David Yurman, Beauty in contrast

Have any of you seen the new  David Yurman add campaigns?? Well, recently Model Kate Upton who just graced back-to-back covers of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, is now swapping out her string bikinis for David Yurman’s classic cable designs.

Upton is one of four women tapped by the designer for its fall 2013 advertising campaign, with the theme  “Beauty in Contrast.” The idea behind the campaign came as an effort to highlight how “diverse elements can coexist in a delicate balance,” a theme which is chosen because of the diversity in Yurman’s designs, both his classic pieces and those from the fall 2013 collection.

The campaign features elegant and refined pieces along with more earthy and artisanal designs. The new collections coupled with iconic favorite designs are heavier alongside more minimal pieces. Overall, the brand said it selected four very different women to make up their models for Beauty in Contrast.

Upton, who is blonde and blue-eyed and was raised in Florida, represents the all-American girl while Anais Mali, a French model whose mother is from Chad and whose father is Polish, has a global/European sophistication. Dree Hemingway, a member of the famous Hemingway family, bears a patrician refinement, while Catrinel Marlon, a Romanian model who also has been in SI’s Swimsuit Issue, has a mysterious sensuality, the brand said.

“Through design, styling and imagery, we tell a story of contrast in all its mesmerizing beauty,” Yurman said. “Beauty is always more intriguing in contrast.”

Photographer Peter Lindbergh shot the campaign, which features the women wearing a combination of classic Yurman designs and selections from the fall 2013 collection, including the new miniature version of Yurman’s signature pinky ring. Beauty in Contrast debuts this month worldwide in print and online outlets as well as on DavidYurman.com.

Yurman founded his eponymous jewelry company in New York in 1980. The brand has 25 stores throughout the United States, France and China, and the jewelry is sold at retail outlets, including many independent jewelers, across the U.S.

 

As always, Live, Life, Lamour,

R.Lamour

 

 

 

Suzanne Belperron’s Jewelry Legacy

Today’s post highlights the life and some of the great works of Suzanne Belperron.

Suzanne is a Parisian jeweler, she began working in 1919 at age 19, and continued without stopping for the next 56 years. She died in 1983. Her life and career spanned the modern movement in the arts, feminism and the emergence of fashion as a big business.

Elegant and audacious, she pioneered a new aesthetic style in jewelry, yet never sought recognition. Despite her discovery by the cognoscenti of style, her celebration by the fashion press, and her profound influence over the rest of the 20th Century’s jewelry design, her name is still not as known today. When the Duchess of Windsor’s jewelry was auctioned in 1987, only 5 of 16 Belperron pieces were tentatively identified. She was once asked why she never signed her work, Madame Belperron replied: “My style is my signature.”

What set her apart from her peers was the fact that she drew on motifs from a range of cultures—African, Cambodian, Celtic, Egyptian, Indian, Mayan—and created a daring new look which was hailed as both “brilliant” and “raw.”

 

 

Belperron’s designs are so unique containing elements that are bold, playful, and anti-ornamental that they tend to strip away one’s average assumptions about jewelry. Her sculptural shapes anticipated modern design, like Chanel, she showed that high style could come from unfancy elements.

 

As always, Live, Life, Lamour,

R.Lamour

Heather Moore Revamps Bridal

Very recently, jewelry designer Heather Moore has taken her personalized jewelry to the next level with a bridal line that includes engagement rings and classic or personalized men’s and women’s stamped bands.

These rings are available in 14- and 18-karat yellow, rose and white and green gold, as well as palladium and sterling silver. White, cognac, yellow, black, and pink diamonds would also be incorporated into the designs.

Tentative price points starts at $600 and, depending on the diamond size, can reach upwards of $7,000, with an average price point of $3,000.

“The bridal line was inspired by the fact that over 12 of my employees have gotten married in the last year, and there are about four more down the pipe,” Moore said. “The conversations around the office in the studio are so fun because everyone is talking about weddings, organizing them, creating a new, defined family … all the love that surrounds those comments is so adorable.

The bridal line launched at the Couture show, took place at an exclusive poolside party held at the Wynn Las Vegas, and the designer said that a lot of her current retailers have already agreed to take on the collection.

What has drawn many retailers is the bridal line’s mix of personalized and non-personalized jewelry which creates options that complement each other. Some of the rings are sold as is while others can be customized with two initials or a date. Some pieces have the full option of personalization, where customers can fill in the blanks.

The great feature of theses rings is that you can collect rings over time as your anniversaries come and go. The designer said that  “It’s simple, yet totally unique to the customer. Some of (the pieces) have beautiful phrases that are typical in a wedding and then we can also do people’s wedding vows, which is so sweet.”

 

As always, Live, Life, Lamour,

R.Lamour

Hot Summer Designs

Summer is officially upon us and fortunately for us so are the hottest summer designs. Today’s post is centered around the top 10 emerging designers who will showcase their collections in the New Designer Gallery at the JA New York Summer Show this year, scheduled for this weekend at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The JA show is the first time these designers are participating in a trade show, which marks their official introduction into the industry.

Twin sisters Kimberly and Lucy launched Dao Fournier designed the two beauties above. The sisters have a passion for rare gemstones and grew up in the jewelry industry. The two stand by the motto that their designs are art meant to be worn by women everywhere.

Holly Dyment is a Canadian fine jewelry designer with a background as a window display artist and graphic designer. She has a “more-is-more” approach to her jewelry, offering one-of-a-kind pieces with a bold use of color.

 

David Alverado of Irthly Jewelled Adornments is the son of a master jeweler who puts his education in Chinese and European philosophy into his work, resulting in jewelry representative of his world view. Alverado’s view on sustainability becoming a global value and interdependence becoming a global creed also influence his pieces.

Kendra Lawrence works primarily in sterling silver with freshwater pearls and, occasionally, gold vermeil. She strives for a minimalist aesthetic, and each piece is crafted in San Francisco using traditional fabrication and metalsmithing techniques.

 

Maressa Tosto Merwarth was the winner of the American Jewelry Design Council’s 2013 New Talent Contest. Her jewelry is not about what she makes, but more the materials, processes and interaction between the artist and the wearer.

Ana Marie Radosta studied industrial design in Philadelphia, where she learned jewelry making, moving on to Pasadena, Calif. where she discovered metalsmithing. Her jewelry has been sold through museums, galleries and jewelry stores.

 

Rebekah Schwartz launched her brand in June 2012, and creates her pieces by hand, specializing in precious metals paired with precious and semi-precious stones. The collections reflect each environment Schwartz has lived in, from New York to Santa Fe, N.M. and Nantucket.

 

Robin Koffler began her career as a graphic designer and illustrator, and now creates jewelry inspired by art, nature and contemporary design. Her one-of-a-kind, 18-karat gold pieces feature hand-picked gemstones.

 

Orit Harel has a background in interior design and art, and now creates wearable art through jewelry. She aims to make a big, dramatic statement with her pieces, creating flamboyant one-of-a-kind pieces with gold and gemstones.

 

 

As alwaays, Live, Life, Lamour,

R.Lamour

The Brooch

More often than not, brooches seem to have their phase of coming in and out of the jewelry scene. Although their history is somewhat scattered and shallow much like their often frequent disappearance, their overall purpose is usually mistaken and use misunderstood. Historically, brooches are decorative jewelry which are made of a metal ranging from either silver, bronze, or gold. They are also decorated with enamel of gemstone and meant to be used as a piece to fasten together two pieces of clothing.

Although their use seems somewhat practical, I guess the reason they are hardly every used is because we hardly have any true practical use for them. I’ve noticed their popularity slowly creeping its head recently as more jewelry aficionados such as designers and stars have worn them. Many people whom use brooches, usually uses them as pins on their blouses to convey a message or image of sorts.

This maybe a matter of opinion, but i’ve hardly seen a brooch that can compare to brooches made within an era of popularity. Ive scoured the internet to find some brooches of new and old to clearly make a case for my observation. You be the judge.

Christian Dior insignia brooch 1965

 

Another Christian Dior 1955 Arrow of  Love

 

Crown Trifari fish net brooch 1965

 

Tiffany & Co. 2013 ball brooch

unknown 2011 brooch

 

As always, Live,Life, Lamour,

R.Lamour

 

 

New Star of China

As some of us have heard, Kim and Kanye aren’t the only ones attracting attention for their little one’s choice of name this week. Recently, the executive of a Chinese jewelry company announced a similar act of baby naming as she’s attached to her baby, a 75-carat briolette diamond now known as “The Star of China.” As seemingly ridiculous as this may sound, this naming bug has been something that has been a form of inspiration from many varying sources.

Tiffany Chen, vice chairwoman of China Star Entertainment Ltd., is the wonderful woman who purchased the 75.36-carat, D color, Type IIA diamond at Christie’s May 28 Magnificent Jewels sale in Hong Kong. As is the tradition with exceptional diamonds, Chen named her stone, selecting “The Star of China” as a nod to her jewelry company.

Chen who paid a whopping $148,000 per carat for her Star, set a new sale world record for a briolette diamond at auction and was just one of the latest in a line of record-setting sales. The $39.3 million sale of the Princie diamond at Christie’s New York set a new record for a Golconda diamond at auction while the 101.73-carat pear-shaped Winston Legacy raised the bar for colorless diamonds at auction when it sold for $26.7 million.

 

As always, Live, Life, Lamour,

R.lamour

 

Asia’s New taste

In a recent Hong Kong jewelry auction, there has been a noticeable shift in the tastes of jewelry collectors. Although there were a variety of pieces offered ranging from celebrity inspired pieces to actual jewelry worn in actual films,  the star power had almost no effect on the price of these sometimes interesting collectables.

At the top lot of the auction was a wonderful pair of jadeite bangles, which sold for $6.9 million to an Asian private buyer. Overall, when the dust cleared, the auction totaled $36.9 million and 79 percent was sold by value.

This ruby and diamond necklace (above) sold for $3.2 million, while a jadeite and diamond suite, consisting of a necklace, earrings and a ring (below), realized $2.4 million.

All top 10 lots of the auction, which were largely jadeite and diamond pieces, were sold to Asian private buyers.

“Nowadays, jewelry collectors have much wider interests,” said Ellen Sin, director of Tiancheng’s jewelry department. “Besides the conventional top jadeites and diamonds, colored gemstones like natural rubies and emeralds have been sought after and drawn increasing attention … We will continue our perseverance in bringing more unique jewelry in line with market tastes from all over the world to collectors.”

 

As always, Live, Life, Lamour,

R.Lamour

Gemfields Jewelry

Recently Gemfields showcased a wealth of jewelry at the Couture show, displaying pieces from designers who incorporate Zambian emeralds, Mozambican rubies and amethysts from the Gemfields mine into their designs.

Hoorsenbuhs, Zaiken, Shaun Leane, Stephen Webster, Wendy Yue and Theo Fennel are among the designers that collaborated with Gemfields, which opened its U.S. offices last September and named well-known actress Mila Kunis as its brand ambassador in February.

Post trade issues with the Zambian government, Gemfields still unshaken by its issues, manages to put out some of its finest works. Below are some of Gemfields brighter outlook from some of its best designers.

 

These 18-karat yellow gold earrings from designer Kara Ross feature 50 carats of Zambian amethysts ($4,200).

 

Dickson Yewn’s 18-karat white gold ring with a 4.01-carat Mozambican ruby and diamonds ($64,800).Hoorsenbuhs’ 18-karat yellow gold cuff features 7 carats of Zambian emeralds ($75,000).

 

Zaiken’s 18-karat rose gold and sterling silver necklace with 5 carats of Zambian emeralds and diamonds ($29,500).

Jasmine Alexander’s 18-karat yellow gold and platinum ring with a 3.85-carat Zambian emerald (approximately $50,648).

 

As always, Live, Life, Lamour,

R.Lamour

Gemfields Emerald Trading Blocked

Recently its been reported that the government of Zambia has barred mining company Gemfields Plc from exporting emeralds for its upcoming sale to Singapore, which is scheduled for June 10 to 14. According to the report, the country’s Mines, Energy and Water Development Minister Yamfwa Mukanga told Bloomberg by phone on June 1 that selling gemstones outside of Zambia is not permitted and that the government had blocked Gemfields from exporting emeralds last week.

As Per a previously reached agreement with the government, Gemfields already had agreed to hold its April auction in the Zambian capital of Lusaka but planned on holding the June sale in Singapore. As of now the fate of that auction remained unclear as of Wednesday afternoon.

Currently Gemfields owns a 75 percent stake in Zambia’s Kagem Emerald Mine, which accounts for a bulk of the company’s production, the government holds the remaining 25 percent. Gemfields also has a 50 percent interest in the Kariba amethyst mine in Zambia, with the other half belonging to the government, and mines rubies in Mozambique.

Since 2009, all 11 of Kagem’s auctions have taken place outside of Zambia, in India and Singapore, generating a total of $160 million. The Zambian government see’s this as revenue that is not being generated from within the country, thus eventually having a spill over affect which would also boost its economy through tourism and other means.

Gemfields has said that being forced to sell the emeralds in Zambia only would negatively impact revenues and the overall development of the country’s gemstone sector and place Zambian emeralds at a competitive disadvantage worldwide.

As always Live, Life, Lamour,

R.Lamour

 

FED Jewelry Bargain auctions

Ever wonder when the Government seized goods such as jewelry will be auctioned? Well todays post provides this information. When things from seized lots are auctioned, rest assured, the items have been appraised and are sure to come at a bargain price.

As soon as tomorrow, June 1st, the U.S. Marshals Service will be auctioning more than 300 lots of gold and silver bullion’s and coins, loose diamonds, fine jewelry and watches which at some point were connected to federal criminal cases in an auction which is scheduled to take place amid the jewelry shows in Las Vegas.

The auction, which will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, also will offer a live simulcast on the web here at 10 a.m. PST for those who for one reason or another cannot attend in person but would like to bid on these prized items.

Several times a year, the U.S. Marshals consolidate pieces which were seized in connection with criminal cases nationwide and holds these large auctions. Fortunately proceeds generated from these auctions are used to compensate victims of crimes and supplement law enforcement programs.

Our sources have informed us that some of the lots to be offered in Saturday’s auction include a rare 4.9-carat diamond with a starting bid of just over $15,000, a diamond bracelet starting at $11,500 and a Rolex watch starting at $145,000 just for starters.

Additional lots, including images, can be found here.

 

 

As always, Live, Life, Lamour,

R.Lamour