Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York highlighted the work of two amazing designers: fashion designer Carmen Marc Valvo and jewelry designer Hera Arkarakas. And while Arkarakas admits her jewelry is meant predominantly for casual wear, any audience member could see how her designs paired nicely with Valvo’s more glamorous outfits.

And those cuffs! Simple yet urban chic…and infinitely wearable.

Arkarakas teamed with fashion designer Carmen Marc Valvo for his runway show, creating a limited edition line of cuffs, which were paired with his spring 2013 collection. Made in oxidized sterling silver, onyx and coral composite, models wore Hera jewelry with Valvo’s cocktail dresses, swimwear and ready-to-wear looks.

A model wears a Hera cuff while walking the Carmen Marc Valvo runway show at Mercedes-Benz fashion week.

A model pairs Hera jewelry with a swimsuit.

Hera jewelry is designed with wearability in mind, and is meant to be layered and easily transition from day to night, which was illustrated in the variety of outfits worn by the models that were paired with Hera cuffs.

Hera cuff created specially for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Designer Carmen Marc Valvo paired Hera cuffs with a variety of runway looks.

Source: 10x

I wondered about this over coffee this morning: how long have pierced ears been around? I must not have been fully caffeinated yet because my guess was that it started in the 1960’s! Apparently, I’m a few hundred centuries off.

Pierced ears and earrings for pierced ears have been found on every continent throughout history. Evidence from the earliest civilizations in the Middle East show that pierced ears were worn at least six thousand years ago, but given the popularity of pierced ears in non state-level societies, they certainly must predate the archaeological record. Multiple ear piercings were used in some cultures, such as ancient Mesopotamia, pre-Colombian Meso-America, and the Greco-Roman world. Many cultures have also stretched the ear holes and worn earplugs. Earplugs were worn by ancient Egyptians, Mayans, and Aztecs, by the Chinese, as well as by traditional cultures around the world.

Source: Squidoo

So keep in step with history and peruse our dazzling earring collection.

Style 10354MS Graduated Three Stone Moissanite Earrings Graduated three stone dangle earrings with approximately 1ct t.w. (dia equiv) Charles and Colvard created round moissanite. Available in 14kt white gold only. Trade Up Our Guarantee

Here at Joseph Schubach Jewelers, we seek to enlighten you. We want to make sure our clients are as informed as possible. Yesterday we were asked what “cabochon” meant.

Definition: A cabochon, often referred to as a cab for short, is a certain cut of stone that is very popular in numerous jewelry designs, especially those that include gemstones. A cab can be made from just about any kind of stone as well as ceramic, porcelain, or even wood. The materials doesn’t matter. The defining elements of a cabochon have more to do with the shape of the component: it is flat on one side and domed or rounded on the other side.

Cabs can come in all kinds of geometric and asymmetrical shapes, but the most important part is the flat side of a cab because that is where it will usually be secured with wire, metal, or even beads.

Source: About.com

And here are a few examples: