Happy Stories From our customers

In case you aren’t “in the know”, red is all the rage this season. And while its obviously a drop-dead, standout color to wear, pairing jewelry is not always the simplest act. Red has a life of its own and the jewelry choice must balance its boldness – not overpower and not underwhelm. Here are a few pointers on how to wear red the right way and what jewelry compliments:

Rachel Bilson’s stylist, Nicole Chavez, shares her tips on wearing brightly colored pants in the September 19, 2011 issue of People, which features a photo of Bilson in the same ensemble that appears in InStyle. Chavez suggests: “Keep it modern. Don’t get too colorful! Wear a bold pant with a neutral top or add a great patterned shirt that coordinates with the color of the pants, as we did with Rachel.” People identifies both the pants and blouse as Erdem.

Rachel Bilson’s look appears a third time in the November 2011 issue of Glamour, which recreates the look with pieces costing under $50 each, including a Timex watch and goldtone drop earrings from Courtney Lee at Accessory Artists.com.

An important exception to the tone-it-down rule for red pants appears in ensembles of head-to-toe red. In this case, a bright punch of gleaming gold or shining silver at the ears, neck, wrist and/or fingers can provide a soothing respite from the intense hue, essentially acting as a visual neutral.

Anne Christensen, executive fashion director for Glamour magazine, writes in the publication’s October 2011 issue: “I’m Loving the Lady in Red Look,” adding, “This fall, clothes are all about standing out. Follow my lead and embrace this bold head-to-toe look.” Her choice of jewelry: a substantial gold (actually goldtone metal) link necklace from Fallon.

The August 2011 issue of Elle pictured a look of solid red except for white ankle boots from Giuseppe Zanotti for Balmain. The model wears a leotard from Capezio, Guess jeans, and a knitted fox-fur jacket from Michael Kors Furs. On her American Apparel suspenders she wears a vintage cat head pin from Melet Mercantile. She also wears a Y-shaped feather drop necklace from Isabel Marant, a snake ring from Tom Ford, and an 18k gold ring from Beladora.

A seismic shift in color palette requires a reconsideration of one’s jewelry. When red pants are combined with neutrals, coordinating prints or metallics, one bold, architectural piece of jewelry such as a statement necklace, cuff, or eye-catching earrings will finish the look. Although red pants will be the first thing a viewer notices, jewelry must be visually strong enough to work with the ensemble. With a head-to-toe look of saturated hue, use jewelry liberally to provide a visual counterpoint and add a dash of unique personality. When wearing red, this is no time to be a shrinking violet in your choice of jewelry.

Source: JCK

RM had a favorite ring made out of silver and CZ. We remade it for her using the good stuff! Her original ring pics are also below.

We often don’t think of the “behind the scenes” when it comes to shooting jewelry on models. Good lighting is crucial for instance. But so is the outfit, which can’t overwhelm or compete with the jewelry. This recent shoot with Kate Hudson modeling jewelry is a fine example of what needs to be done in order to make the jewelry the star of the show:

American actress Katie Holmes is mostly known as a movie star. Brilliant. Now, she ventures into new areas as a designer jewelry model for H. Stern for their new Brazilian and Israeli campaigns.

Katie Holmes for Jewelry Brand H. Stern

Holmes follows in the footsteps of Catherine Deneuve and Kate Moss as the face of jewelry brand H. Stern.

Katie Holmes for H. Stern

Holmes posed in subtle makeup and a white shift for the Brazilian ad, which really let the emerald baubles pop.

While I love her as a jewelry model, I can’t wait to see her starring in Jack and Jill together with Adam Sandler.

Katie Holmes for Designer Jewelry Brand H. Stern

Here’s a nice video from behind the scenes of the H. Stern shootings with Katie Holmes:

 

Source: Jewelerista

Even those not familiar with the jewelry industry know that gold prices continue to soar. But many don’t understand why, consider the economic woes that have befallen the US and other countries throughout the world. This piece from CBS’s MoneyWatch addresses some of the basics and reminds us that gold prices and our economy are intrinsically intertwined:

• Geopolitical uncertainty. Between the fighting in Libya that threatens the stability of the world oil supply, the political upheaval in Egypt, Japan’s struggle to get its economic engine moving in the wake of the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami, and the sovereign debt crisis that bedevils the European Union — Portugal just officially asked for an EU bailout — we’ve got a confluence of worries. In isolation, each might be more easily absorbed, but in aggregate they ratchet up the global blood pressure, and that’s when gold becomes most alluring.
• The U.S. isn’t exactly a roaring safe haven. Typically in times of global angst, money flows to U.S. investments. When the financial crisis hit in the fall of 2008, for example, the U.S. dollar strengthened against foreign currencies. But with our debt load causing many to worry about higher inflation and a lower dollar in the future, the U.S. is losing some of its safe-haven luster, making gold look all the better.
• Where else are you going to park your money? A Treasury bill yielding less than 0.50 percent isn’t exactly crowding out gold right now. Part of gold’s popularity is being driven by a lack of better investment opportunities.
• Fears of higher inflation. Gold is a classic hedge against higher inflation and a weakening dollar, since it holds its purchasing power when the dollar’s value declines. And right now, concerns about inflation are beginning to creep back into the global economic dialogue. While the Federal Reserve is grappling with whether it needs to respond to a rise in inflation in the coming months, the European Central Bank (ECB) pulled the trigger yesterday by raising its benchmark interest rate for the first time in three years, from a record low of 1 percent to 1.25 percent. Sure, that’s still low, but the concern is where things might head from here.

Read more: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/blog/daily-money/gold-hits-new-record-whats-driving-prices-so-high/2429/#ixzz1bEXqGpAi

Before you go hit the “matches” button, think again. I stumbled across this piece this morning that really exemplifies the importance of contrasting jewelry and fashion. So today, when you’re opening up your jewelry box, pick the contrasting piece and give it a spin.

These two mannequins in a store window kindly demonstrated the difference between jewelry that matches your outfit (on the left) and jewelry that contrasts with it (on the right):

Even though the gal on the left is wearing more jewelry (a double-strand necklace plus a bracelet and ring), you can hardly see her jewels at all.

Meanwhile, the fashion-savvy gal on the right wears just one piece of jewelry (a single-strand necklace), but it really makes a visual impact – even from farther away:

Now if only these two gals had good heads on their shoulders, the fashion-savvy one on the right could drop a hint to her friend on the left about accessorizing. :)

Source: Rena Klingenberg