TRICK OR TREAT -HALLOWEEN JEWELLERY

From skulls to serpents, we pick out frightfully fine ghoulish jewels to wear this Halloween.

courtesy Telegraph.com

courtesy telegraph.com

courtesy okajewelry.com

courtesy ebay.com

courtesy etsy.com

courtesy okajewelry.com

courtesy ebay.com

so what do you think? too creepy or fun? 

World’s ‘next great pink diamond’ to go on sale

According to the Telegraph, an extremely rare 8.41-carat internally flawless, fancy vivid pink diamond is estimated to sell for £8–9.5 million when it is auctioned by Sotheby’s Hong Kong next week.

courtesy the telegraph.com

Just 0.1 per cent of the 20 million carats of rough diamonds produced annually are pink, and, of these, the number weighing more than half a carat would fit into the palm of your hand. No wonder then that many of history’s most prized gems – from the Williamson presented to Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding, the Hortense from the Crown Jewels of France, the Darya-i-Nur from the Iranian Crown Jewels and Babur’s Agra – are pink diamonds.

Hewn from a 19.54-carat rough pink diamond that was mined in 2010 by De Beers, in addition to its size the pear-shaped diamond owes its incredible rarity to its internally flawless clarity and fancy vivid purple-pink colour.

Pink diamonds are the result of an imperfection in the stone’s atomic structure, leading to pink grain lines. The more of these grain lines form, the more intense the stone’s pink colour. So the very formation of a pink diamond leads to less than desirable clarity, with almost all stones showing surface graining or having a hazy overall appearance due to internal graining.

courtesy the telegraph.com

A stone of this size that possesses not only a vibrant pink-purple colour  but also internally flawless clarity, is virtually unseen in any other pink diamond sold at auction. In the words of Sotheby’s, it is “a treasure of nature…[and] ranks amongst the rarest and most desirable of coloured diamonds ever seen at auction”.

Goodbye Oscar!

In my young journey as a jewellery designer I have been influenced by a number of designers, some notable and some others, not so commercially successful(but successful nonetheless). 

One of my popular design inspirations was the great Czar of fashion: Señor De La Renta. 

Oscar de la Renta, died Monday night at age 82 after a long battle with cancer.

image courtesy of Tomandlorenzo.com

image courtesy of Tomandlorenzo.com

His Latin-lover good looks, fascination with feminine style, strong color sense and impeccable social skills — a wonderful sense of humour among them — made him a court dressmaker to a large portion of the international set and a designer for First Ladies from the time of Betty Ford. 

He was a particular favorite of three of the last: Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush — and Michelle Obama recently donned one of his dresses at the White House event for Fashion students. 

image courtesy of Tomandlorenzo.com

While de la Renta could design clothes that were editorial darlings, his genius was in making women, regardless of their own intrinsic pulchritude, look and feel beautiful. Romantic, glamorous styles were his signature: tastefully extravagant, Paris-influenced, with an undercurrent of Latin pizazz. 

He was best-known for his designs for the Ladies Who Lunch, the likes of Babe Paley, C.Z. Guest and Marella Agnelli, along with a glittering constellation of other aristocrats and socialites, performers, broadcasters and top executives, who often became, not just customers, but friends. 

RIP to a true fashion icon! 

Some of our favourite things

Here is the october edition of some of our favourite things. 

This is a post I make once month, showing some of my favourite jewellery pieces .

Enjoy!

Tibetan gemstones with turquoise courtesy Bijoux HQ

Ombre brown/white resin with silver charms  courtesy Bijoux HQ

Mocha colours glass beads with coffee hardware courtesy Bijoux HQ

White pearls with multicoloured crystals courtesy Bijoux HQ

white pearls in a a wavy pattern with chandelier pendants courtesy Bijoux HQ

Ivory pearls with pearl/silver double brooch courtesy Bijoux HQ

What are Different Types of Semi-Precious Stones?

Image courtesy of  pinterest

A lot of my first-time customers find it hard to understand my pricing, especially when it comes to the value of the semi-precious gemstones I use in the construction of some of my pieces.

This post is to help shed some light on gemstones, because being able to identify a gemstone is important as it gives useful insight into their value.

But first, what are semi-precious gemstones?

According to wisegeek.com, 

Semi-precious gemstones are minerals or organic compounds used in jewelry and adornment. They differ from the four cardinal gems, diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald , because they are more plentiful and therefore, are usually less expensive. Amethyst  was once considered the fifth cardinal gem, but recent discoveries of extensive South American deposits have led to its re-classification as a semi-precious gem.

Semi-precious stone varieties do not end with their similarities to the cardinal gems. Moonstones, a gem from Sri Lanka, can appear almost colourless, and Opals,  from Australian and New Zealand , are a pearl-grey or blue.  

Semi-precious stones are really not stones at all, rather they are organic compounds usually made up of tiny fossils. 
Coral, a pinkish-red gem, is cleaned and polished material from the coral rubrum and corallium japonicum species of coral tree in the coral reefs of the sea. Also from the sea is the pearl, a highly prized stone harvested from Oysters and noted for its sheen.

Semi-precious stones range in price based on size, quality and authenticity. Many semi-precious stones are lab treated to enhance color and remove flaws, and these are correspondingly less expensive. For loose semi-precious stones, prices can range from a few US Dollars to several hundred depending on the size and quality.  

I love semi-precious gemstones and one of my favourite pastimes is hunting for them, be it from Chinese or indian merchants , from the alleyways of the jewellery district in Los Angeles or from reputable online merchants.

So there you have it! My little insight into the world of semi precious gemstones. I hope I have been able to shed some light on the matter. 

In the meantime, whats your favourite colour ? This colour often times reflects our personality type and in some spooky cases reflects our natural birth stone(more on birthstones in our next post). 

So tell me guys, whats your favourite colour? what gemstone do you own or which would you love to own? 

My favourite colour right now is tanzanite-blue.

Tanzanite is an extraordinary gemstone. Its blue, surrounded by a fine hint of purple - a rich, wonderful colour! It is named after the East African state of Tanzania, the only place in the world where it has been found.  Isn't Africa awesome?

Tanzanite gemstone courtesy gemologyonline.com

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Here are some useful links to read up more on the subject:

http://www.makermends.com/gemstones.html

http://www.gemstone.org/index.php