Neiman Marcus Christmas Book Fantasy Gift Comes With a Tour of Van Cleef & Arpels

Neiman Marcus unveiled its 86th annual Christmas Book today, which included plenty of jewelry as well as one ''fantasy gift'' of his and hers watches.  Designer Ippolita features jewelry of clear quartz, mother-of-pearl, shell, gemstone and 18-karat gold with price points from just under $4,000 all the way up to $10,000 in the Christmas Book. Roberto Coin  created ''decadence to an extreme'' with a suite of precious stones linked together in an intricate mosaic to highlight shades of smoky quartz in and amongst white diamonds, cognac diamonds in 18-karat yellow gold jewelry with a price range of $6,300 to $25,000. The Neiman Marcus Christmas  catalog also featured a collection of mosaic pavé pinky rings from David Yurman with price points between $5,400 to $11,500. 

Throughout Christmas Book, numerous fashion jewelry collections by  Jose & Maria Barrera for Neiman Marcus adorn the models, such as a classic chandelier earrings  in topaz, glass, crystal and colored cubic zirconia; jet black Austrian crystal and a gunmetal-plated necklace and bangles that are generally offered in price points below $1,000.

John Hardy created a Neiman Marcus exclusive this year to commemorate the Year of the Dragon with jewelry of ruby, sterling silver, and 18-karat gold, from the Naga Collection. Pieces include a kick cuff, ring, earrings and necklace in a price range of $895 to almost $6,000.

The top jewelry gift in this year's Christmas Book begins with a classic story: Boy meets girl. As the fantasy goes, ''A romance is sparked. They share a kiss at midnight on Paris’s Pont des Arts. But fate intervenes, and they are separated. Each night, they send wishes — he upon a star, she upon a kite— that, one day, they will reunite.''

To capture that tale, Neiman Marcus offers one set of his and hers ''Poetic Wish'' watches from  Van Cleef & Arpels for $1,090,000. But the lucky buyer will also receive two business-class tickets to Paris and Geneva to tour the Van Cleef & Arpels boutique, atelier, and watchmaking workshops.  Neiman Marcus will be donating  $10,000 for each ''His & Hers 2012'' gift sold to The Norman Mailer Center, which supports writers who challenge readers’ perspectives on the world around them.

Other fantasy gifts this year include ''Beau Coop,'' a bespoke Versailles-inspired, custom-made, multi-level le petit trianon  for hens with a living room,  a broody room and a library filled with chicken and gardening books for visitors of the human kind. Challenge the gamer inside with a custom-made Pinel & Pinel Arcade PS Trunk gaming toy or if Broadway is more your style, one fantasy gift is a walk-on performer for the musical ''Annie.'' Tailgate in style with the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Woody-Tailgate Trailer (and a one-year supply of Bulleit Bourbon and Bulleit Rye) or simply hop into a 2013 McLaren 12C Spider, in Volcano Red, which will be sold with McLaren luggage and a business-class trip to England for a VIP dinner hosted by McLaren's chairman Ron Dennis and a tour of the McLaren Technology Center in February 2013.

Neiman Marcus is also offering a Jetlev R200 and the video portrait ''Snowy Owl'' by artist Robert Wilson who creates animals and people who appear static, as if portrayed within a painting, but the viewer is caught off guard when the subject unexpectedly breathes, blinks, or shifts.

For a culinary delight this Christmas, Neiman Marcus put together an  epic event where four  chefs -—Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Jerome Bocuse and Richard Rosendale—- will arrive at your home to prepare a feast for 10 guest and  Bertha Gonzalez, the world’s first female Maestra Tequilera, will kick off the evening with a Casa Dragones tequila tasting. 

www.diamonds.net

50-Carat Diamond Jewels Main Attraction Of Christie's Estimated $35 Million Auction

We are under a month away from the new James Bond movie, Skyfall.  Adele has done the title song which People Magazine has likened in style to the iconic “Diamonds are Forever” title song belted by Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey back in 1971.

After almost 40 years, the Bond “diamond” song has a melody and lyrics with luster so brilliant, it lingers in our collective “007” movie memories.  Such is the power of diamonds…

On October 16, Christie’s New York will hold its fall jewelry auction, called “New York Magnificent Jewelry”, with some very big diamonds, rare natural pearls and signed jewels. The 372 lots will be sold in two sessions with a pre-sale estimate of $35 million.

A trio of diamond jewels–earrings, a pendant and an “intense” yellow stone–are the sale headliners. The clear and yellow-stoned earrings weigh over 117 carats (est. $4,500,000 to $6,500,000).  I was a little concerned that the gems might be too hefty for the average earlobe, but was assured they were “very wearable”.

What does 50 carats feel like in the palm of your hand?

“Like a quail egg,” said Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry for Christie’s Americas and Switzerland, in a clipped British accent.

Kadakia, who says he sleeps and breathes diamonds, covets the 50 carat pear-shaped diamond, which is so pricey its estimate is available upon request. “It’s superb in the way it’s cut.  Textbook—a really special stone.”

And for those into yellow, there’s a 68 carat diamond estimated to sell between  $2,200,000 and $3,200,000.

Christie’s hopes to attract important private collectors from the Middle East, Russia and China as well as more experienced American and European buyers “who have been buying for hundreds of years,” said Kadakia.  “Those seasoned buyers who hope to add something new to their collection—maybe a stone with a new shape or size.”

But for those considering investing in diamonds, is it the right time to buy?

“In the last 16 years, the market has gone up 200%,” said Kadakia.

If true, those in 1% will like the 200% rise.

www.forbes.com

Global branding consulting firm Interbrand released its “Best Global Brands 2012” list with Coca-Cola coming in at the top followed by Apple and IBM.  Rounding out fourth spot was Google, which for the first time exceeded Microsoft’s brand value, which came in at fifth place.  

Apple had the biggest brand value increase in 2012, at 129 percent year on year, followed by Amazon at 46 percent and Samsung at 40 percent.  New entrants to the list included Facebook, which just became a publicly traded company this year, at number 69, as well as Prada, Kia, Ralph Lauren, MasterCard and Pampers. 

While technology brands dominated the list, many “fast-moving consumer goods” brands have grown their value consistently by expanding into emerging markets.  Automotive and financial service brands are still feeling the effects of the weak economy. 

Many jewelry and jewelry-related brands made the list as well.  Louis Vuitton, for example was eighteenth overall, while eBay was 36, Gucci at 38, Cartier at 68, Tiffany & Co. at 70, and Avon at 71.  

Interbrand noted that despite the slow global economic recovery, luxury brands increased their brand value from 2011, and have proved resistant to slowdowns in the market.  Success in luxury, it added, is dependent “not only upon a portfolio of superior products and superb quality of service, but also a strong cohesive brand, a formidable digital presence, and reputation that is timeless, elevated, and refined.”

www.diamonds.net

October Birthstone: If you're born in October, Happy birthday.

October is another month with two birthstone choices – Tourmaline and Opal.

TOURMALINE

Tourmaline has become a favorite gemstone among jewelry designer, and gem collectors the world over. Since it is available in a wide variety of colors, it is ideally suited to almost anyone's taste. Tourmaline also is known for displaying several colors in the same gemstone.  These bi-color or tri-colorgems are formed in many combinations; gemstones with clear color distinctions are highly prized.  One multi-color variety is known as watermelon tourmaline, and features green, pink, and white colors bands; to resemble its namesake, the gemstone is cut into thin slices having a pink center, white ring, and green edge.  Tourmaline is found in many localities including Brazil, Afghanistan, East Africa, and the USA.

OPAL

The name opal derives from the Greek Opallos, meaning "to see a change (of color)."  Opals range in color from milky white to black with flashes of yellow, orange, green, red, and blue. An opal's beauty is the product of contrast between its color play and its background.  Opal is a formation of non-crystalline silica gel that seeped into crevices in the sedimentary strata. Through time and nature's heating and molding processes, the gel hardened into the form of opals. The opal is composed of particles closely packed in spherical arrangements. When packed together in a regular pattern, a three-dimensional array of spaces are created that give opal its radiance.

http://www.americangemsociety.org/

At Holiday Inn, diamonds for lucky guests

New York--Forget finding a piece of candy under the hotel pillow or having the towels contorted into amusing animal shapes that cause children to squeal with delight.

Beginning on Oct. 1, the Holiday Inn hotel chain is stashing cushion-cut diamonds that are more than one carat under the pillows of lucky guests at its inns in the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Russia and Turkey. (The campaign will not be coming to hotels in the United States.)

Guests who are lucky enough to check into a diamond-blessed room will find what essentially amounts to a large, diamond-shaped paperweight under their pillow, along with a luggage tag telling them to see the hotel manager to collect the real thing.

The United Kingdom-based chain is turning to social media to promote its diamond drop, asking potential guests to check its Facebook page for hints as to where the company will place the precious stones.

The company says the promotion is an innovative way to mark its 60th, or diamond, anniversary while giving back to its guests in the process.

Holiday Inn opened its first hotel in Memphis, Tenn. in 1952. Today, the chain has 3,375 hotels worldwide across its brands, which are Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Resorts and Holiday Inn Club Vacation.

www.nationaljeweler.com

Alrosa Finds 158 Carat Diamond

Earlier this month, Russian diamond miner Alrosa uncovered a diamond that is one for the books—the gem weighs a whopping 158.2 cts.

Alrosa describes the stone as “a natural crystal roundish in shape, transparent and having prominent facets on one of the sides. The central part is clean, with no visible defects; there are inclusions of dark color, cracks, and a technical chip in the peripheral area.”

The diamond’s size is 35 x 22 x 22 millimeters.

Alrosa expects the stone to sell for $1.5 million, if auctioned.  

“If cut, this rough diamond may produce several polished diamonds having high quality characteristics, and each of them may be worth hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars,” the diamond producer added.

http://www.jckonline.com/

Ring Sells for $1.2 Million at Sotheby’s

Brooke Astor’s 22.84 ct. emerald engagement ring (photo courtesy of Sotheby's)

Jewelry from the estate of Brooke Astor, philanthropist and legendary New York society figure, fetched $5.7 million at Sotheby’s New York.

The sale, which concluded on Sept. 25, was led by Astor's 22.84 ct. platinum, emerald, and diamond engagement ring; it sold for $1.2 million. The entire auction brought in $18.8 million, nearly doubling its estimate of $9.7 million. All 64 lots of jewelry were sold.

Other highlights of the jewelry collection included a Bulgari 18k gold, platinum, emerald, and diamond necklace, which sold for $686,500, and a Van Cleef & Arpels platinum and diamond ring, which sold for $614,500.

The proceeds of the auction will benefit Astor’s favorite charity organizations, including the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Pierpont Morgan Library, and the Animal Medical Center of New York.

Bulgari 18k gold, platinum, emerald, and diamond necklace

Van Cleef & Arpels platinum and diamond ring