Posts with tag diamonds

Buying designer diamonds is pretty low on our list of things to do these days -- paying rent, buying groceries and caulking our windows against high heating bills all rank higher. Obviously, we are not the target market for the new Louis Vuitton branded diamonds.

Christina Ricci has dazzled us with her accessories lately, particularly her Romanek Los Angeles Rockstar clutches. She was spotted with the crocodile clutch in black, silver, and seafoam green at three different events around the world. While we definitely worship her looks in LA and NYC, we are absolutely foaming at the mouth for the black clutch and Chopard jewels she wore at a Chopard event in Cannes.

• Romanek LA Rockstar clutch, Barneys, $2,195

We have just discovered a new gem of a jewelry store! U.K. based Azendi sells amazing pieces that are great for every day wear or for dressing up.

Jewelry, like a car or a house, is an investment. Which is why it's so important that it stands the test of time. Sophie Aarons' online shop, Precious and Rare Pieces, offers dozens of items that fit that bill.

Aarons, a second-generation antiques dealer, carries an impressive collection of estate and vintage baubles, from Georgian-era jewelry to vintage David Yurman pieces. I first heard about the site from a friend-of-a-friend, and quickly realized that I'd been let in on a great secret.

My favorite item for sale is this 1920s engagement ring, featuring a .87 carat diamond surrounded by a white-gold filigree. Good luck finding a stunner like that in a modern, mega-jeweler's showroom.

Have you ever worried about your earbuds interfering with the fabulousness of your earrings? You know, all that boring white plastic doesn't really go with diamond studs, right?

In that case, why not invest in iDiamond earphones? Sure, they're $6400 a pop, but they're the real thing, so either they'll perfectly match your diamond earrings, or, you can avoid wearing any earrings at all.

The limited edition blinged-out 'buds are from designer Thomas Heyerdahl and are made from white gold and 204 diamonds. Not sure how great the sound quality would be, but at least you'll look fancy at the gym. Or do you not wear diamond earphones to the gym? We're not quite sure ...

We confess: we hadn't heard of Eton shirts before, but we probably should have, as the Swedish company is now celebrating its 80th birthday. In honor of the event, the company has created an ultra-special shirt with a price point well out of reach of everyone except the Hollywood glitterati.

Apparently nothing says "Yay! It's our birthday!" better than making a shirt from Egyptian cotton with diamond-encrusted studs and cufflinks. As far as we know, this makes it the most expensive shirt in the world, with a value of £23,000 ($46,700).

The shirt isn't yet available to buy, though: because it's a one-off, it is first... wait for it!... touring the world, making stops at Eton stores in Milan, LA and Stockholm before being auctioned for charity sometime in 2009.

In other words, this shirt has more diamonds than we ever will and is better traveled than us, too.

[Via Brandish]

Heading to Switzerland soon? Got a few million dollars to spare? Have we got the sale of the century for you! Legendary auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's are holding their spring jewelry sales in Swiss capital city Geneva this week.

Although looking at some of these prices, "spending opportunities" would be a better moniker than "sales"...

The Billionaire Boys Club has released some new footwear, the Dollars and Diamonds Boat Shoe. Remember how Richie Rich had a dog named Dollar that had dollar signs ($) all over him? These shoes are like that, but in better colors and with diamonds. That's called taking it up a notch.

Whatever happened to Richie Rich? That poor little rich boy would scoop up a pair of these in a heartbeat.

As I've stated before, I loveLOVELOVE dogs. I really do. But, when my Yuki goes on the great squirrel hunt in the sky, I don't intend to wear her as a sweater, to stuff her a la Rowdy on Scrubs, and I'm not sure I'd want to turn her into a diamond.

But Kimora Lee Simmons has a different opinion. Her 18-year-old pooch, Zoe, recently passed away, and she's looking for a way to memorialize her. And, what is better than a bitchin' diamond?

LifeGem is a company that turns the ashes of loved ones into gems -- I'd actually heard of this before, but with humans, not pets. But, if Kimora chooses this route, she can opt for a blue, colorless, red, green, or yellow diamond and get just about any size she wants (depending on how much of the remains she can provide). The smallest options start at under $3,000 for a yellow diamond and progress steadily upward, but you know price is no object for Kimora.

If you're looking for a good deal on some celebrity jewelry and you're going to be in the Kentwood, Louisiana area in the next few weeks, you might want to stop in to Connie's Jewelry and Gifts. Apparently, Lynne Spears was spotted hanging out at the pawn shop, but she wasn't looking to buy any new bling for her daughters. This time, according to witnesses, she was actually trying to see how much she could get for a diamond tennis bracelet and ring.

There's been lots of talk about how the Spears family is hitting some hard times financially, but this is a little more extreme than most people were willing to speculate. Hocking jewelry at a pawn shop is a pretty surprising move for a woman with two superstar daughters. You wouldn't think that a pawn shop would pay enough to help out with the family debts that much.

Not to advocate profiting off of the Spears family misfortune, but I'm sure that Lynne's jewelry collection isn't cheap -- getting it at pawn shop prices could be a pretty good investment. There are probably some serious diamonds on the bracelet.

[via PopCrunch]

Jeweler to the stars Damiani was robbed of over $20 million dollars worth of precious gems on the night of the Oscars! Straight out of a movie, the thieves tunneled their way under and up into the store in Milan, Italy.

Fortunately for the jewelers, the most expensive pieces were in L.A. for the Oscars. Damiani is where celebs like Jen Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow get their their diamonds. Tilda Swinton was even wearing a Damiani bracelet as she accepted her award on Oscar night! So one of the Damiani brothers had brought some of the best jewels to L.A. to give celebrities their pick of bling for the evening.

But the thieves still managed to get in and do a significant amount of damage. There was a construction site right behind the Damiani's which is how they were able to dig a tunnel of such magnitude, without being noticed. People assumed they were just hard working construction employees! When they got up to the building the robbers then broke a wall and took all the employees hostage so they couldn't sound the alarm.

Guido Damiana told the press that he was "very shaken" but just relieved that nobody had been seriously injured.

I've been pick pocketed and had $5 bucks stole and I was a whole lot more than just "very shaken." I was furious, I was livid! I don't know how this guy can be so cool, calm and collected when they just stole $20 MILLION DOLLARS worth of merchandise! Must be nice to be rich -- $20 mil would just be a drop in the bucket.

Via Perezhilton.

How many times do you find yourself arguing with your significant other over 1) how much time and attention he or she devotes to TV over you, and 2) how many thousands of dollars he or she wants to spend on an enormous, flat screen TV versus, say an equivalently-priced diamond ring?

If it's once, or hell, even if it doesn't happen at all, the TVs at Opulent Items would be a compromise for both of you -- your significant other can enjoy an expensive HD flat panel screen, and you can admire the luxury of 155 jewels that are embedded in the frame. The white TV has 155 rubies, and the black TV on the left has G-colored VVS diamonds.

Of course, your compromise comes at a price tag of $85,000, and that's for the smallest screen size. Upgrade from 32" to 40" and you're tacking on an additional $35,000!

Every time, it's the same routine. Getting ready to go out for lunch with the girls, cocktails, dinner -- whatever requires my getting dressed beyond the standard blogger attire of pajamas --I change my outfit at least three times. And with each change, I do the deed of accessorizing. Though accessorizing is one of my favorite parts of getting dressed, it requires time and energy a focus on detail to perfectly match jewelry to an outfit. Do I go boho with wooden hoops? How about something trendy with dangling semi-precious gems? Or should I rewind to Mod with some giant white plastic loops?

When I can't take it anymore (which isn't all that often - some days/nights, I wouldn't mind just scrapping the whole idea of going out altogether and staying home playing in my closet), I turn to a classic - diamond studs. You can never go wrong by wearing a pair of diamond studs, a timeless look that's simple, classy, and elegant. Sure, each diamond might not be 3 carats, but the little bit of authentic bling that even 1/4 ct on your ears brightens the face physically with sparkle, as well as emotionally. Come one, they're dianonds.

Diamonds are expensive because they're rare -- or at least that's what the diamond industry wants us to think. But the truth about diamonds (not the Nicole Richie book, by the way) is that they're extremely common, and they're also made from a very ordinary substance: coal.

A team of scientists in Scotland is doing its part to muck up the diamond economy. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh are developing laboratory processes that replicate the atmospheric pressure that converts coal into diamonds.

The hope is that with a laboratory-controlled process "large gem-quality diamonds... [could be made] artificially" from all sorts of carbon-based materials, including peanut butter!

The PB bling is made by squeezing the spread between the tips of two diamonds, resulting in something called the "stiletto heel effect".

Given the dirty dealings and unethical practices of the diamond trade, I'm pleased to hear that the days of the status quo are numbered. Just the same I doubt many women will forgo the "Diamond is Forever" mentality for a rock made in a lab from jar of Skippy.

What do you think? Would you be happy wearing a diamond made from peanut butter?

[via BBC.co.uk]

Most fashion designers got the memo about the lameness of skulls, but apparently word didn't reach British artist Damien Hirst. Earlier this month, Hirst unveiled a diamond-crusted platinum skull at Whitecube, his London Gallery.

Dubbed "For the Love of God," the unconventional bust boasts a whopping 8,601 diamonds, so it's no wonder that the market price for the piece tops out at somewhere near $100 million dollars. According to Hirst, the glitzy skull, which cost $23 million to produce, explores "the fundamental themes of human existence - life, death, truth, love, immortality and art itself."

Uh, sure. Nothing cuts to the core of man's existential anxiety like $23 million worth of diamonds. I can't believe I'm saying this, but next to this over-priced, under-meaningful piece of crap, the Chapman Brothers' plastic blow-up dolls look almost museum-worthy.