Diamond Rainbow Shines in New York

Colored diamonds are some of the most coveted creatures on this lovely planet earth, so when a jewelry hound gets a chance to gawk at a gaggle of them all in one place? Well, it's a very special day in blingville.

Enter the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The museum announced that a stunning collection of 25 diamonds is now on display in the Morgan Memorial Hall of Gems through January. The dazzling diamond exhibit includes the famous five colored diamonds from the Olympia Diamond Collection, on loan from Scarselli Diamonds Inc.


We're talking a 1.01-carat vivid orange-yellow diamond, a 1.02-carat vivid blue-green diamond, a 2.17-carat vivid purplish-pink diamond, a 2.13-carat vivid blue diamond and a 2.34-carat vivid orange diamond in case you were wondering.

Breathe, diamond divas. Breathe.

Other dazzlers in the exhibit include a brilliant-cut intense-pink diamond set in gold with smaller pink diamonds, designed by Carvin French with diamonds from Rio Tinto's Argyle Mine in Australia, and a 5.4-carat round-brilliant-cut diamond pendant surrounded by 20 sapphires and set in white gold, designed in California in 1960.

George Harlow, curator of the museum's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, curated the diamond case. Bless him. Viewing the diamonds is free with admission to the museum, which is located at Central Park West and 79th Street in Manhattan.

If you're in New York, it's a must see. Just bring oxygen and designated driver. Things might get ugly.

Penelope Cruz in Engagement Ring Bling?

A kuckle-sized sapphire and diamond ring was spotted on Penelope Cruz's ring finger at the New York Film Festival this weekend, but the actress refused to confirm the significance of the stunner, according to People Magazine.

As if impeccable genes, an uber-successful career and and Oscar weren't enough, Cruz has the audacity to get super sexy, Javier Bardem, as her longtime love and possible husband. It's a cruel, cruel world, jewelry hounds.

Despite my unattractive feelings of jealousy, I am loving the idea of the non-traditional engagement ring making another star appearance (Princess Diana made the sapphire engagement ring famous back in the day and the trend continues to this day).



Many couples are opting for colored gemstones instead of the traditional diamond these days. They not only make a unique statement, they're often less pricey than their diamond counterparts - especially if you opt for a treated gemstone. Good news for us all, right?

For more info on non-traditional engagement rings, check out the Jewelry.com education section. They break it all down - and then some.

Diamonds by Candlelight

Diamonds and candles are the perfect duo when, say, a certain question is being ‘popped’, right? But one candle company is taking the sentiment to ‘11’ by putting the two together for one whopper of a mood lighting instrument.

Welcome Home Candles is offering an earth-friendly soy candle with a Diamond Bow Necklace encrusted with 38 diamonds weighing 2.23 carats with a G color, VS clarity, and set in 14-carat white gold.

Indeed!

The candle and necklace set was designed exclusively for Welcome Home Candles according to Luxist.com by Bucci's Jewelry & Design, one of the Philadelphia area's top jewelry designers.

And the price? A mere $5 grand.

Seems a slight step up from tea lights and wall sconces, no?

Paris, Pearls and Perfection

Paris Fashion Week is winding down, and my favorite designers (Alexander McQueen, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Marc Jacbos for LV, etc.) all dazzled with cutting edge collections that left fashionista drool all along the Champs Elysees. But it was John Galliano who topped them all this season.




Always the Parisian darling, Galliano was hand-picked by Anna Wintour to take over the House of Dior a while back, and he's certainly done well by the brand - but it was his John Galliano line that sent the tastemakers and fashion obsessed into orbit.


Inspired by a research trip to Hollywood, Galliano immersed himself in the Tallulah Bankhead, Mary Pickford world of studio system glamour and spun it into a magnificent showing of lace, pearls, and simply spectacular headwear. Style.com aptly calls it his 'fashion version of Sunset Boulevard'.


And while we mere mortals can only gawk at the beautiful baubles and garments that only a size zero gamine can pull off, there are ways to bring a little Galliano high fashion fantasy into our own wardrobes.


I'm making a beeline for my grandmother's pearls and brooches - and already have a long blazer belted over a long dress set aside in my mind for the next night out. And it looks like layering those bangles is simply always a safe bet - the look is present here and with many other designers this year (see the Jewelry.com Facebook album for more).

So what do you guys think of the Galliano girls this go round? Aren't they just beyond? Or am I losing my mind after so many runway roundups?

Kate Gosselin Ditches the Wedding Ring

Well, she's not 'ditching' her wedding ring really, but rather 'switching it'.

Reality TV's Kate Gosselin admitted in a Today Show interview that she finally put away her wedding ring and exchanged it for the ring she received during the taped Hawaiian vow renewal ceremony that gave us all hope this TV couple might just make it after all.

What a difference a year makes.



I'm still not sure why Kate is hanging on to rings that symbolize a relationship that has decidedly gone very, very south, but I really like the idea she shared with Meredith Viera about ditching the wedding bling altogether and instead creating a ring to symbolize her commitment to her kids - a design with 8 diamonds (one for each spawn) and one mother-of-pearl stone.

Kate could be on the verge of creating an entirely new jewelry category for single mothers - and there are plenty of them out there, right? What do you guys think of her idea?

I think she's really on to something. And if she's smart, she'll start her own jewelry line instead of relying on TLC to bread her butter now that Jon is refusing to allow the kids to be a part of her show.

Just a thought. What are yours?

Jewelry Explodes on the Paris Catwalks

Jewelry hounds, we’ve got ourselves another jaw-dropping bling display courtesy of Paris Fashion Week.

Last year, Christian Lacroix blew my mind with his Alice in Wonderland-inspired runway jewels. And this year? The torch has successfully been passed to Lanvin.


What began as a rather restrained display of bling on frocks that ranged from the simple little black dress to the pleated jumpsuit, slowly evolved into an over-the-top fashion fiesta complete with dazzling carnation red dresses, dripping gold bracelets and bejeweled statement necklaces that had tongues wagging well after the show.


Critical darlings like John Galliano for Dior and Jean Paul Gauliter got solid reviews from the Paris onlookers earlier in the week, but it was the Lanvin runway that sent the sartorial tastemakers into a tizzy.


According to Style.com:

“Every Lanvin show has had a bijoux component in varying degrees, but yesterday, Elbaz amped it up like never before with a crescendoing glitz factor. There were wide enameled cuffs stacked over black leather gloves, slinky gold chains dangling Byzantine-inspired pendants, fat chain links studded with stones, and dramatically twisting Medusa-worthy snakes.”


Thank you, Lanvin, for finally giving me something to gawk at this year. And check out Jewelry.com's Facebook page for more Paris fashion fodder. You won’t want to miss Gaultier’s gold links and denim overall cone bras!



In the meantime, what do you guys think of the Lanvin jewelry display? Weigh in!

The Hope Diamond Gets Naked

The Hope Diamond, one of the world's most famous gems, is getting naked to celebrate 50 years at the Smithsonian. To honor the rare 45.52-carat blue diamond, the museum is designing three possible new settings for the stone, inviting the public to vote for their favorite by visiting:

http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/hope.

The winning setting will be announced this fall, and the gem will be shown in its new digs starting in May to celebrate the premiere of a Smithsonian Channel documentary on the diamond.

In the meantime, The Hope will be hanging out in the buff - a first for the storied gem.

"This is a rare and exciting opportunity for people to see the Hope Diamond as it has never been seen before," said museum director Cristian Samper.

Formed more that a billion years ago, the diamond was mined in India and is believed to have been part of the French crown jewels. It later came into the possession of Henry Philip Hope, whose name it carries.

The Hope Diamond was long thought to have a curse, bringing bad luck to its owners, but Smithsonian officials say it has been kind to them, drawing throngs of visitors.

Here's to another curse-free half-century!