Perfection: Jaeger-LeCoultre’s La Rose Blanche Timepiece

There is something about bejeweled timepieces that never fails to attract a woman.

And actress Margareth Madè is a beauty who is not afraid of such bespoke creations.  She flaunted her love for bejeweled timepieces as she was seen sporting the exquisite La Rose Blanche timepiece, from Jaeger-LeCoultre Haute Joaillerie line.  Madè and La Rose were out in full force at the opening ceremony dinner of the Venice Film Festival, at the Excelsior Hotel in Venice. The timepiece, which debuted at the 67th Venice Film Festival, is among the many breathtaking creations that Jaeger LeCoultre was presenting at La Mostra.

Displaying the company’s expertise in the traditional metiers d’art of high watchmaking, the La Rose Blanche is one breathtaking beauty. Powered by the mechanical manufacture JLC Calibre 846, this timepiece is set with 1,210 gemstones: 900 diamonds and 310 sapphires.

Margaret Made wearing Jaeger-LeCoultre La Rose Blanche Watch.

Sprinkle yourself with pure gold

Friends, pay attention: this is what I want for Christmas.

Ormonde Jayne, the high end british parfumist, launched its opulent Gold Dust, made with 24 carat gold.  “What is it?”, you ask?  It is pure gold!  Yes, pure gold, applied to the skin for a stunning shimmer and a light rose fragrance.  Priced at $525, the sumptuous powder comes housed in a black lacquered handmade gold box crafted by British carpenters, accompanied by a lavish champagne-colored marabou feather puff.

My recipe?  Apply it dramatically to evoque the old retro Hollywood style of the dangerous heroines who wrecked havoc with their enchanted entourage and used big puffs of powder in front of their mirror.

Copyright Red Carpet Jewelry 2010, your official jewelry blog.

Need it! Swarovski encrusted iPhone 4

I-WANT-IT-NOW!

Leave it to Stuart Hughes to re-define luxury and our infatuation with the iPhone 4.  After giving us the over-the-top and bank-account-damaging  diamond edition ($21,000) and the 24ct solid gold edition ($32,000), Hughes re-dressed the iPhone 4 in gold and platinum, encrusted with 500 of the finest Swarovski crystals.

Set in the same manner as diamonds by fusing the latest in mass-production technology with traditional jewelry techniques, the dazzling phones are a tad more palatable for your pocket: they sell for approximately $4,000 on the website goldstriker.co.uk

Copyright Red Carpet Jewelry 2010, your official jewelry blog.

For the fashionable falcon, gem-studded hoods

If discerning falconers are prepared to spend thousands on an elite bird, why not spend a few thousand more on a diamond-studded falcon hood?

This is the thinking of Italian jewelry design company Tiroler Goldschmied, which created the hoods specially for showing during the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition, happening until this coming Saturday, September 25th.

Tiroler Goldschmied’s bejeweled hoods range from $7,000 to $32,000, depending on the number of diamonds used and time spent to craft them. The company’s marketing and press manager, Manuela Gampe, is convinced that the hoods’ will be successful.

“Every hood is a one-of-a-kind piece,” Ms. Gampe said. “It is unique.”

Used for the purpose of calming the birds, falcon hoods are made of thin leather, not more than 0.04 inches thick.

This makes it hard to adjust the precious stones and an average one month’s work is needed to produce each hood, Ms. Gampe informed the media. Since the company began making the pieces a year ago, they have only sold one, to a customer in the Netherlands.

Copyright Red Carpet Jewelry 2010, your official jewelry blog.

Princess Diana Necklace to be Auctioned Off in New York

A diamond necklace worn by Princess Diana only once will be auctioned off September 24 in New York. The estimated selling price ranges between $1.5 million to $2.5 million, according to Guernsey’s, the auction house selling the piece.

The Necklace: A brilliant cut diamond and marquise diamond scroll motif centre with a South Sea cultured pearl five stone and marquise diamond fringe drop, to a brilliant cut diamond two row collet backchain tapering to a single row; mounted in platinum, claw set, with an integral box clasp. It contains: 5 matching cultured pearls 12 mm. 11 marquise diamonds 7.71 carat. 3 marquise diamonds 0.88 carat. 164 diamonds 42.35 carat. The Earrings: A pair of brilliant cut diamond and marquise diamond fancy cluster top, South Sea cultured pearl drop earrings; mounted in platinum, claw set, to peg and clip fittings. They contain: 2 matching cultured pearls 12 mm. 6 marquise diamonds

A pair of matching diamond and South Seas pearl earrings, unfinished at the time of Diana’s death in August 1997, also will be auctioned. The pieces were made by the crown jewelers, Asprey & Garrard, now known as Garrard & Company.

Diana wore the necklace only once, at a gala performance of “Swan Lake” at the Royal Albert Hall in London on June 3, 1997. She was killed in a car accident in France barely three months later.

Other jewelry pieces to be auctioned off include two watches that once belonged to Frank Sinatra, James Dean’s ID bracelet, Clark Gable’s medical ID bracelets, and two necklaces and one ring once owned by Elvis Presley.

A 14 karat white gold wristwatch owned and worn by Frank Sinatra, circa late 1940s to 1951.

Frank Sinatra's Watch Gifted from Ed Sullivan.

James Dean's sterling silver ID Bracelet.

Elvis-Worn 14 Karat Gold Necklace, Gifted from Barron Hilton.

Elvis Presley's Diamond and Gold Pendant on Gold Rope Chain.

Clark Gable's Medical ID Bracelet.

Copyright Red Carpet Jewelry 2010, your official jewelry blog.

How We Swag: Decoding Hip-Hop Jewelry

Just how did “bling” become a mainstream concept for jewelry?

The American Society of Jewelry Historians will present a lecture titled “How We Swag: Decoding Hip-Hop Jewelry” Thursday, September 30, at 6 p.m. at the Fashion Institute of Technology, in New York.

Lyneise Williams, an assistant professor in the department of art at the University of North Carolina, will lead the discussion, which will focus on the significance of hip-hop jewelry and its connection with American culture. She will examine styles, the people who wear them, and how urban society inspired the “bling” trend.

Reservations are required. To make reservations, call ASJH at 914-235-0983 or e-mail:info@jewelryhistorians.org.

Copyright Red Carpet Jewelry 2010, your official jewelry blog.

Cindy Chao’s Royal Butterfly inducted by National Museum of Natural History

An interesting story about the amazing Cindy Chao (Taiwan) and the induction of her stunning butterfly pin inducted into the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History:

Amongst the Earth’s rarest and most beautiful creations are precious stones, in which beauty not only remains undiminished with time but accumulates history. Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Natural History features the most significant and famous pieces of gems and minerals in the world; the esteemed collection includes the deep blue Hope Diamond, Napoleon Diamond Necklace, Marie Antoinette’s Earrings, Inquisition Necklace.

The melding of creation – first the natural process that occurred more than a billion years ago that formulated these stones which are then taken and crafted by artisans into a new creation – thickens the layer of history and lore into the precious stones as they pass through human hands.

Cindy Chao’s 2009 Royal Butterfly Brooch perfectly exemplifies this melding of creation, her detailed masterpiece entailing over 2 years time. Heralding a unique usage of rough diamonds, her work representing a breakthrough in the art of jewelry craftsmanship. The annual creation of an iconic butterfly symbolizes the ongoing metamorphosis in the advancement of Cindy Chao’s craftsmanship and techniques in utilizing rare gemstones.

The vibrant “Royal Butterfly,” is balanced by a pair of rough diamonds on the scales; features more than 20 color gradients, precisely 2,318 diamonds, colored diamonds, color-changing sapphires, colored sapphires, rubies, and tsavorites, meticulously set on both the front and back.

In 2010 this classic piece was inducted by the National Museum of Natural History, the world’s largest educational and research museum complex serving as the global beacon for the diffusion of public knowledge. This contemporary art jewel was created not only of the hopes of the artist that this art can be appreciated in a new medium, but will also inspires people to dream and create, always continue to contribute to the evolution of culture and the world around them.

Source: BusinessWire

Copyright Red Carpet Jewelry 2010, your official jewelry blog.

Ivanka Trump’s Charitable-Fashionable Bracelet

Business woman and role model Ivanka Trump has designed a fun and fashionable bracelet to benefit United Nation’s Girl Up program, which raises awareness and funds for several U.N. programs that help in-need adolescent girls, preparing them for the next generation of leadership.

Reports from the United Nations Web site tell of the spread of diseases, the uncontrolled pregnancies, the poverty, and the lack of hope for the future that many girls face, as well as having a limited education and being forced into an arranged marriage by the age of 15.

“Ivanka is a natural role model to young women worldwide,” said Kathy Bushkin Calvin, chief executive officer of the U.N. Foundation. “Working together, we can give girls in developing countries a chance to live up to their potential as the bright, talented girls that they are and set them on the path of becoming the strong, independent, and healthy women of tomorrow.”

The $30 sterling silver bracelet features a coral silk cord and both the Girl Up and the Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry logo charm, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting Girl Up.  You can order the bracelet on the Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry’s website.  A great cause indeed.

Copyright Red Carpet Jewelry 2010, your official jewelry blog.

Sotheby’s auction: Important Jewels

Sotheby’s sale of Important Jewels is planned for  September 28, 2010 in New York.  A number of the key jewels come from a private collection, which features pieces from Harry Winston, Cartier, David Webb and Tiffany & Co.

A classic Harry Winston diamond pendant-necklace leads the autumn auction season as a star lot.  Showcasing 10 carats of perfection in its pure pear-shaped drop, this exquisite necklace totaling 30 carats defines Winston style and quality at its best.  Estimated at $1 million to $1.5 million (below).

Making a dramatic fashion statement is an amethyst, turquoise and diamond necklace created in 1949 that illustrates the Technicolor world of Cartier’s designs of that period.   Set with pear-shaped amethysts, accented by turquoise cabochons, and round diamonds weighing approximately 9.80 carats, within braided gold rope strands, completed by a braided gold rope chain, length 19 inches and signed Cartier, it is estimated between $30,000 and $40,000 (below).

From period Tiffany rings to a suite of glamorous 1950’s Harry Winston jewels, the September auction presents an array of 20^th century pieces for collectors seeking one-of-a-kind signed jewels.  Also featured in the sale are 5 to 10 carat white diamonds and a selection of important colored gems, including a fancy intense yellow diamond ring of 17.97 carats at its center, flanked by white, trapeze-cut diamonds.  Estimated at $400,000 to $600,000 (below).

Below, some more of my favorite pieces to be auctioned off on September 28:

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Designer Spotlight: Brevard

I have been in love with the Brevard pieces for as long as I can remember.  Recently, I’ve been introduced to the most beautiful pieces come out of their collections.  I love the hammered charms with inset stones, which makes high-jewelry much more versatile, wearable and less “stuffy”.

Brevard has been around for over 25 years. Lee Brevard was the original designer.   Friends with Andy Warhol and Basquiat, Lee was able to forge many Hollywood relationships. He designed signature pieces for Elizabeth Taylor, Cher and many others. After Lee’s untimely death, Bryan Moss acquired the company, continuing the Brevard legacy of artisan elements with fine jewelry results.

Like Lee, Bryan is willing to dedicate an extraordinary amount of time to the creative process—into making compellingly simple shapes into subtly extraordinary, evocative pieces. Each piece is held to two main rules of Brevard design: it must  be worn comfortably, and secondly, it must act as a work of art where color, texture, proportion and balance are paramount.

Copyright Red Carpet Jewelry 2010, your official jewelry blog.