Archive for the 'Hand-made Jewellery' Category

The 10 Most Expensive Dream Shoes – 10 through 6

Published on June 26, 2011 in Designer Jewellery, Diamonds, Eskae Private Jeweller, Fun Stuff, Gemstones, Hand-made Jewellery, Platinum, Sapphires and White Diamonds. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

The 10 Most Expensive Dream Shoes – Shoes 10 through 6

Everyone wants to own the nicest and latest fashioned, name branded shoes but what about shoes that girls can only dream about? Believe it or not, they do exist! All you have to do is add the most exquisite diamonds, jewels and precious metals to these coveted shoes.

Still don’t believe it? Well, go ahead and take a look at the first half of the world’s most amazing and expensive dream shoes!

10. Dream Shoe Designer: Unnamed Italian Designer in Wuhu

Although the designer has remained vague about his creation, his masterpiece is anything but! These sparkling, gold pumps used 680 grams of pure gold to mould them into perfection under the invitation of the World Gold Council.

While the price is has also not been released, if you calculate the going rate for 1 gram of gold ($44 USD), then the price for the gold alone comes in $29, 920 USD.

9. Dream Shoe Designer: Bruno Frisoni for Roger Vivier

Named, The Dovima, these taxidermy bird shoes (yes, they’re actually real birds!) were dyed a rose pink colour and attached to the toe of these heels by their crystal encrusted head. Frisoni really knew how to set himself apart in the designer world since this is the type of shoe that will never be forgotten once you’ve seen it!

Each bird’s crystallised head is surrounded by 24 carat gold-coated mesh, silk, ribbons and crocodile-skin rosettes with the added bonus of protective crocodile or snakeskin that are attachable to keep the shoes, themselves, from ever touching the ground.

These oddly creative, animal-esque shoes can be ordered for $30,000 (USD).

8. Dream Shoe Designer: Giuseppe Zanotti

This Italian shoe designer created the design for these extremely pink shoes with the help of the fine jewellery company, Chopard, who gave the jewellery needed for this fascinating footwear.

Unlike the previous shoe Shellis designed using one specific type of stone, Zanotti incorporated pink diamonds, pink sapphires, tourmalines and russellites to create this one-of-a-kind satin high-heels.

The biggest plus for these shoes is that the jewelled ankle strap of the shoe is removable so that the owner can have not one, but TWO valuable bracelets!

Totalling 22 carats of diamonds, 134 carats of rubellites and 199 carats of pink sapphires, Giuseppe Zanotti also designed a matching set of rose gold, pink sapphire and diamond hoop earrings.

Believed to be auctioned off for up to $175,000 dollars USD for amfAR’s fight against AIDS, these gorgeous bejewelled, satin stilettos sold for an even bigger sum of $200,000 (USD) to a private bidder!

7. Dream Shoe Designer: Christopher Michael Shellis for House of Borgezie

Founder and jewellery designer of the House Of Borgezie, Shellis has designed some of the most expensive shoes of all times with his main attributes to them consisting of diamonds, platinum and solid gold.

This shoe was given the title of, The Eternal Borgezie Diamond Stiletto, and rightfully so due to the 30 carats of 2,200 encrusted white diamonds set into this platinum beauty.

Since all of his jewelled and precious metalled shoes are made with such precision and the best raw materials, they’re guaranteed to last much longer than 10 lifetimes – 1,000 years!

Shellis’ reason for creating these expensive shoes is to showcase the jewels and create jewellery rather than making shoes for people to wear. He has begun the pricing at £100,000 UK.

6. Dream Shoe Designer: Christopher Michael Shellis for the House of Borgezie

Designing another shoe on our Top 10 list, Shellis has once again created his own pair of diamond encrusted stilettos that he calls, ‘A treasure of the feet’ – which, they truly are!

These shoes required a team of goldsmiths to work with temperatures of over 1000ºC to create the entire shoe out of gold. After the base was made, over 2,200 white diamonds were again added to both shoes, totalling a humongous 30 carats.

Having gone on sale just 5 months ago, these dream stilettos can be bought for the big price of £140,000 UK or $319,469 USD.

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Luxury Emerald And Diamond Tiara

Published on June 19, 2011 in Diamonds, Emeralds, Eskae Private Jeweller, Gemstones, Hand-made Jewellery, Jewellery and White Diamonds. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Breaking the news again after auctioning off the word record holding Graff Pink just last year, Sotheby’s is at it again this year, bringing a circa 1900s and extremely rare emerald and diamond tiara to this years auction!

This exquisite, once-in-a-lifetime jewel encrusted tiara was created by renowned jewellers, Chaumet, for Guido Count von Henckel, First Prince von Donnersmark, as a gift for his second wife, Princess Katharina. The emeralds, themselves, are believed to be a part of a collection owned by Napolean III’s wife, Empress Eugenie before the tiara was designed for Princess Katharina.

Not only is this the most rare and valuable emerald and diamond tiaras to come to light, it’s also one of the most historic and prized jewellery pieces to make its debut at Sotheby’s in over 30 years!

Sotheby has recently released this description of the Luxury Emerald and Diamond Tiara:

“The tiara is a crown of foliate and floral inspiration. The base is set with a central row of eleven larger cushion-shaped diamonds, each set between pairs of muguets, above a line of laurel leaf motifs and surmounted by festooned ribbons, pierced and millegrain set throughout with rose and brilliant-cut diamonds, surmount by a row of eleven polished pear-shaped emeralds. The emeralds, totaling approximately 500 carats, graduated in size from the center, each emerald drilled and held in diamond set cusp motifs, the nine largest tipped by rose diamonds, mounted in silver and gold, later detachable tiara fitting”.

Quite the description to match the tiara’s intricate, magnificent historical piece of work!

Understandably so, this amazing and brilliant Luxury Emerald and Diamond Tiara is estimated to sell for $5 to $10 million dollars in Geneva on May 17, 2011.

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Unique Jewelry

Published on February 27, 2011 in Designer Jewellery, Eskae Private Jeweller, Gemstones, Hand-made Jewellery and Jewellery. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , .

When hearing the words, ‘unique jewelry’, what comes to your mind?

The most popular answers given are costume jewelry or funky jewelry. Unique jewelry can resemble both due to its distinct style but the materials used construct it are very different. In essence, costume jewelry uses cheaper and generic products to make lovely designs minus the value, whereas, unique jewelry used precious metals, gemstones and customized materials to ensure durability.

What most jewelry wearers don’t associate unique jewelry with are the terms of designer jewelry, custom jewelry and handcrafted jewelry when it is, in fact, a combination of those three components, all rolled into one personalized embellishment.

The only difference that lies between designer and custom jewellery and unique jewellery, is that unique jewellery can be duplicated if the client so chooses. Most people choose not to repeat the design again to keep it as a designer piece of jewellery but there are certain occasions that a reason may arise to replicate the design – such as a wedding parties, family occasions or other personal reasons/events.

Unique jewelry creates bold statements about the designer and the client which is where the handcrafted aspect comes in this customized, designer wear. While earrings, rings and necklaces are considered typical styles of wearing jewelry, unique jewelry can take on brand new designs that include different ways of wearing it.

What puts unique jewelry in the same class as custom jewelry is both the unique aspect along with the client’s suggestions slipped into the design process. The important focus here is that clients completely rely on their jeweler’s artistic skill to take reign and design something enviable and stunning.

From the unique point of view, it’s fantastic because many of the resources used are brought in by the jeweller who is able to use their trade connections to source some  rare and impressive gemstones and other exquisite precious materials.

The best thing about unique jewelry is that the sky’s the limit when creating it and there’s nothing boring about it! It’s fresh, different, meaningful, colourful, twisty, square, worn anywhere and everywhere – so go ahead and have fun with it!

With a limitless variety in which to create unique jewelry, here are a few ideas that will, perhaps, inspire a little of your own creativity:

Upcycling/Collage:

A favorite trend throughout creating unique jewelry is gathering old pieces of jewelry, broken jewelry or even certain memorabilia that’s been lying around waiting to be put on some sort of display. Think of collages – lots of memories arranged all into one, big picture to portray beautiful times and places – the same goes with this method of designing unique jewelry. By utilizing all of the little bits of precious metals, gemstones and other precious materials collecting dust in jewelry boxes waiting to be put into practical use, it can then all be arranged into one artistic piece of unique jewelry.

Body Piercings:

While not everyone is into body piercings, there are quite a few that are mesmerized by it. It’s more popular than one might think because believe it or not, it’s not only designed for rebellious teenagers. There’s quite a history behind it and in many cultures, having piercings in places other than the ears is as common as wearing a wedding ring!

For those not wearing body piercings for cultural reasons, belly rings come in as the most popular trend for cosmetic body piercings which has, in turn, begged for the availability of uniquely, created designs. Some enjoy wearing a single gemmed stud while others veer towards adding customized charms, dangling gems or shaped precious metals to show personal tastes.

Ethnic:

Those who have travelled the globe or have arrived from different countries to settle miss the cultural aspect seen in different locations. Incorporating tribal designs or colors, stones or artifacts and other materials only found in these locations creates a distinctive, unique piece of jewelry that allows for culture to speak for itself.

Collectibles:

With genres that generate collections of fantasy (think Star Trek), pop culture (think Elvis Presley) or historic (think War Re-enactments) memorabilia – along with many others – always present, imagine all of the ways it can be integrated into jewelry! Although some prefer to leave their collectibles untouched, there are others who enjoy proudly displaying their obsessions for all to see.

Bridal:

Brides like to keep their bridesmaids coordinated and oftentimes, it doesn’t stop only at dress attire. A maid-of-honor may share the same bridal bracelet as the bride, however, instead of pearls or diamonds, might opt for colored gemstones to allow the bride to stand out on her celebratory day. Brides who gift jewelry to their bridesmaids may decide to take the route of keeping her crew in sync by presenting them with the same bridal jewelry design, but all with one little change added to personalize each accessory accordingly.

Occasions:

It’s memorable to give a symbolic memento to someone special as a gift on an extraordinary day. Specialized unique jewelry for anniversaries, baby and bridal showers, birthdays and congratulations are just a few of the ways people enjoy showing love and affection to individuals they hold close to their hearts. By engraving a personal message, date or name or adding birthstones, there are numerous ways to incorporate personalized messages of endearment.

Nothing makes jewellers happier than getting the opportunity to design and create unique jewelry. It provides the opportunity to take some time aside from their daily responsibilities and put their amazing talent to use.

Being able to use exceptional and exclusive material to create brilliant masterpieces that illustrate their personal artistic flair is every jeweller’s dream. This is the secret of what holds the pure definition of unique jewelry because this is what can never, ever be recreated!

Unique is one of a kind and is sometimes a little funky but it’s the artist whose heart lays within it those pieces of jewelry that makes this style of jewelry carry its title of uniqueness!

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Custom Jewellery

Published on February 20, 2011 in Designer Jewellery, Diamonds, Engagement Rings, Eskae Private Jeweller, Gemstones, Hand-made Jewellery and Jewellery. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , .

It has previously been mentioned that there is a fine line drawn between designer jewellery and custom (designing) jewellery. Since that time was spent more on what defines designer jewellery, this time around, we’ll delve into custom jewellery.

Just to jog your memory a little bit, the key component that separates designer jewellery from custom jewellery is who controls the designing process. When a jewellery designer is making a designer piece of jewellery, it’s completely thought up and created through the jeweller’s artistic eye. The goal is to design a masterpiece that will remain as a one-of-a-kind, never to be recreated again piece of jewellery. The amount of dedication, precision and materials used to complete this unique work of art requires a top-notch jeweller, the most precious of metals and the most magnificent of jewels.

Custom jewellery, on the other hand, is client based meaning that the design is thought out or portrayed from the client to the jeweller. It’s up to the customer to determine carat size, width of bands or chains, gemstone, types of precious metals and/or other materials they wish to incorporate into their cherished creation.

More importantly than only how the jewellery looks, it’s the sentimental reasons that go into the custom design that create a truly, original piece of jewellery. Think about heirloom jewellery – what makes it an heirloom? Many times, they’re older pieces of jewellery that are no long created but that isn’t specifically what makes them an heirloom. The secret is the emotional attachment to these pieces of jewellery that are passed down the familial line – sometimes for centuries!

It’s the same thought process behind customised jewellery. A proud husband may gift his wife a diamond ring for the birth of their first child. Mothers may wish to design similar rings or pendants that can grow as her family does, adding birthstones to signify her loved children.

Spouses may want to engrave their jewellery for anniversaries or weddings to include an endearing term or date; perhaps also including a special stone indicating something only each other understands.

Just recently, a very touching and inspiring experience occurred, here at Eskae Private Jewellers, requiring a customised engagement ring for an older couple. Both had, sadly, lost their spouses. Miraculously, this amazing couple found happiness again within each other and became engaged! Wanting to treasure the precious memories each had with their previous spouses, the couple wished to incorporate jewellery from their previous marriages to produce a magnificent engagement ring in honor of their deaths. Talk about a masterpiece!

From a jewellers viewpoint, customised jewellery is a great choice for clients (especially repeat clients) BUT it’s just as fantastic for the designing jeweller! Jewellers are artists at heart and customised jewellery allows for the required finances and extra time to do exactly what got them into the jewellery trade to begin with: Creative design.

Because ordering and purchasing vast amounts of gold and jewels are limited, jewellers save the bulk for their retail stock which doesn’t leave much time left over for their passion of designing. When a request for customised jewellery comes in, that means extra money and time for the jeweller to get the best custom materials by using their trade connections to make sure that you end up with the best piece of custom jewellery possible for your budget

Since custom jewellery has a completely different set of rules than all other jewellery – that is to turn your dream jewellery into a reality – quite literally! The processes used for designing are completely different than your run-of-the-mill window shopping wishes.

For custom jewellery newbies, when first meeting with your jeweller, he/she will sit down with you and work the details you have in mind into a sketch. After your initial meet-and-greet, the jeweller will begin incorporating his thoughts and master mindedness to expand your ideas into several more design options for you to peruse through.

Since most of the custom work revolves around mounting, some of the best custom jewellery creations are created from older or heirloom jewellery you already possess that you may have already thought of incorporating into your design. If you have an heirloom  or a family engagement ring you’d like to adjust to suit your tastes or update it while keeping its sentimental value , this is the perfect opportunity to do so!

For those lacking any creativity in their blood but still wish to have a piece of custom jewellery, fear not! This just means more fun for the jeweller to come up with some designs that can either blend your older jewellery into a new piece or coming up with a new idea altogether.

While many jewellers use old methods to create custom jewellery, many newer technologies have been incorporated, such as CAD (Computer Aided Design) and CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing), to add a large variety of newer options that can’t be done by hand.

But how custom jewellery is made is another story for another time, so until then, happy designing!

Sam Kritsotakis

Private Jeweller

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Making The World’s Most Expensive Engagement Rings Affordable For Everyone

Published on February 6, 2011 in Coloured Diamonds, Designer Jewellery, Diamonds, Engagement Rings, Gold, Hand-made Jewellery, Jewellery, Platinum, Wedding Jewellery and White Diamonds. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

The 5 Most Expensive Engagement Rings In The World

Showing individuality has been the longest, ongoing trend with engagement rings as pointed out with our series on celebrity engagement rings and several of our other, more recent engagement ring related entries.

Wearing these one-of-a-kind engagement rings often comes with a price tag better left to millionaires due to the use of traditional white diamonds or large, coloured diamonds, sometimes using the combination of both.

To give you a little taste of designer creativity that knows no bounds, here’s an inside look at the five most expensive engagement rings in the world that have had a part in inspiring this trend:

With exquisite diamonds comes an exquisite name: Secret Kiss Of The Roses. This engagement ring holds the secret of a 4.18 carat white diamond wrapped encasing a 0.80 carat rose cut pink diamond – all set in platinum.[1]

Total Price: $545,000 (USD)

Internally Flawless is the name given to this, well, internally flawless 5.98 carat oval diamond with a total of 3.96 carat diamond surrounding to form a floral designed engagement ring – all set in platinum.[2]

Total Price: $1.3 million (USD)

Just in case it isn’t enough to just hide one finger under its enormous weight of 14.79 carats in one diamond, the Tiffany Oval Diamond engagement ring also comes with an additional ring complete with 12.3 carat diamond-shaped pillows. Both rings are placed in platinum settings.[3]

Total Price of the 14.79 carat diamond ring – $1.49 million (USD)

Total Price of the 12.3 carat diamond ring – $800,000 (USD)

Total Price: $2.29 million (USD)

Having a more traditional style of design to it, the De Beers Platinum engagement ring holds a massive 9 carat single white diamond set in what the title claims – platinum.[4]

Total Price: $1.83 million (USD)

And last, but as you’ll see, definitely not least, is the most expensive engagement ring in the world titled as The Chopard Blue Diamond Ring. The treasure that lies in this ring is – drumroll please – the extremely rare blue diamond that is 9 CARATS in size! This fortune of a rock sits in 18 carat white gold and therefore earns its title, by far, as the most expensive engagement ring in the world![5]

Total Price: $16.26 million (USD)

And This Is Affordable To Me, How?

With all this talk about extravagant, customised engagement rings, some may look down and find that their current engagement ring could use a little updating or those still in the market may have decided to take a step away from the traditional look and have begun looking for a more modernised, trendy version.

The problem that many people will run into, however, is this question: How on earth would I ever be able to afford such an extravagant, multi-coloured, multi-diamond engagement ring?

Let’s start by taking a look at a few documented costs of the average engagement ring buyer:

  • In 2009, Americans spent an average of $3,150 on engagement rings[6] with the average diamond size being .38 carats[7]
  • In Australia, the average cost of engagement rings run $5,116[8]
  • In 2005, the average amount of money in the UK spent on engagement rings was £1,289[9]

Keeping these averaged budgets in mind, there are certainly limitations as to how extravagant one can go when purchasing a unique engagement ring, but there isn’t any limitation on how creative one can be.

When thinking with a resourceful mind, options become available to re-create the design and style of an engagement ring you’ve chosen in your mind long ago. Talking with your jeweller is the best way to begin your process of customising or designing your ultimate engagement ring. By incorporating this step right at the get-go, options such as coloured diamonds or types of precious metals can be discussed to change around carat sizes, integrating gemstones and having the stones placed in ways that make it more affordable for you.

PLEASE REMEMBER – that while you can experiment with the quantity of the material needed for your ring, the one thing you must never substitute for is the quality of your ring! This can’t be stressed enough. While it may look beautiful the first time you place it on your finger, it won’t last and is guaranteed for replacement within a handful of years.

This means, when thinking diamond, think diamond! Don’t consider replacing a diamond with cubic zirconium. Instead, if you love pink diamonds and yet it’s entirely out of your budget, converse with your jeweller about pink gemstones that will resemble a pink diamond but cut the amount of money required down to something you can afford.

Is it still difficult to see the end result? To paint a clearer mental picture of how you can make one of the most expensive diamond engagement rings in the world end up on your ring finger, let’s explore how to make the original price for the Secret Kiss Of The Roses engagement ring come down to an amount that fits your budget.

When talking with your jeweller, you can discuss which gemstone and carat size suits you and your future engagement ring better. While there isn’t a single stone out there that perfectly imitate a brilliant white diamond, there are genuine gemstones that, to the naked eye, will give a great resemblance of a diamond. Substituting gemstones such as white sapphires and white topaz instead of white diamonds can be a great choice for the big carat selection. In place of the pink diamond, embed a pink tourmaline gemstone in the centre to create the proper effect of this magnificent ring. The budget that’s been set aside for the biggest price of the engagement ring – the diamond – can then be placed in the sequential order covering the band.

Keep in mind that customised or designer engagement rings can rack up the price if you’re not careful so keep things realistically within proportion. Instead of going for 4.18 carats, you may find you’ll be just as happy with a 1 carat gemstone.

The end result? You’ll have a customised, designer engagement ring that doesn’t forgo on quality and yet, gives the fantastic look of a multi-thousand dollar ring!

While trends may come and go, engagement rings have been around for many centuries and aren’t going anywhere – so have fun with it, book an appointment with your jeweller and get trendy!

References:

[1] http://www.mostinterestingfacts.com/collectible/the-4-most-expensive-engagement-rings-in-the-world.html

[2] http://engagementring.org/the-reason-behind-extensively-expensive-engagement-rings

[3] http://www.theoddpics.com/2010/07/4-most-expensive-engagement-rings-in.html

[4] http://www.worldinterestingfacts.com/wealthy/top-6-most-expensive-engagement-rings-in-the-world.html

[5] http://buydiamondrings.org/most-expensive-diamond-rings-ever

[6] http://blog.learnvest.com/learnvest-daily/average-cost-of-an-engagement-ring/

[7] http://www.ringenvy.com/engagement-rings/fun-%28and-useful%29-engagement-ring-facts

[8] http://money-guide.com.au/2009/12/average-wedding-cost-australia/

[9] http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/bargains-and-rip-offs/article.html?in_article_id=397984&in_page_id=5

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Eskae private Jeweller – apprentice week 12

Published on February 3, 2011 in Designer Jewellery, Eskae Private Jeweller and Hand-made Jewellery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Hello again,

As promised last week I wanted to tell you about the 9ct white gold bangle I had begun making as a present for my sister’s 21st birthday.

To begin the bangle, I ordered a length of 9ct white gold half round wire 5mm wide and 1.6mm deep. I then cut the exact length (found by measuring my sister’s wrist and making a pseudo bangle from copper wire) needed and filed each end to make them smooth for soldering and joining. Next is annealing which as you know from other times I have spoke to you is to make the metal malleable for the next step of bending the wire into shape. I used pliers to begin the initial curved bangle shape, once the initial shape was started, I then used a large looking mandrill used specifically to create round bangles. This is how I created the bangle shape, and at this stage, the wire ends can be brought together. Like making a ring or jumpring, I over compensated when bringing the two ends together, to do this you bend the ends past each other then past the middle and back into alignment. Where the ends touch I then cut through with my hand saw to make sure that there was not any gaps for soldering. I was then ready to solder the ends. Once again I placed the ball of solder on the join line on inside of the piece of jewellery, in this case the of inside bangle and drew the solder outwards with my flame.

Next after placing the bangle into the acid to remove any unwanted flux from soldering, I began to smooth out the inside, especially where the solder join was, using a fine file. I next placed the bangle back onto the mandrill I used earlier and tapped the bangle with a rubber mallet to make the bangle perfectly round on the inside. I then changed the shape of the bangle to create an oval shaped bangle by bending the bangle with pliers.

To make sure the bangle was also parallel, I placed it on its side on a flat steel block and placed another steel block on top and hit the block with a large hammer. This makes sure the piece is parallel and straight the whole way around.

The next lesson I learnt and put into action was to place yourself in the client’s ‘shoes’. How does the piece feel to wear? Is it comfortable? Part of how I was shown how to do this was to run my finger over the edge of the inside of the bangle and it was quite sharpe. This is when I put a comfort fit on the edge, just like the inside of a ring, so that the jewellery is comfy and easy to wear and put on.

After the comfort fit came the tidying up of the outside of the piece, by using a fine file to create a smooth finish. Next, both the inside and outside of the bangle were emeryed and the inside was stamped with 375, which stands for 9ct.

For something a little extra special and a nice surprise for my sister I decided to place a diamond on the inside of the bangle.  Somewhere she could see and somewhere which she and I only knew about. To prepare the bangle for the diamond, I had to mark out where I wanted it to be placed. To find an even position I used grid paper to mark where the centre of the bangle was, opposite to the join line. I then created a mini bezel from 9ct white gold wire, it was emeryed and hammered flat to be placed on the marked position.

To solder the jumpring on, the bangle was heated all over and flux was placed on the marked area. The bezel was then placed on top and a ball of solder was put on the inside hole of the bezel and once again drawn to the outside. Once I was satisfied that the bezel was secure the bangle was put back into the acid to remove the excess flux.

To neaten up the inside of the bezel and open it up slightly for the diamond, a ball burr was used. At this stage the bangle is ready to be finished, by polishing and rhodium plating.

As you can see in the photos the bangle turned out a treat and my little sister was very surprised to find a diamond on the inside of her new birthday present.

Until I speak to you again, enjoy your week ahead, just as I have this week at Eskae Private Jeweller making beautiful jewellery.

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50 Top Celebrity Proposals, Part IV

Published on January 16, 2011 in Bridal Jewellery, Diamonds, Engagement Rings, Eskae Private Jeweller, Fun Stuff, Hand-made Jewellery, Proposals and White Diamonds. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Most celebrities have fabulous weddings that the public rarely gets to see, and proposals can be just as much fun. From the first date to the I-Do’s sometimes the relationships can be kept hush-hush. I have been reviewing the top proposals in a series of posts and here are 10 more that made the top 50.

1 Chris Bosh and Adrienne Williams

After dating for one year Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat and Adrienne Williams got engaged in Miami just outside of their home. After the proposal they partied with friends where Adrienne was seen sporting a large diamond ring.

2 Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Basset

Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Basset were atop the Space Needle when he popped the big question. Hank wasn’t originally going to propose that day but decided that it would be a huge surprise so he made the decision to do it anyway. After taking family pictures with both families Hank got down on one knee to propose. He presented her with a 2 ¼ carat diamond mounted with sixty diamonds and white gold. Sources say Kendra was extremely shocked and very happy.

3 Simon Cowell and Mezhgan Hussainy

American Idol’s former make up artist Mezhgan Hussainy and former judge Simon Cowell met on the set while filming episodes for the show. The couple starting dating in 2008 during filming. The engagement ring Simon presented her with is almost bigger than life. It is reported to be six carats and approximately $750,000. The age difference between the two (fourteen years) has not slowed them down.

4 David Walliams and Lara Stone

Finding your engagement ring in a hamburger may not be your idea of glamour; but if it was a $100,000 art deco ring from Tiffany’s you may think twice. This is how model Lara Stone found her ring from comedian David Walliams. Apparently David thought that since Lara always removed the top bun from her burger to remove items she didn’t want it would be a clever way to present her with the ring. After Lara accepted his proposal they went on a romantic vacation to Mexico.

5 Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush

With twenty bouquets of roses and five hundred candles on a tennis court, actor Chad Michael Murray proposed to actress Sophia Bush. The couple held an outdoor wedding overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica. Unfortunately, their marriage didn’t burn as long as the candles and they were separated just five months later.

6 Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan

Channing Tatum proposed to Jenna Dewan on an island in Maui. Channing invited their closest friends to view the proposal without Jenna knowing anything was going on. The couple met during the filming of the movie “Step Up” but didn’t begin dating until after filming was completed. The engagement ring was purchased from Neil Lane but no other details of the wedding were being disclosed.

7 Bill Rancic and Giuliana DePandi

In a helicopter ride over Chicago with pizza and champagne, season one winner of The Apprentice, Bill Rancic popped the question to E! News co-host, Giuliana DePandi.  The couple who had been dating for one year returned to Bill’s apartment which was filled with roses and chocolate cake. Their wedding took place in Italy in 2007.

8 Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott

With a horse drawn carriage ride that leads to a Christmas tree farm in Canada, Dean McDermott proposed to Tori Spelling. Lights led the way to a table for two in the middle of the trees. The couple soon wed and could not be happier. On every anniversary Dean presents Tori with a new wedding ring. She says it reminds her of the day she first became his wife. She says she looks forward to the day when she can pass on her large wedding band collection to her children.

9 Howie Dorough and Leigh Boniello

Backstreet Boys Howie Dorough found that singing in front of 40,000 people was easier than proposing to his girlfriend Leigh Boniello in front of the family. Howie made sure to ask Leigh’s family for permission; included in this were her parents and grandparents. The couple met in 2000 while she was working as Webmaster for his band. The relationship was kept quiet at first but  they decided it was time to share the news with the world right before the wedding. The ring was one round diamond surrounded by two smaller round diamonds that Howie designed himself.

10 Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford

Superman Brandon Routh wasn’t so brave when he asked girlfriend Courtney Ford for her hand in marriage. While the couple was painting a mural for a charity he asked her to reach into his pocket for his chap stick. Instead, Courtney came out with an engagement ring. Brandon said he was afraid he would say something dumb so he chose to do things the easy way.

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

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What Exactly Is Handcrafted Jewellery?

Published on December 19, 2010 in Art Deco Jewellery, Designer Jewellery, Engagement Rings, Eskae Private Jeweller, Gold, Hand-made Jewellery, Jewellery and Platinum. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

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

Published on December 5, 2010 in Designer Jewellery, Eskae Private Jeweller, Hand-made Jewellery, Jewellery and Pearls. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

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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Eskae Private Jeweller – Apprentice week 11

Published on November 24, 2010 in Designer Jewellery, Eskae Private Jeweller, Gold, Hand-made Jewellery, Jewellery and Refreshing Ring Rejuvenation. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Hello there,

My 11th week has come and gone and I would love to tell you some more about what I have been learning. The first technique I learnt this week with Sam Kritsotakis at Eskae Private Jeweller was soldering two large jumprings onto the sides of an 18ct white gold ring and secondly perfecting my emerying, polishing and rhodium plating techniques and skills to restore pieces of jewellery which show wear and tear, such as scratches, dents, low polish and have no longer got rhodium plating left on them.

The first technique; soldering the two jumprings onto a wide hammer finished ring was a new technique to learn as I was able to perform soldering using binding wire to help me hold the separate pieces in place which is a helpful technique. It was quite fun actually to perform this soldering skill. And I enjoyed it immensely.

To begin, both edges of the ring and one side of each jumpring needed to be flat, clean and smooth. This was done by using emery papers to create a smooth surface before soldering. Next the flat surface on the jumpring was placed face down onto the side of the ring. The solder line on the jumpring was aligned with the bottom of the hammer finished designer ring. The two are then held together with fine binding wire. This wire helps hold the two in place whilst soldering them together to ensure that the jumpring does not move with the solder and heat. I then placed the two into a boracic acid and mentholated spirits solution, which keeps the ring’s polished and shiney appearance from oxidising whilst heat is being applied. The solution is then burned off with a flame to leave a glaze like finish over the ring which stops the air from making contact with the ring which in turn causes the ring to oxidise. This flame is actually a very cool colour, instead of being a blue or orange colour it is actually a bright green colour. It is only faint, however when you can see it, it is very interesting.

The ring is now ready for soldering after having flux applied along the join sections. At the top of the ring, I place a piece of solder on the inside right in between where the ring meets the jumpring, and drew the solder outwards ( a similar technique to what I mentioned to you last week on the pendant) except that this time on the ring I not only had to draw the solder outwards but also draw the solder along the gap between the ring and the jumpring. After the first solder ball was drawn, the binding wire could be removed. The next piece of solder can now be placed next to where the last was drawn along and the same technique is repeated until the whole jumpring is soldered on the whole way around.

The technique is then repeated on the other side with the other jumpring, including the binding wire, boracic acid and flux. Once both jumprings have been soldered in place onto the wide ring, I then made sure that the solder had run evenly the whole way around the ring and adjusted if needed by drawing the solder with heat to where it was needed. As I said before I thoroughly enjoyed learning this technique as it is an important skill that I will use often when creating pieces of jewellery.

Secondly the other important skills I performed this week was perfecting my emerying, polishing and rhodium plating techniques and skills to provide our Refreshing Ring Rejuvination service to jewellery which show wear and tear, such as scratches, dents, low polish and have no longer got rhodium plating left on them. Performing these skills and perfecting them as much as I can is helping me to become a good jeweller and cement these skills into my mind for the future.

Well I am off to create more exciting jewellery, in particular a 9ct white gold bangle which I will have finished by the time I speak to you next. I am looking forward to telling you about the process and also showing a photo of the final piece.

Until then, have a fantastic week,

Cheers, Holly

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