YU LAN BURKMAR

Taiwan’s first and oldest national park, Kenting National Park, is a location of spectacular beauty sitting along the Hengchun Peninsula.

Taiwan is also the birthplace of featured jewelry designer Yu Lan Burkmar.

STEFFI CIPUTRA

The Batak people of Samosir Island, located north of Sumatra, Indonesia, are widely known for their woodcarving expertise and greeting visitors with songs.

The island sits in the dead center of the world’s fifth largest lake, Lake Toba. Indonesia is also the ancestral home of featured jewelry designer Steffi Ciputra.

JEAN DINH VAN

An astounding five million people visit the small town of Lourdes in France. Since the reported ghostly appearance of the Virgin Mary to a young teenage girl over 100 years ago, devout visitors descend on the town each year. France is also home to featured jewelry designer Jean Dinh Van.

KAROLA TORKOS

Designed by Italian architect Agostino Barelli, the nearly four-centuries-old Nymphenburg Palace in Munich Germany is a marvel of neoclassic, ornamental style. Germany is also the birthplace of featured jewelry designer Karola Torkos.

ADELE BRERETON

The distinctive stone and granite towers of London, England’s Tower Bridge overlook the River Thames.   Though presently updated, the century plus structure's lift was once engineered by an impressive, steam-driven hydraulic system. England is also home to featured jewelry designer Adele Brereton.

VERNON HASKIE

Since the 19th century, Meteor Crater has been a location of high interest. Located in the Arizona desert, the 570 feet deep crater has drawn many to its spectacular inverted topography. Arizona is also the birthplace of featured jewelry designer Vernon Haskie.

ISAAC PRADO

With such magnificent interiors as the Hall of Kings, and Hall of the Throne it comes as no surprise that the 12th century fortress, Alcazar of Segovia, is one of Spain’s top tourist attractions. Spain is the birthplace of featured jewelry designer Isaac Prado.

MINU JEWELS

A prominent location for high-spirited festivals, Egypt’s majestic Luxor Temple sits ominously along the banks of the Nile River.

Built over six centuries ago, the ancient temple is primarily used to celebrate the fertility festival known as Opet. Egypt is also the birthplace of featured jewelry designer Mina Hassan.

STEPHEN BROW

The Inuit people still reside on the mysterious and beautiful Baffin Island located in Nunavut, Canada. A haven of natural wonders the island is a playground of sorts with such activities as skiing, kayaking, and viewing polar bears. Canada is also home to featured jewelry designer Stephen Brow.

NEERU GOEL

The 16th century structure, Agra Fort, located in Agra, India is one of the country’s most important structures of the Mughal dynasty.

Built of red sandstone, it stands 70 feet tall and encompasses a “great courtyard”, and gorgeous mosques. India is also home to featured jewelry designer Neeru Goel.

GIOVANNI CORVAJA

You will literally step into another world when visiting the Italian town of Alberobello. The town’s quaint limestone houses, called trulli, with their cone-shaped roofs are like structures from a fairytale. Italy is also home to featured jewelry designer Giovanni Corvaja.

CAMILLA DIETZ BERGERON, LTD

Though marred by recent accidents, New York City’s Staten Island Ferry remains a longstanding fixture as the city’s “most reliable source of mass transit” since 1905.

New York is also the home base for featured estate jewelry brand Camilla Dietz Bergeron, Ltd. (CDB).

PEPA AMENÁBAR

One of the best ways to get a fantastic view of the surrounding areas within Chile’s Tierra del Fuego National Park is to go to the lookout points at Lapatia Bay or the Lengas Forest. Chile is also the birthplace of featured jewelry designer Pepa Amenábar.

ALISHAN HALEBIAN

The Sasuntsi Davit statue, located in Yerevan, Armenia, is a 51-year-old copper sculpture depicting epic hero David of Sasoun astride his powerful steed and clasping a dazzling sword of lightning.

The statue serves as a perpetual symbol of the Armenian people’s love of freedom. Armenia is also the birthplace of featured jewelry designer Alishan Halebian.

JOANA MIRANDA

Within the energetic ambiance of Lisbon, Portugal is an ancient village known as Alfama. The area is renowned for its well-preserved antiquities like its tiny squares, narrow streets, and the 18th century church Convent of the Grace. Portugal is also home to featured jewelry designer Joana Miranda.

DARIUSZ ZARANSKI

Presently serving as a museum, Poland’s Wawel Royal Castle is a centuries-old remnant of complex political intrigue and stunning architecture. Poland is also home to featured jewelry designer Dariusz Zaranski.

FRITZ MAIERHOFER

Revered as one of Austria’s “most important Baroque buildings of the 18th century” the Belevedere Palace is a wonder of exquisite architecture noted for its spectacular painted ceilings and sculptures. Austria is also home to featured jewelry designer Fritz Maierhofer.

RACHAEL MANN and MACKENZIE BURDICK | LITTER

Founded by Oliver and Isabel Stine in the early 1900s, the Hakone Japanese Tea Garden, located in San Francisco, California, has become a sanctuary from the hustle of urban life. California is also the home base for featured jewelry brand LITTER.

PORNPINOM PATTAMASUKHON

You have to get an early start if you want to see the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market in Thailand. The best way to get there is on a long tail boat, and you are in for an array of merchandise that includes fresh fruits and vegetables, handicrafts and souvenirs. Thailand is also home to featured jewelry designer Pornpinom Pattamasukhon.

ANNY ALMASIDOU

One of the many legends surrounding Greece’s Knossos Palace is that the half man-half bull Minotaur creature roamed the locale. The palace is an extraordinary remnant of ancient times painstakingly restored by archeologists. Greece is also home to featured jewelry designer Anny Almasidou.

SOLEDAD LOWE

It is said that the city of Gamla Stan, located on the island of Stadsholmen in Sweden, is one of the “best preserved medieval” cities in Europe.

The ominous architecture of cathedrals, cobbled streets and alleyways date back to the 1600s. Sweden is also the ancestral home of featured jewelry designer Soledad Lowe.

CAROL NORIEGA

North of Lima, Peru, near the Marañón River, stands the cultural remnants of the pre-Incan people known as the Chavín.

The archaeological site, called the Chavín de Huántar, holds the ruins and artifacts of this bygone civilization. Peru is also home to featured jewelry designer Carol Noriega.

DAVID McLEOD

The centuries-old Waitomo Caves of New Zealand consist of hundreds of caverns filled with limestone, stalagmites, stalactites, and labyrinthine caves. New Zealand is also home to featured jewelry designer David McLeod.

QUOTABLE GEMS - GROUCHO MARX

A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running.