Rachel Nichols Gold Earrings

Rachel Nichols (who played Rachel Gibson in the television series Alias) wears stunning gold shield earrings to the Japanese premier of GI Joe. 

She plays Agent Scarlett in the movie.

Diamond Buying Tips

If you are looking for some great diamond buying tips, check out this guide from the GIA.  It goes through the 4 c’s in a straightforward way.

I find that what is not particularly well described or rated in diamond certificates, is the cut.  The cut, it turns out, can have a far more dramatic impact on the beauty of the stone compared to moving from a “G” to and “F” or moving up a notch in clarity.  Check out this post for more information on cut and how to assess this factor.

Hermes Luxury-Branded Car

It is not unusual for a luxury brand to leverage its name across all sorts of products. What is unusual is is for a luxury brand to put its name on a car. For a princely sum of $2 m, you can now buy the Bugatti Veyron FBG Par Hermes. Without the the Hermes labelling, the same car is a bargain at $1.25 million. According to Bugatti, “Our very rich customers may have lost a little, but they still have a lot of money.”

The car’s trunk is designed to fit specially created Hermes suitcase. The grille has Herme’s interlocking H’s.

Understanding Gemstone Color

Perhaps one of the most important factors when judging a gemstone is its color.  Interestingly, the way color of “colorless” or white diamonds and the color of colored gemstones is judged, is very different.  For diamonds, the stone is turned face down under a light source, and the body color is investigated.  Held this way, the diamond will not sparkle, but glow. 

Colored gemstones are evaluated face up, which is the way you would look at the stones when set in jewelry.  The refracted color is then judged.  This means that that a light beam is directed at the stone.  Some of this light is bounced back.  A well-cut stone will result in more light being refracted and thus creating a more beautiful color. 

A gemstone’s color is described in three ways:

• Hue:  This is essentially the type of color.  It is refers to the way color is used in general speech.  These are blue and green hues.  Greenish blue means that the main color is blue, with secondary green hues.  Orange-pink has equal amounts of orange and pink.  The much desired padparadscha stones are typically orangy pink, pinkish orange or orange-pink. 
•  Saturation:  This is the amount of color.  Paraiba stones which are typically a Caribbean sea blue are known for their high degree of saturation.
• Tone : This is how light or dark the stone is.  Too light and the stone can appear washed out, too dark and the stone appears dull. 

It turns out that saturation and tone work hand-in-hand to produce the most vivid hues.  Lighter tones are required for yellow, darker tones for blue and medium to darker tones for red and green.  Too much tone will result in the saturation of the gemstone actually declining. 

Jewelry International Vol. II by Caroline Childers

I recently purchased Jewelry International Vol II.    If you are an aficionado of fine jewelry, this book is a must.  It contains a set of pictures and articles on both modern jewelry and jewelry through the ages.  There are some fantastic (and really expensive) pieces in the book.

Picture of the Day

A cala lilly that I purchased from my local flower shop.

Investment Jewelry

In this current economic downturn, many investors are turning to hard assets as a store of value.  The key is to find assets that provide a hedge against inflation and potential currency weakening.  Gold is proving to be a resilient asset in this environment. In fact, since October of 2008, the gold price has increased by over 25%.

What are the benefits of purchasing jewelry as an investment?

• Jewelry is easily transportable.  You can carry your wealth between countries.
• You control the investment. 
• Unlike holding bullion, you get the benefit of using your jewelry by wearing it.
• Jewelry can benefit from price appreciation if the piece is deemed to be a collectible item.

So how do you make your jewelry purchases also good investments?  Here are a few tips:

• Focus on “Fine” jewelry.  This means that the workmanship must be top notch, and the design must be exquisite, and preferably unique.  Commercial jewelry such as that found at a typical retail jewelry chain store, will have little value to a jewelry collector, and the potential resale value will be lower. 
• When selecting the gold karat level, 18 K to 22 K is preferred for investment purposes. 24 K is is good for pieces that are protected against wear and tear such as a brooch or pendant.
• Choose jewelry or have jewelry designed that looks good to you.  Firstly, you or your spouse will want to wear it.  Secondly, if it looks good to you, it will look good to others, and this again will increase its collectability value.
• “Limited edition,” “Custom-made,” “Unique,” “Designer” are all qualities that enhance the value of the value of your jewelry to a collector.