-time readers of this blog know, on Wednesday I will be gem-free for Lent so today I stack it on!  I wish I was wearing this Mardi Gras inspired collection of lovelies from www.1stDibs.com:


An exquisite and significant pendant by Boucheron in a delicious and compelling array of colors with a pristine faceted center deep purple amethyst surrounded by vibrant turquoise, chrysoprase and sparkling diamonds all set in striated 18k textured gold. A very eye-catching and beautiful piece. Measures 4.5" long and 2.75" wide. Amethyst measures 1 1/8" in diameter. Signed Boucheron Paris with French hallmarks and maker's mark. Circa 1970s.  Sold by Robin Katz.

 

Chandelier Earrings: Faceted vivid Amethyst set with Peridot Brillolettes and white Diamonds in 18K White Gold. Post with heavy friction earring back. One of a kind.  Sold by Emma Quist.



Oval-shaped bangle bracelet, set with three cabochon-cut oval amethysts and four cabochon-cut oval green tourmaline, accented by circular-cut diamonds, mounted in 18k yellow gold, with hinge on one side, medium to large-sized, signed Tiffany & Co.  Sold by Betterridge.

Rihanna's Choices

There are a few celebrities that have jewelry collections through which I would like to prowl- Jolie, Paltro, Kidman, and Rihanna. Of these ladies, Rihanna's collection stands out because it resembles what most of us have- just bigger or by a designer.  I am still wowed and inspired by her 2012 Grammy jewels. 

Her gold was a refreshing change from huge jewels that looked borrowed for the occasion- not that there is anything wrong with that.  Most of us would never see the jaw droppers unless the stars borrowed them for big events, but Rihanna looked comfortable and gorgeous in her Neil Lane rings and bracelets and Jacquie Aiche body chains.  The look was cool and unconventional- and any of the pieces could be worn any day with anything else.  That's inspirational.

Not so inspirational is the current commentary about Rihanna's decision to return to Chris Brown.  God bless her, many women do the same thing for the same reasons she gives in her Rolling Stone interview.  It's a bad decision- she probably knows it.  Battered women often feel ashamed and blame them selves for their situation.  Asking, "Why is she going back to him?" will make it harder for her to leave if she should.   Focusing on her choices opposed to asking Chris Brown if he is capable of a relationship without violence comes dangerously close to accepting his violent behavior and blaming the victim. 

I hope that Chris Brown has changed his ways and that they are happy together.  And she is safe.  If not, I hope she packs her jewels and splits as soon as she catches herself thinking, "I'm a strong woman.  I can handle this."