September 11

Today...

Please pray for the families of those who lost loved ones in NYC, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. on September 11 in 2001.

Please pray for the service members, CIA, FBI, police, members of the public, and all others who served and are serving, protecting the United States from further attacks. 

Please explain to your children why September 11 is important- they did not see the planes slam into the Twin Towers, and pray for our unity as a nation to defeat those who want to hurt America and Americans.  

Please be kind to each other in remembrance of the kindness of strangers during our grief.  

Looking Back ...Looking Forward

The back bejeweled is subversively erotic.  Nothing is censorious.  Skin and muscles offset metal and stone, inviting sensory exploration.  Naked skin is not necessary; a clothed, bejeweled back decorates and calls attention to a normally unnoticed portion of the body, like being let in on a secret.   

This week celebrates the decorated back, from juxtaposing backs for fronts to sell jewelry to "conventional" back jewelry, like harnesses or vertebrae, to those pieces that rethink the back's space with brooches or necklaces to leave an  impression going as well as coming. 

Today it is about the back standing in for the front...

Koshi

Africa Rich

Dreams of Norway

Kitten Hawk

Miyudecay

Michelle Oh

Pipe Dreams

Rene Walrus

Bevel

 

Black Friday

An old, sweet bangle... a circa 1868 Austro-Hungarian black enamel and silver bangle,  elaborately engraved.  The engraving on the inside reads: "Herbert Beaumont Leadam - Dec. 5. 1868 - Of such is the kingdom of Heaven."  Wear it and remember Herbert and whoever it was that wanted to keep his remembrance close. 

www.bellandbird.com

A Tale of Passion

I have a passionate relationship with Bogetta Veneta...usually passionately angry.  Grossly overpriced and invariably inaccurately marketed, Bog V rakes in the cash misrepresenting its jewelry in a way that would put a small jeweler out of business.  That makes me crazy!  And the prices Bog V charges...whew!

So imagine my embarrassment when I fell madly in lust with this necklace.  I love this piece!  It makes me swoon with desire.  The big stones, the in-your-face outrageousness ("Of course it's fake- duh!"), the pop-in-your-mouth color- love it all.

I don't love the price, a whopping $2,000 for silver and CZ.  Snort! As if!  And Bog V did not change; it markets the CZ stones as zircon.  Danger signs all over the place, as there always are with Bog V.  Sigh.   

But I love this necklace enough to look for something reasonably priced like it.  I do not support buying knock-offs; that is taking money out of someone's pocket.  Usually artists who develop jewelry charge higher prices for better items.  To illustrate this point, I recommend you  read about Wendy Brandes' ongoing issue with Top Shop.  Top Shop stole her swear rings idea and design, selling cheap junk after her initial risk, capital investment, and marketing. Click on the link to her blog on the right if you want to follow the ongoing issue OR order the real deal from Ms. Brandes.

ANYWAY- September's InStyle, like a fairy godmother, showed me the necklace of my dreams.  R.J. Graziano's necklace is not a rip off clone, but something similar that feeds  my lust for sparkling, colorific, "duh!" inducing bling without making me feel broke and stupid.  It's on the web from $110 to $45 or you can call the company at 212-685-3737.  I can get two, and still feel smart.  It's like discovering Bog V's gorgeous necklace has a smarter, kinder brother who wants a healthy relationship.  Beautiful sparkle and money in my pocket!  Sweet!    

Ebay!  Cool!

Bog V... we knew this would never work between the two of us.  Thank you for helping me grow and mature as a jewelry fiend but I'm taking R.J. home.               

Black Friday- The Nugget Jeweler, Alexandria VA

This is an original from The Nugget Jeweler, Alexandria VA.

Diamond, gold, enamel?  Beautiful- one of a kind. 

The Ear Vine by Alex Simkin

Please don't hold the waxy model against these really pretty earrings.  

These were a surprise at the last gem and jewelry show.  We spent an hour at the booth, trying on earrings and matching sizes and styles to our ears.  These are totally different from any other earrings I have worn- they have to be fitted to your ear and you, the wearer, have to learn how to put them in.  Mine are completely comfortable except that when one brushes against my hair, my first impulse is to swat it off because I think it is a bug.  Each earring is one piece, almost like a bobby pin, that slides up the front and back of your ear, gently pinching it between the bent metal.   

The lady in the instructional video makes it look easy.  Initially, all of the hand motions are totally backwards to what you want to do.  Ear Designs by Alex Simkin

The ones we picked were pretty, subtle, and fun.


Mine are like this but with amethyst.

I got these for my mom.

 

My youngest got these in blue glass and my eldest got them in opal.

They have more dramatic offerings, too, with cuffs that fit over the top of the ear (not pictured), combined with these decorations from the top, down the side both in and out of the external ear fold, along and beneath the lobe. 

Worn by a person, not an android, the long gold wire is hidden.

I tried to rock the totally bejewelled ear, but I was too self conscious.  I felt like this: 

http://www.cowboyshowcase.com/glossarycattle.htm

Not the goal...

But I love the smaller ear vines.  Give them a try!

Success!

I've been looking for these since I saw them in a magazine.  I always have a brown or black hair elastic around my wrist, making me look unfinished.  But tonight, during a fantastic WalMart splurge-a-thon getting the eldest ready for university, encompassing anti-roach spray, Jamaican cola that tastes like bubble gum, and coat hangers, I found them!  Hallelujah!

The metal on mine is gold toned, and two are shiny, and one is matte.  Not so heavy that they won't stick in my hair, they're not cheap looking on the wrist.  These are genius- where have they been all of my life?  The only problem is that they are hard to find...I've been actively looking for over six months.