50 Top Celebrity Proposals, Part I

December 26, 2010 · 0 comments

In an earlier series of posts, we explored some extraordinary celebrity engagement rings. This was a fun journey as we were able to witness some of the most exquisite designer jewellery on the market today, as well as those classic pieces that never fade from the public eye. For this next set, I thought we would follow a similar theme, with a little more focus on the proposal. We may revisit some celebs we saw in our ring series, while a few new ones may also appear.

1. For Hillary Duff, her proposal from Mike Comrie was actually caught on camera. While this tradition is great for the bride and groom, it may take on a different appeal once the media gets hold of the video. Surprisingly, the video captures little more than the look of awe on Duff’s face as she examines her new engagement ring. Reports show Comrie, an NHL star, getting down on one knee on the balcony of their Four Seasons Resort room and proposing to the shocked Duff. She immediately said, “Yes!”

2) The next surprise proposal was between Eva Longoria and Tony Parker. Longoria had spent a long day at work and Parker was supposed to be in Utah. His appearance in L.A. caught Longoria by surprise, until she figured out his plans. In the early morning hours at Longoria’s home, Parker fell to one knee surrounded by rose petals and candles and asked for Longoria’s hand. A very traditional guy, he had already gained the blessing from both families before he proposed.

3). Jennifer Hudson’s story has a bit more of a twist. When David Ortunga proposed, he took Hudson to the beach. He then blindfolded her and gave her a purple shovel, instructing her to dig. Hudson dug through considerable amounts of sand before she found a number of different cards. She read through the cards, which all had a pattern. At the last card, she was instructed to turn around and receive the engagement ring from Ortunga.

4). Kellie Pickler is one of the most recently engaged, having accepted a proposal from Kyle Jacobs. The proposal took place on a beach in Florida this past June. The date was the birthday of Kelli’s late grandmother and guardian and at the end of a stroll; Jacobs arrange a blanket, candles and champagne for the proposal. Jacobs took a day that was normally sad for Pickler and turned it into something she called amazing.

5). Seal proposed to Heidi Klum in rather chilly conditions. The proposal took place at 14,000 feet in Whistler, B.C. in an igloo made just for the moment. The igloo was in a natural snow cave in unchartered terrain on a glacier. Klum called the proposal a once-in-a-lifetime event.

6). Tom Cruise proposed to Katie Holmes not jumping on a couch, but instead at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The proposal and subsequent marriage was good for both stars who had been constant targets for the tabloids as so many doubted their romance was much more than a publicity stunt.

7). When Eli Manning proposed to Abby McGrew, it did not hold as much excitement as the Super Bowl, but it was a sweet moment none-the-less. Manning got down on one knee and surprised his long-time girlfriend with a sparkling diamond ring. The low-key event happened at home and was a surprising and sweet moment; say those close to the couple.

8). Cory Hardict proposed to Tia Mowry in front of her entire family. She assumed something was up when he arrived at a family function and was acting very strange. She recalls that he went to the bathroom three times in 10 minutes and was sweating profusely. It turned out this was all part of his plan to play a joke on Mowry. He gave her a card to indicate he wanted to work toward the future. Her brother then proceeded to give her a note from Hardict that read, “Psych! Let’s Get Married”. She said, “yes”.

9). Henry Hager took advantage of a beautiful sunrise to propose to Jenna Bush. The two had been camping in Maine’s Acadia National Park. Hager’s plan was simply to watch the sunrise and he took a groggy Bush up the trail. As they neared the summit, he suggested they stop for an energy bar. Instead, he offered her an engagement ring and marriage.

10). Mariah Carey received a proposal from Nick Cannon that scared her so much, she ran from him. Cannon had gotten down on one knee as the two were gazing at the Empire State Building lit up in pink and purple to mark the release of Carey’s latest album. She didn’t run for long as the engagement ring placed inside a bag of Ring Pop candy turned out to be exactly what the songbird wanted.

Join me next time as I take a look at 10 more celebrity proposals.

Sam Kritsotakis
Eskae Private Jeweller

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What Exactly Is Handcrafted Jewellery?

December 19, 2010 · 0 comments

Handcrafted Jewellery

Simply put: Handcrafted jewellery is jewellery made by hands, not machines.

This type of jewellery sounds pretty self-explanatory, doesn’t it? Believe it or not, there’s much more depth to handcrafted jewellery than just the use of hands to create exquisite pieces of jewellery art.

When jewellery was first recognized during ancient Egyptian times, obviously, electrical working machines weren’t yet invented – therefore, all jewellery was handcrafted by artisans as a trade. Over time, jewellery evolved from shells and pebbles, eventually becoming a career for artisans-turned-jewellers who continued taking jewellery design to a whole new level.

The great thing about handcrafted jewellery today is that it’s the one type of jewellery that still carries over ancient history all of these years later, albeit, in newer and more modernised fashions.

Modern or Art Deco, Boho, Modjewellery and Ethnic are just some of the newer titles given within handcrafted jewellery; all carrying some piece of history with them. Nowadays, creating handcrafted jewellery tends to fall under two main categories: Professional and hobby.

Professional jewellers have the artistic and dexterity skills required to incorporate gold, platinum and other precious metals along with pink diamonds, white diamonds and coloured gemstones into their handcrafted designs while people at home tend to use more cost-effective resources, such as, alternative metals like brass and copper wire, beads, polymer clay, wood, fabric and whatever other materials the designer may find attractive.

Because of this distinction, it puts the cost of handcrafted jewellery on opposite ends of the price spectrum. When professional jewellers create this type of jewellery, it falls into the class of being a one-of-a-kind type of custom designer jewellery, which in turn, makes it an expensive piece of jewellery.

People who make handcrafted jewellery as a home business or as a hobby use cheaper means and cheaper materials. It doesn’t mean their workmanship is cheap, it means the worth of their jewellery is lower than that of a professional jeweller.

Depending on personal style and budget, both hobby and professionally handcrafted jewellery have become an extremely popular choice when shopping for accessories.

The Popularity Of HOBBY Handcrafted Jewellery

Everyone loves jewellery – whether it’s a simple pendant necklace or a 5-carat diamond ring – but not everyone can afford valuable jewellery items. The next best thing to buying jewellery is making it or buying it from home, leading to the online craze of sites like Etsy.com, Rubylane.com and good, ole’ Ebay.com.

In fact, if you were to actually Google handcrafted jewellery, you’ll come across hundreds of how-to’s for starting your own jewellery business and personal websites selling these items. Very few websites touch on anything more about handcrafted jewellery, unless you just so happened to come across this blog, wink, wink!

The reason behind this hobby/home-business frenzy is the fact that handcrafted jewellery is perfectly fitted toward individual tastes, follows the latest fashion trend and it’s affordable for both parties – those who craft and those who buy.

Teenagers who want to become entrepreneurs, stay-at-home moms who are looking for some extra cash and people who want to one day become professional jewellers are the biggest contributors to the handcrafted jewellery hobby.

The great thing about making jewellery as a hobby is that it’s often a stepping stone towards becoming a fantastic jeweller!

The Popularity of PROFESSIONALLY Handcrafted Jewellery

Much like custom jewellery, handcrafted jewellery appeals to all people, especially women. Jewellery made by a person rather than duplicates made by machine is sure to make a woman stand out in a crowd – and who doesn’t want attention drawn to themselves after spending all that time glamorizing?

While pieces of jewellery made by home artisans are great for a night out, jewellery handcrafted by a professional jeweller are sure to add the WOW! factor for years of nights out, again and again! A jeweller who makes jewellery by hand is a sure sign that they’re not only extremely skilled but creative and artistic which leaves the guarantee of owning an enviable piece of jewellery.

Unlike home-business handcrafted jewellery, you won’t find plastic beading or fishing wire holding the necklace together from a professional jeweller. Instead, you’ll find completely original, valuable materials used such as semi-precious and precious stones, authentic crystals, glass beads, silk and precious metals amongst other uniquely, beautiful materials that are incorporated.

What makes handcrafted jewellery different than custom jewellery is that from the sizes, width, and colours all the way down to which metals and gemstones are used, it’s the customer who has complete control over the design, not the jeweller. What’s not to love about it?

Another great advantage of professionally handcrafted jewellery that most people aren’t aware of is that it’s the perfect way to refurbish heirlooms! More often than not, heirloom jewellery is handcrafted and made of precious jewels and metal before the 20th century when machines were not yet available.[i] Such immaculate designs cannot be remanufactured or redistributed which is exactly what makes this jewellery so priceless.

Perhaps your great, great, great, great grandmother’s diamond engagement ring has been sitting stowed away to keep it undamaged and out of harm’s way. Taking it to a professional jeweller (one you know well and trust) can either help you put the shine and lustre back into that ring or update it all together to recreate the heirloom to show off your heritage while still keeping it in the family line.

With all of these great advantages, handcrafted jewellery doesn’t only keep customers happy; handcrafting jewellery even has perks for jewellers! By not using machines, one handcrafted ring alone cuts gold or platinum loss by 5% meaning less recycling of gold or platinum, less refining and of course, more money saved which we can pass on to you![ii]

Making handcrafted jewellery is a wonderful part of every culture whether to hold a piece of history close by or invent a new fashion trend. Regardless of who does the designing or creating, handcrafted jewellery is vastly becoming the most popular selection because of its authenticity and never-ending choices of design.

Sam Kritsotakis
Eskae Private Jeweller

References:

[i] http://pagerankstudio.com/Blog/2010/09/jewelers-repairer-job-description-and-jewelry-repairer-job-description-education-and-training-requirements-career-salary-employment-%E2%80%93-definition-and-nature-work/

[ii] http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/Platinum-wedding-bands.htm

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The History of the Wedding Band

December 12, 2010 · 0 comments

In an earlier post, I took you on an exploration of the romantic history of the engagement ring. With such an intriguing past and blended foundation, I knew there had to be an equally interesting story attached to the history of the wedding ring. After doing some research, I discovered that this history is both rich and vast.

The concept of the wedding ring is said to have originated along the fertile flood plains of the Nile River in North Africa. Plants that grew alongside the riverbanks provided the material for the first wedding rings. The circle shape was viewed by ancient cultures as a symbol of eternity as it had no beginning and no end.

It is such associations that led to the use of the ring to symbolize love and marriage as the individuals involved hoped their love would match the characteristics of the circle, capturing eternity and never ending. The promise of love and commitment should have no end and in many cultures, the circle ring was the symbol of this promise.

Interestingly, this is not the only history associated with the wedding ring. I discovered another theory that suggests the ring’s shape has more to do with religion than a symbol. Some historians argue that the wedding ring actually represents two halves of a united whole. When the circle is complete, the primitive man has completed his religion. This belief is not widespread and appears to have only been dominant for a short time, but is part of the history none-the-less.

The wearing of the wedding ring on the fourth finger was not put in place at the very beginning of the wedding ring’s use. Earlier cultures used rings around the extremities to exercise superstitious beliefs about keeping the spirit in place. This attempt at protecting or prolonging the life of a new bride did not have quite the romantic appeal that wedding bands today hold for the betrothed.

Egyptians and Romans later introduced the use of the fourth finger as they believed a vein ran from the fourth finger to the heart. As a result, this finger was the only logical location for a ring that would symbolize something so precious as marriage. By the time science disproved this theory, the fourth finger was already a well-worn tradition.

Interestingly, there are elements that exist within the traditional wedding vows that relate to ancient practices that have less to do with love and more to do with laws and rituals. Is it said that ancient Romans did not use the fourth finger to demonstrate love, but rather possession. The ring symbolized ownership and the woman rarely had a say in the decision to become owned by the man. Once captured and ringed, the woman was married to the man, forced to always obey.

A tradition in the Far and Middle East that was put in place to ensure a woman was faithful was the use of puzzle rings. These collapsible rings would fall apart if the woman removed the ring. The “puzzle” could be put back together, but only by those who knew the correct arrangement of the pieces of the puzzle and the husband rarely divulged such information to the wife.

Puritans often believed that jewellery was frivolous and therefore wedding rings were an extravagance that was not necessary. Instead, young couples exchanged “wedding thimbles”. As the Puritans often viewed thimbles as a practical gift, such an exchange was considered to be acceptable. For some young brides, however, a ring was still desired and once the wedding was complete, she would cut off the bottom of the thimble to create a ring.

As time passed and more modern times emerged, the modern ring began to take shape. Always a circle, the wedding ring has been made of leather, aluminum, stone and metal. Interestingly, even as the human approach to love and marriage was evolving, wedding rings were largely something worn only by a woman until World War II.

It was during the war that men in the military were in fashion if they wore their wedding bands to remember wives waiting for them back home. This practice increased during the Korean War and is still growing today as more men throughout the world readily demonstrate their commitment to another.

Today, we see wedding bands made up of mainly gold or platinum, although some wish to express their individuality with a tattoo or the use of titanium. Whatever your interest, you cannot dispute the wide-reaching and interesting history associated with the wedding ring.

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Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Corporate Beholder – 3/3

December 5, 2010 · 0 comments

We’ve now got a pretty good picture of what it means to be attractive or unattractive in the corporate world. It can be unfair, discriminating (although not legally so because who can make a lawsuit based on the claim: He thinks I’m ugly!), biased and more – but as with any saga, there are two sides to every story.

Since the last two thirds of this segment have been about how being unattractive and/or short in stature may have an ugly effect of lower salaries or opportunities, we’ll turn it around and see how being attractive can also be misconstrued within the workplace.

It’s what’s known as the beauty premium. Just to give you a little background on how this concept was created, Dr. Daniel Hamermesh and Jeff Biddle conducted a study in 1994 which indicated that workers of above-average beauty earn more than workers with below average looks.[i] Dr. Hamermesh took this data one step further stating that the ‘beauty premium’ exists in all industries, even those where beauty would not seem to matter.[ii]

This caused an uproar because what company wants to admit that they do, in fact, make a very quiet but very biased, not to mention, shallow decision when hiring a person? And as we all know, once any controversial study is completed, another must follow to negate such discriminatory data.

The logic coin gets tossed up in the air and the question then becomes: Is the beauty premium all it’s cracked up to be?

The answer is absolutely yes…that is, initially. As with anything that sounds too good to be true, this is certainly one of those instances. While beauty gets you in the door and offered a higher salary, it’s often quite a different story after the first couple of months.

An experiment completed by Markus Mobius of the Harvard economics department and Tanya Rosenblat of Wesleyan University where pretty people were asked to perform certain tasks, they found that employers overestimated the productivity of beautiful people. The economists estimated that about 15 percent to 20 percent of the beauty premium is a result of the self-confidence effect, while oral and visual communication each contributes about 40 percent.[iii]

According to a survey done by Newsweek, looks matter in every aspect of the workplace and they matter even more for women[iv] indicating that beauty can be a double-edged sword that can either make your career come to a halt or propel it forward.

There was a recent lawsuit filed against Citigroup (you’ve probably heard about it) by a woman who stated she was fired solely because her bosses thought she was too hot.[v] Awww, she must have it so rough, right?

While chances are this particular woman is probably milking publicity for fame (please note her photo shoot to back up her horrifying experience), the honest truth is when a woman is considered beautiful in the workplace, many times she loses credibility the higher up the corporate ladder she climbs. Then comes the famous, ‘Oh, she only got there because of her looks’ snub that’s heard ‘round the entire office.

So what’s a pretty girl to do?

The answer most professionals give is simply to dress more conservatively, which is just common sense but do you want to know the real trick? It’s adding a pearl necklace!

It may sound a little strange that an oyster can spit out one little pearl that can forever change your destiny. That may sound a bit dramatic; however, this tiny little accessory can make all the difference in a female’s professional appearance. Pearls make such a strong impression in the corporate environment because they’re timeless, old-fashioned but forever trendy, sentimental pieces that for some reason or the other, keeps a woman looking credible and trustworthy. Who knows the exact reason for this? Maybe it’s just the simple fact that because our mothers wore it, their mothers wore it and their mothers did, it carries a safe and comforting feeling.

To flawlessly pull off this look in a way that’s office savvy and at the same time, fashionable, the idea is to wear one set of pearls at a time. If you’re going to wear pearl earrings, then forego the necklace and bracelet. Maybe you’re a bracelet kind of person in which case, drop the earrings and necklace – so on and so forth. If opting for the necklace, remember to keep it collarbone level to draw attention upwards!

Remember that pearls are not just an accessory; they’re a means to bring focus to the professional side of you and trust me, pearls never let a girl down!

Sam Kritsotakis

Eskae Private Jeweller

References:

[i] http://www.cfoinnovation.com/content/do-looks-matter-getting-promoted-ceo

[ii] http://media.www.harbus.org/media/storage/paper343/news/2008/11/17/Viewpoints/The-Beauty.Premium-3547361.shtml

[iii] http://www.thirdage.com/career-transitions/the-beauty-premium-why-good-looks-pay

[iv] http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/08/10/business-school-research-finds-beautiful-women-face-discrimination.html

[v] http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-01/news/is-this-woman-too-hot-to-work-in-a-bank/1/

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