Sterling Silver Cherry Necklace with Silver and Copper Wire, Brown Quartz and Swarovski Crystals
With impressive attractions that include the sacred Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Chiquinquira, and the awe-inspiring wooden buildings of Palafitos, the Venezuelan city Maracaibo offers numerous historical and modern delights. Venezuela is also home to featured jewelry designer Daniela Millan.
Controversy aside South Africa’s Kimberley Diamond Mines is a site of jaw dropping proportions.
Located in the capital city of Kimberley the
area is so large it can be seen from outer space! South Africa is also home to featured
designer jewelry brand Joya Jewellery.
22K Gold Plated Chandrika Earrings with Pearls, Turquoise and Gold Balls
India is renowned for its plethora of Jain faith
temples. Depending on their location—Uttar
Pradesh, Jharkkhand or Hastinapur—the temples are alternately ornate, exotic or conservative in their architecture.
India is also home to featured jewelry designerAsha Kamal Modi.
Tuareg Ingall Pendant Necklace with Red Glass and Ethiopian Talisman Box
One of the most famous movie studios in Hollywood is Universal Studios, and its theme park is
an exciting conduit into the world of film-making.
The theme park offers rides based on popular
films, and tours of the studio include the sets of such films as Psycho.
California is also home to featured jewelry designer Aklia Chinn.
Natasha Bracelet with Gold Plated Findings, Quartz and Coral
Winnipeg is one of
Canada’s most beautiful municipalities.
Boasting a population of various cultures, Winnipeg offers an eclectic range of activities to partake of
including visiting museums, restaurants, or spas. Canada is also home to featured jewelry
designer Kristen Laborde.
18K Gold Coral Reef Earrings with Mandarin and Pink Sapphires
Formulated in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, the New York Public Library,
located in New York City, continues to provide nearly 53 million educational
items to its visitors.
New York is also
home to featured jewelry designer Kimberlin Brown.
Today we are stunned by the historic antiquities and natural scenery of Rome, Italy's Borghese Gallery.
Also known for its lovely gardens, many of the paintings and sculptures of the Borghese Gallery were collected by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, a nephew of Pope John V.
Today we are in sunny Los Angeles, California taking in the sights of The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden. It is an astonishing place with plants, trees, and shrubs from around the world filling up its 127 acres.
We may catch glimpses of turtles catching some rays on the rocks of the Baldwin Lake, or notice splendid, free roaming peacocks. California is also home to featured jewelry designer Devon Leigh Sedlacek.
Khao Lak Beach in Thailand is another prime example of lustrous natural beauty.
Here again, the brilliant cerulean color of the Andaman Sea is hypnotizing enough on its own; then combine a string of casuarina pine trees emerging from the honey-colored sand with the warmth of the sun's rays and you have found your own, private sanctuary.
Thailand is also the home of design team Helen and Rolf Von Bueren.
The splendid emerald is the birthstone for the month of May known for its rich yet transparent green color. Emeralds are plentiful all across the world including Madagascar, India, Russia, and even Hiddenite, North Carolina.
Unlike the diamond, emeralds are prone to breakage but they make for bold and stunning gems in jewelry designs.
A beryl mineral--the emerald is a variation of this mineral--can range in color from yellowish-green or bluish-green but the color must be medium or dark to be categorized as an emerald.
In order to improve their clarity, emeralds are treated with oils, such as cedar oil, to get better light refraction. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires jewelers to disclose oil treatments whenever an emerald is sold.
According to folklore, emeralds are said to possess calming properties for those suffering emotional anguish or anxiety. They are said to provide clarity of mind and increase memory function, and they symbolize harmony, peace, and love.
One of the most famous emeralds, believed to have once belonged to a maharani, is the 38-carat Chalk Emerald, found in Colombia. The gem was recut and placed in a ring setting, surrounded by 60 pear-shaped diamonds, by Harry Winston . The Chalk Emerald is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
The largest specimen of emerald in the world--allegedly--was on display last year at the Matrix Exhibition in Hong Kong. The emerald was reported to have been found in Morafeno, Madagascar in 2007.
To view spectacular photographs of this emerald go to Mindat.org (the site says you can click on the photos for better resolution).
While reading up on French jewelers Van Cleef & Arpels, I felt a distinct sense of romance and enchantment. It is not that the other designers I have discussed don't possess those qualities, there's just something about the allure of France. The origin of the longstanding company brought to mind a type of fairytale.
In 1896, the daughter of a precious stones merchant, Estelle Arpels, married the son of a sheet merchant, Alfred Van Cleef. The Van Cleef family lived in Paris' 19th arrondissement (administrative district).
By the time Alfred and Esther married Estelle's father, Salomon Arpels, had already built their jewelry company. They later registered the Van Cleef & Arpels trademark in 1906 and opened a boutique.
In 1926, budding designer Renee Puissant (daughter of Alfred and Estelle), collaborated with designer Rene Sim Lacaze and began a 20 year wave of innovative, unusual designs.
After the deaths of Alfred and Estelle, Estelle's brothers carried on the company and emigrated from France to the United States. By 1939, the Arpels brothers had opened a boutique in New York's Rockefeller Center making Van Cleef & Arpels among the first European luxury firms in the United States.
The brand’s signature, fanciful design style is influenced largely by the mystical beauty of nature and in 1940 the company launched The Snowflake Collection. After the mid-seventies, the luxury brand would launch one of its most iconic collections The Alhambra Collection featuring their signature four-leaf clover design. Other incredible collections include, Dragonflies & Butterflies, Hawaii and Midsummer Night's Dream.
Like the House of Harry Winston, the Van Cleef & Arpels brand is famous for an innovative gemstone setting, the Mystery Setting. The Mystery Setting is a stone setting procedure that produces virtually invisible claws; an invention that highlights the unique beauty of such gemstones as aquamarine and mother-of-pearl. Over the years, the procedure has been further develop and refined.
Queen Nazli and King Farouk of Egypt, Princess Grace of Monaco, Jacqueline Kennedy and a slew of Hollywood celebrities, have worn Van Cleef & Arpels' designs. The collections are just stunning. The detail is stunning. The artistry is stunning.
For more on the Van Cleef & Arpels brand, check out WatchMojo.com's interview with the company's President and CEO, Emmanuel Perrin.
For more affordable interpretations on classic designer jewelry, check out Glitzs.com.
__________ Photo: Nereide clip from Kingdom of Neptune Collection
Today we are stunned by the historic antiquities and natural scenery of Rome, Italy's Borghese Gallery.
Today we are in sunny Los Angeles, California taking in the sights of The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden. It is an astonishing place with plants, trees, and shrubs from around the world filling up its 127 acres.
Khao Lak Beach in Thailand is another prime example of lustrous natural beauty.
