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Luxury ad world increases its star power
Dior Watches believes Sharon Stone has the face that can launch thousands of new Christal watch sales. Ditto, Louis Vuitton luggage and Mikhail Gorbachev. Likewise, the designer Marc Jacobs and 13 year old Dakota Fanning.
All three are among the well known faces fronting fashion luxury brands these days, and all help to fuel a global industry the luxe behemoth whose worth exceeds $184 billion and whose use of celebrity to sell goods has soared in the past decade.
According to Cinecitta's marketing division in Italy, the number of general advertisements featuring celebrities has doubled since 1995, from one in eight to one in four. "The bottom line is the luxury market is hot, and everyone's trying their best to make sure they get pieces of it. Back in the old days, you wouldn't show celebrity in the same ways as now; it was more discreet like Grace Kelly wearing Van Cleef at the Oscars because she chose to."
But over the past few years, strategies have changed, Larson said. Increasingly, ads focus on offbeat or controversial personalities, like, say, the independent film star Vincent Gallo for Yves Saint Laurent; or they promote social or ecological responsibility (think Tag Heuer's joint campaign with Save the Children; Vuitton's support of Al Gore's The Climate Project). Also, more and more advertisements are using children: Fanning for Jacobs, or David and Victoria Beckham's children for Marks Spencer.
Even the traditional approach to campaigns is being redefined. "One of the things that's happening these days is that celebrity has been so overdone that people are now trying to turn it on its head," Larson said.
"Like Nicole Ritchie for Jimmy Choo last year the campaign used a glamorized paparazzi shot. There is more of a message or some oblique commentary. The new trends in the market are to use politics or ecological issues or social responsibility" to draw attention to the brand, she said.
Larson added that in general, the increasing use of famous faces seems short sighted to her. "Luxury brands used to take 20 years to build, and I think that now people are trying to shortcut it by relying on celebrity endorsements," she said. "I don't think that works as hard toward long term equity."
If a company does go the A list route, it is essential to find the right "face" and set the right tone, Larson said, citing Dunhill leather goods' Asian campaign featuring Jude Law.
"You're entering a market that huge, where a bunch of brands are competing you use Jude Law and put an Aston Martin next to him, and immediately you've established modern British heritage."
But luxury brand professionals say there are risks to using someone of Gorbachev's stature or Law's celebrity there is the possibility that the "face" can eclipse the brand.
"An example would be Celine Dion with her fragrance," said Marshal Cohen of NPD Group, an international marketing analysis company. "When she retired, her fragrance practically did, too. Upon her return, a new scent was launched and it prospered like the first. So, as goes the celebrity, usually so goes the product."
Messages also can be lost,replica van cleef and arpels clover earrings, he said.
"We saw this with the phone companies James Earl Jones with Verizon and Catherine Zeta Jones and T Mobile. It became very confusing. The consumer didn't hear the message anymore, because it became more of a form of entertainment and that took precedence over the product," Cohen said. "There were so many celebrities in these commercials, and so much messaging going on. Unless you needed a new cellphone, why would you listen to the actual message?"
Cohen added that even so, the true superstar is usually worth the money. Consider the Nicole Kidman Chanel No. 5 deal, which earned Kidman a reported $7 million.
"Three years ago,replica arpels van cleef earrings, Chanel No. 5 was losing market share," he said. "They introduced Nicole Kidman and their business went from a negative growth number to a positive of 16 percent. They didn't change the bottle, they didn't change the fragrance. What changed was, they had Nicole Kidman," which tapped into a new audience of young people who had never worn Channel No. 5.
"They would not have done it without Nicole," he said.
Valentino executives are still quoted as saying that the design house reaped nearly $25 million in publicity when Julia Roberts wore a vintage Valentino dress (black silk with white piping) to the 2001 Academy Awards and then took the best actress Oscar for "Erin Brockovich."
And what of Dior's deals with Stone? One Parfums division insider said the company has seen a substantial uptick in skin care sales since her campaign started in spring of 2006. So, is her four year Christal watch deal paying off?
"It is too early to determine,van cleef and arpels earrings replica, as that campaign started in May," said Isabelle Lazarus,van cleef arpels alhambra earrings replica, international communications coordinator for Dior Watches. But she affirmed the label's choice of the 49 year old Stone: "Her bold personality perfectly embodies the values of Dior a unique mix of glamour, sex appeal, charisma, beauty and intelligence."
Still, industry experts increasingly say the celebrity appeal may be starting to wane.
"The pendulum is starting to show signs of swinging the other way," said Cohen. "It's starting to show signs that at least the more sophisticated consumer is starting to rebel against the celebrity approach, but the average consumer could go either way."
As for what's next, the New York based analyst mused, "How about the integrity of the product itself? Wouldn't it be new and novel if someone even went out of their way to explain to me why I should buy their product instead selling me the product through someone famous?"
Dior Watches believes Sharon Stone has the face that can launch thousands of new Christal watch sales. Ditto, Louis Vuitton luggage and Mikhail Gorbachev. Likewise, the designer Marc Jacobs and 13 year old Dakota Fanning.
All three are among the well known faces fronting fashion luxury brands these days, and all help to fuel a global industry the luxe behemoth whose worth exceeds $184 billion and whose use of celebrity to sell goods has soared in the past decade.
According to Cinecitta's marketing division in Italy, the number of general advertisements featuring celebrities has doubled since 1995, from one in eight to one in four. "The bottom line is the luxury market is hot, and everyone's trying their best to make sure they get pieces of it. Back in the old days, you wouldn't show celebrity in the same ways as now; it was more discreet like Grace Kelly wearing Van Cleef at the Oscars because she chose to."
But over the past few years, strategies have changed, Larson said. Increasingly, ads focus on offbeat or controversial personalities, like, say, the independent film star Vincent Gallo for Yves Saint Laurent; or they promote social or ecological responsibility (think Tag Heuer's joint campaign with Save the Children; Vuitton's support of Al Gore's The Climate Project). Also, more and more advertisements are using children: Fanning for Jacobs, or David and Victoria Beckham's children for Marks Spencer.
Even the traditional approach to campaigns is being redefined. "One of the things that's happening these days is that celebrity has been so overdone that people are now trying to turn it on its head," Larson said.
"Like Nicole Ritchie for Jimmy Choo last year the campaign used a glamorized paparazzi shot. There is more of a message or some oblique commentary. The new trends in the market are to use politics or ecological issues or social responsibility" to draw attention to the brand, she said.
Larson added that in general, the increasing use of famous faces seems short sighted to her. "Luxury brands used to take 20 years to build, and I think that now people are trying to shortcut it by relying on celebrity endorsements," she said. "I don't think that works as hard toward long term equity."
If a company does go the A list route, it is essential to find the right "face" and set the right tone, Larson said, citing Dunhill leather goods' Asian campaign featuring Jude Law.
"You're entering a market that huge, where a bunch of brands are competing you use Jude Law and put an Aston Martin next to him, and immediately you've established modern British heritage."
But luxury brand professionals say there are risks to using someone of Gorbachev's stature or Law's celebrity there is the possibility that the "face" can eclipse the brand.
"An example would be Celine Dion with her fragrance," said Marshal Cohen of NPD Group, an international marketing analysis company. "When she retired, her fragrance practically did, too. Upon her return, a new scent was launched and it prospered like the first. So, as goes the celebrity, usually so goes the product."
Messages also can be lost,replica van cleef and arpels clover earrings, he said.
"We saw this with the phone companies James Earl Jones with Verizon and Catherine Zeta Jones and T Mobile. It became very confusing. The consumer didn't hear the message anymore, because it became more of a form of entertainment and that took precedence over the product," Cohen said. "There were so many celebrities in these commercials, and so much messaging going on. Unless you needed a new cellphone, why would you listen to the actual message?"
Cohen added that even so, the true superstar is usually worth the money. Consider the Nicole Kidman Chanel No. 5 deal, which earned Kidman a reported $7 million.
"Three years ago,replica arpels van cleef earrings, Chanel No. 5 was losing market share," he said. "They introduced Nicole Kidman and their business went from a negative growth number to a positive of 16 percent. They didn't change the bottle, they didn't change the fragrance. What changed was, they had Nicole Kidman," which tapped into a new audience of young people who had never worn Channel No. 5.
"They would not have done it without Nicole," he said.
Valentino executives are still quoted as saying that the design house reaped nearly $25 million in publicity when Julia Roberts wore a vintage Valentino dress (black silk with white piping) to the 2001 Academy Awards and then took the best actress Oscar for "Erin Brockovich."
And what of Dior's deals with Stone? One Parfums division insider said the company has seen a substantial uptick in skin care sales since her campaign started in spring of 2006. So, is her four year Christal watch deal paying off?
"It is too early to determine,van cleef and arpels earrings replica, as that campaign started in May," said Isabelle Lazarus,van cleef arpels alhambra earrings replica, international communications coordinator for Dior Watches. But she affirmed the label's choice of the 49 year old Stone: "Her bold personality perfectly embodies the values of Dior a unique mix of glamour, sex appeal, charisma, beauty and intelligence."
Still, industry experts increasingly say the celebrity appeal may be starting to wane.
"The pendulum is starting to show signs of swinging the other way," said Cohen. "It's starting to show signs that at least the more sophisticated consumer is starting to rebel against the celebrity approach, but the average consumer could go either way."
As for what's next, the New York based analyst mused, "How about the integrity of the product itself? Wouldn't it be new and novel if someone even went out of their way to explain to me why I should buy their product instead selling me the product through someone famous?"
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I breaking in my Van Cleef boots right now, they becoming very comfortable. Always wanted a veg tan engineer boot, couldn find one, so I had the good folks at Wesco build me one.
One person wanted to know the toe structure this boot has a hard structured toe.
The great thing about Wesco is how flexible they are. If you need extra width, custom sizing (one boot bigger than the other), a different outsole, etc it possible with our pre order here.
I had tried on some stock Boss boots in 10 D and 10.5 E, because that is what the store had. Based on my narrow feet, I went with 10.5 C in the custom Jobmaster. Now, I am pretty sure that the Boss is on a longer last than the Jobmaster.
In any case,replica van cleef and arpels clover earrings, on sizing, I feel the Jobmasters are generous width wise,replica van cleef mini alhambra earrings, as work boots should be,van cleef gold earrings replica, and on the short side length wise, so I would tell people on Jobmasters, though I can say for these,replica van cleef arpels earrings, go up a half size in length and down a size in width, or two widths if you don want to wear thick socks.
jump to contentmy subreddits
limit my search to r/goodyearweltuse the following search parameters to narrow your results:see the search faq for details.
I breaking in my Van Cleef boots right now, they becoming very comfortable. Always wanted a veg tan engineer boot, couldn find one, so I had the good folks at Wesco build me one.
One person wanted to know the toe structure this boot has a hard structured toe.
The great thing about Wesco is how flexible they are. If you need extra width, custom sizing (one boot bigger than the other), a different outsole, etc it possible with our pre order here.
I had tried on some stock Boss boots in 10 D and 10.5 E, because that is what the store had. Based on my narrow feet, I went with 10.5 C in the custom Jobmaster. Now, I am pretty sure that the Boss is on a longer last than the Jobmaster.
In any case,replica van cleef and arpels clover earrings, on sizing, I feel the Jobmasters are generous width wise,replica van cleef mini alhambra earrings, as work boots should be,van cleef gold earrings replica, and on the short side length wise, so I would tell people on Jobmasters, though I can say for these,replica van cleef arpels earrings, go up a half size in length and down a size in width, or two widths if you don want to wear thick socks.
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Jamie Packer's quest to buy up all the compromising pictures of his fiancee are doomed
My eyes do not light up like Sergeant Bilko's at the prospect of making a fast buck. Nor does the subject of blackmail hold many attractions for me. But when a love struck billionaire comes a calling well, who could resist turning embarrassment into easy cash?The chap in question is Jamie Packer, 29 year old son of Kerry Packer, the media mogul famed for his unusual "Is he wearing a stocking mask?" looks, his polo team, his yacht and for being the richest person in Australia. Jamie runs the old man's business empire, worth pounds 2bn, and being young, handsome, gullible and the heir, is a bit of a draw for les filles. He is engaged to marry one Kate Fischer, 23, who though he may have convinced himself that she is a demure, maidenly, stay at home, sock darning and generally wifely type (see picture) has, it seems, a few skeletons in her closet. One magazine photographer has had pounds 100,000 pressed on him by Packer, in exchange for a promise that he'll bin the negatives.
Such gallantry. Mr Packer's desire to keep his beloved's fragrant poitrine for no one's eyes but his own does him credit. One thinks of Hedy Lamarr's husband, who tried to buy up every reel of Extase, the 1933 Czech movie in which the raunchy 19 year old whipped her top off in a pool. One thinks of Joan Crawford trying to stifle every frame showing her undraped form in an ill advised early effort called The Casting Couch. One thinks of Madonna attempting to suppress her group sex cameo in A Certain Sacrifice.
When it comes to Ms Fischer, though, I'm afraid it's a bit late. Someone must explain to Mr Packer that his fiancee's bosom is already as familiar as Venus de Milo's. Nothing is to be gained by buying up all existing pictures of Kate in her birthday suit, because lots of people he doesn't even know have got some stashed away. My own come from a film starring Hugh Grant, Fischer and Elle Macpherson, in which everyone gets their kit off. Once upon a time, Ms Lamarr's husband could buy up all the reels on which his wife paraded her shame. But not even Mr Packer's two billion is enough to buy up all the Sirens videos in the world. On the other hand, he's welcome to try. I'm not a greedy man, Mr P. Shall we say pounds 50 and a ride in your yacht?
Robert B Reich, an American university professor, is one of the original "friends of Bill". He first met President Clinton on a boat sailing to England where they were both to be Rhodes Scholars at Oxford. (Reich got seasick; Clinton,replica arpels van cleef earrings, displaying admirable political prescience, brought him chicken soup). Reich apparently inspired the great saxophonist's thinking on matters social and economic,replica van cleef gold earrings, and with a certain inevitability he landed a job in the first Clinton cabinet,replica van cleef & arpels alhambra earrings, as Labour (as in employment) Secretary. Now he has published the diary he kept in those years, and it's an unexpected best seller in American book charts. By faithfully reporting dozens of behind the scenes wrangles and breakfast confrontations among cabinet eminences, and keeping the hang wringing political theory to a minimum, Locked In The Cabinet tills the same rich field of gossip as Primary Colours by Joe Klein.
But what is this on page 155? After flying to Detroit to meet a local priest who's a whizz at raising cash to educate inner city dropouts, Reich attends a "jobs summit" in Washington: "The Jobs Summit is a deadly bore. I have to sit next to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, who talks endlessly about the virtues of the free market and the social benefits of selfishness, all with such pomposity that I have to restrain myself from causing an international incident by telling him what I think. He is as rotund as he is arrogant, a thoughtless disciple of Margaret Thatcher. Will the Tories wreck Britain before the British wreck the Tories?" You have to cudgel your memory for half a minute to discover who this corpulent, doctrinaire right wing Thatcherite can be. The year is 1994; it's Kenneth Clarke.
For the last month or so, I've been conducting a small vendetta with Sketchley's, my local dry cleaners. Possibly as a result of some new management initiative, they have started giving themselves tremendous airs. "Is that linen?" they'll say. "It's our policy to charge pounds 2 extra on linen garments." Given that every grown up male who has been impressed by a) Martin Bell or b) The English Patient in the past few months now wears a cream linen jacket, this seems a teensy bit opportunistic. There are two speeds of efficiency at Sketchley's: Standard (ie, reasonably priced) and Gold Service (ie, exorbitant). When they ask "D'you want that done Gold Service?" and you reply, "No thanks, I can think of better things to do with my entire monthly salary," they do everything, short of actually throwing your clothes on the floor and stamping on them, to register their contempt for your cheapskate posturing. Then, the other day, the Ginger Spice doll behind the counter announced: "It is now our policy to ask for payment in advance." We regarded each other coldly. "It may well be," I said, "but it's not my policy to pay for anything until it's done." (With the exception of ingesting beer, of course). "It's our policy," she said through clenched teeth.
"It ain't mine," I retorted, pure Lee Van Cleef.
For a month I handed in trousers and jackets, was asked for payment in advance, refused to comply, stood on my dignity, paid on collection and generally got my own way. Then, on Saturday, the war opened another front. The place was crowded, six or seven people being served by two matrons in white overalls, along with my stroppy beauty. I presented her with a favourite jacket and two pairs of pants. Taking a deep breath, she inquired, in tones of suspicion that would not disgrace Michael Mansfield QC, "What are these stains?"
"Woss this?" She pointed to a disgusting orangey blot. "Curry?"
"No," I said. "Yes. Well not exactly curry. I think, um, it was karahi gosht, a sophisticated Punjabi dish, I believe." But the other customers had got the message: I was a Friday night,clover earrings van cleef replica, balti house haunting, lager hoovering yahoo with no table manners.
"This blood?" she asked laconically, having moved on to the pockets. "Or somethin' else," she added darkly. A couple of the people behind me craned to see.
"I have no idea," I said. "They're just ordinary, day to day wear and tear." The customers began to mutter. Obviously this was the sort of thing Jeffrey Dahmer would say about the stains on his jacket. She picked up the trousers. "What about these stains?" The queue began to make whinnying noises, like the villagers in a Hammer horror movie. "This one by the crotch?" Why, I asked her in an urgent undertone, "are you asking me these awful questions? "It's our policy, sir," she said brightly. "It helps with the cleaning process if we know what kinds of stain."
I opened my cheque book. "Perhaps I could pay you in advance for this," I muttered. "That'll do nicely sir," she replied sweetly.
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My eyes do not light up like Sergeant Bilko's at the prospect of making a fast buck. Nor does the subject of blackmail hold many attractions for me. But when a love struck billionaire comes a calling well, who could resist turning embarrassment into easy cash?The chap in question is Jamie Packer, 29 year old son of Kerry Packer, the media mogul famed for his unusual "Is he wearing a stocking mask?" looks, his polo team, his yacht and for being the richest person in Australia. Jamie runs the old man's business empire, worth pounds 2bn, and being young, handsome, gullible and the heir, is a bit of a draw for les filles. He is engaged to marry one Kate Fischer, 23, who though he may have convinced himself that she is a demure, maidenly, stay at home, sock darning and generally wifely type (see picture) has, it seems, a few skeletons in her closet. One magazine photographer has had pounds 100,000 pressed on him by Packer, in exchange for a promise that he'll bin the negatives.
Such gallantry. Mr Packer's desire to keep his beloved's fragrant poitrine for no one's eyes but his own does him credit. One thinks of Hedy Lamarr's husband, who tried to buy up every reel of Extase, the 1933 Czech movie in which the raunchy 19 year old whipped her top off in a pool. One thinks of Joan Crawford trying to stifle every frame showing her undraped form in an ill advised early effort called The Casting Couch. One thinks of Madonna attempting to suppress her group sex cameo in A Certain Sacrifice.
When it comes to Ms Fischer, though, I'm afraid it's a bit late. Someone must explain to Mr Packer that his fiancee's bosom is already as familiar as Venus de Milo's. Nothing is to be gained by buying up all existing pictures of Kate in her birthday suit, because lots of people he doesn't even know have got some stashed away. My own come from a film starring Hugh Grant, Fischer and Elle Macpherson, in which everyone gets their kit off. Once upon a time, Ms Lamarr's husband could buy up all the reels on which his wife paraded her shame. But not even Mr Packer's two billion is enough to buy up all the Sirens videos in the world. On the other hand, he's welcome to try. I'm not a greedy man, Mr P. Shall we say pounds 50 and a ride in your yacht?
Robert B Reich, an American university professor, is one of the original "friends of Bill". He first met President Clinton on a boat sailing to England where they were both to be Rhodes Scholars at Oxford. (Reich got seasick; Clinton,replica arpels van cleef earrings, displaying admirable political prescience, brought him chicken soup). Reich apparently inspired the great saxophonist's thinking on matters social and economic,replica van cleef gold earrings, and with a certain inevitability he landed a job in the first Clinton cabinet,replica van cleef & arpels alhambra earrings, as Labour (as in employment) Secretary. Now he has published the diary he kept in those years, and it's an unexpected best seller in American book charts. By faithfully reporting dozens of behind the scenes wrangles and breakfast confrontations among cabinet eminences, and keeping the hang wringing political theory to a minimum, Locked In The Cabinet tills the same rich field of gossip as Primary Colours by Joe Klein.
But what is this on page 155? After flying to Detroit to meet a local priest who's a whizz at raising cash to educate inner city dropouts, Reich attends a "jobs summit" in Washington: "The Jobs Summit is a deadly bore. I have to sit next to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, who talks endlessly about the virtues of the free market and the social benefits of selfishness, all with such pomposity that I have to restrain myself from causing an international incident by telling him what I think. He is as rotund as he is arrogant, a thoughtless disciple of Margaret Thatcher. Will the Tories wreck Britain before the British wreck the Tories?" You have to cudgel your memory for half a minute to discover who this corpulent, doctrinaire right wing Thatcherite can be. The year is 1994; it's Kenneth Clarke.
For the last month or so, I've been conducting a small vendetta with Sketchley's, my local dry cleaners. Possibly as a result of some new management initiative, they have started giving themselves tremendous airs. "Is that linen?" they'll say. "It's our policy to charge pounds 2 extra on linen garments." Given that every grown up male who has been impressed by a) Martin Bell or b) The English Patient in the past few months now wears a cream linen jacket, this seems a teensy bit opportunistic. There are two speeds of efficiency at Sketchley's: Standard (ie, reasonably priced) and Gold Service (ie, exorbitant). When they ask "D'you want that done Gold Service?" and you reply, "No thanks, I can think of better things to do with my entire monthly salary," they do everything, short of actually throwing your clothes on the floor and stamping on them, to register their contempt for your cheapskate posturing. Then, the other day, the Ginger Spice doll behind the counter announced: "It is now our policy to ask for payment in advance." We regarded each other coldly. "It may well be," I said, "but it's not my policy to pay for anything until it's done." (With the exception of ingesting beer, of course). "It's our policy," she said through clenched teeth.
"It ain't mine," I retorted, pure Lee Van Cleef.
For a month I handed in trousers and jackets, was asked for payment in advance, refused to comply, stood on my dignity, paid on collection and generally got my own way. Then, on Saturday, the war opened another front. The place was crowded, six or seven people being served by two matrons in white overalls, along with my stroppy beauty. I presented her with a favourite jacket and two pairs of pants. Taking a deep breath, she inquired, in tones of suspicion that would not disgrace Michael Mansfield QC, "What are these stains?"
"Woss this?" She pointed to a disgusting orangey blot. "Curry?"
"No," I said. "Yes. Well not exactly curry. I think, um, it was karahi gosht, a sophisticated Punjabi dish, I believe." But the other customers had got the message: I was a Friday night,clover earrings van cleef replica, balti house haunting, lager hoovering yahoo with no table manners.
"This blood?" she asked laconically, having moved on to the pockets. "Or somethin' else," she added darkly. A couple of the people behind me craned to see.
"I have no idea," I said. "They're just ordinary, day to day wear and tear." The customers began to mutter. Obviously this was the sort of thing Jeffrey Dahmer would say about the stains on his jacket. She picked up the trousers. "What about these stains?" The queue began to make whinnying noises, like the villagers in a Hammer horror movie. "This one by the crotch?" Why, I asked her in an urgent undertone, "are you asking me these awful questions? "It's our policy, sir," she said brightly. "It helps with the cleaning process if we know what kinds of stain."
I opened my cheque book. "Perhaps I could pay you in advance for this," I muttered. "That'll do nicely sir," she replied sweetly.
Click the Adblock/Adblock Plus icon, which is to the right of your address bar.
On Adblock click "Don't run on pages on this domain".
If you are Private Browsing in Firefox, "Tracking Protection" may cause the adblock notice to show. It can be temporarily disabled by clicking the "shield" icon in the address bar.
Small wonders at the Paris Biennale
Last week,pink van cleef necklace replica, as the late summer sunshine streamed through the glass domes of Paris's Grand Palais it added extra sparkle to the several hundred jewels and diamonds on display at the Biennale des Antiquaires. And there is plenty to dazzle, as the Biennale is the high point for high jewellery with high price tags. Each jewel on display is a miniature masterpiece, a collector's item, and the diamonds are bigger and better than anywhere else.
But it isn't just about the biggest and the best. Some of the most memorable jewels I saw were in fact quite small, and believe it or not, discreet. Here are the little delights that stuck in my mind.
At Siegelson, the New York house that deals in the crme de la crme of vintage jewels, I got goosebumps as Lee Siegelson fastened on my wrist a 1925 Boucheron bracelet. As fresh as the day it was made, this jaunty little bracelet lightly carries a weighty history. It was exhibited by Boucheron at the ground breaking 1925 Arts Dcoratifs exhibition in Paris,sweet alhambra necklace replica, the defining moment of the art deco movement and from where its name came. Daringly made of osmium, a dense blue white element, the brave symmetry of the black enamel bars contrasts with the randomly dotted berry bright rubies, emeralds and sapphires. From its shagreen and suede embossed case made specially for the exhibition, this bright little messenger captures the zeitgeist of a world recovering from the turmoil of war, shunning the past and looking ahead to a brighter future.
Another jewel that had me sighing is the Van Cleef Arpels dragonfly brooch, in which a light and life like insect hovers as if caught mid flight. Using the "mystery setting",van arpels and cleef necklace fake, a technique patented by the house in the early 1930s that allows stones to be set with no metal at all in sight,van necklace replica, light shines through the pink sapphire wings and tail in a magical way. Art may be imitating nature, but nature may well feel a tad miffed at this glorious creation.
The Collier Bleu de Rve by Graff Diamonds looks innocent enough, but look again and that pretty little blue diamond in a tender dewdrop shape is in fact one of the most valuable diamonds of the show. But I just love how it swings so sweetly from a chain of diamond beads, offset by a perfect emerald. So very valuable but so very wearable, not something that can be said for all investment grade diamonds. This little blue is top of the pops as it weighs 10.47 carats large for a coloured diamond and is Fancy Vivid Blue and Internally Flawless. All of these pieces have probably already been sold, so I am glad I had my five minutes with each of them before they disappear again into the darkness of a high security safe.
Last week,pink van cleef necklace replica, as the late summer sunshine streamed through the glass domes of Paris's Grand Palais it added extra sparkle to the several hundred jewels and diamonds on display at the Biennale des Antiquaires. And there is plenty to dazzle, as the Biennale is the high point for high jewellery with high price tags. Each jewel on display is a miniature masterpiece, a collector's item, and the diamonds are bigger and better than anywhere else.
But it isn't just about the biggest and the best. Some of the most memorable jewels I saw were in fact quite small, and believe it or not, discreet. Here are the little delights that stuck in my mind.
At Siegelson, the New York house that deals in the crme de la crme of vintage jewels, I got goosebumps as Lee Siegelson fastened on my wrist a 1925 Boucheron bracelet. As fresh as the day it was made, this jaunty little bracelet lightly carries a weighty history. It was exhibited by Boucheron at the ground breaking 1925 Arts Dcoratifs exhibition in Paris,sweet alhambra necklace replica, the defining moment of the art deco movement and from where its name came. Daringly made of osmium, a dense blue white element, the brave symmetry of the black enamel bars contrasts with the randomly dotted berry bright rubies, emeralds and sapphires. From its shagreen and suede embossed case made specially for the exhibition, this bright little messenger captures the zeitgeist of a world recovering from the turmoil of war, shunning the past and looking ahead to a brighter future.
Another jewel that had me sighing is the Van Cleef Arpels dragonfly brooch, in which a light and life like insect hovers as if caught mid flight. Using the "mystery setting",van arpels and cleef necklace fake, a technique patented by the house in the early 1930s that allows stones to be set with no metal at all in sight,van necklace replica, light shines through the pink sapphire wings and tail in a magical way. Art may be imitating nature, but nature may well feel a tad miffed at this glorious creation.
The Collier Bleu de Rve by Graff Diamonds looks innocent enough, but look again and that pretty little blue diamond in a tender dewdrop shape is in fact one of the most valuable diamonds of the show. But I just love how it swings so sweetly from a chain of diamond beads, offset by a perfect emerald. So very valuable but so very wearable, not something that can be said for all investment grade diamonds. This little blue is top of the pops as it weighs 10.47 carats large for a coloured diamond and is Fancy Vivid Blue and Internally Flawless. All of these pieces have probably already been sold, so I am glad I had my five minutes with each of them before they disappear again into the darkness of a high security safe.
InStyle picks best dressed at the Oscars
Indeed,van necklace replica, from the most delicate shades of blush to the boldest fuchsia, the red carpet turned pink! Exaggerated ruffles, soft draping, frothy fabrics, dramatic trains and Cinderella esque silhouettes gave new meaning to the term Hollywood royalty.The few celebrities who bucked the romantic trend,clover necklace brand replica, including Sarah Jessica Parker, and Meryl Streep, chose sophisticated styles with retro vibes.From a timeless beauty (Demi Moore) to a graceful Hollywood icon (Meryl Streep),van cleef and arpel clover necklace fake, here are the night's fashion winners.Demi MooreDemi Moore often chooses classic, tailored cuts, but last night she glowed in a stunning blush toned Atelier Versace silk organza gown with petal like tiers of ruffles. She finished off this softer look with Van Cleef Arpels tassel earrings and diamond cuffs, a gold leather Salvatore Ferragamo clutch and dress matching Versace satin sandals.Diane KrugerThe ever flawless Diane Kruger turned to her favorite designer Karl Lagerfeld for her cream and black chiffon gown from Chanel Haute Couture. Both edgy and feminine, the design featured a pleated and ruffled skirt that led into a bow bedecked mermaid train.See more dresses from the 2010 Academy AwardsWe love the way commands the red carpet in dramatic dresses, and her choice this year was no exception. The "Up in the Air" star added matching platform sandals and delicate Kwiat diamonds.Oscars: Top 7 Fashion TrendsZoe Saldana"Avatar" beauty Zoe Saldana walked the red carpet in one of the night's most memorable gowns: a purple ombre design from Givenchy Haute Couture that paired a flower like tulle skirt with a shimmering bodice. After an awards season of black and black,van cleef and arpels sweet alhambra necklace replica, it was a pleasure to see the "Nine" star in a deep shade of bordeaux.Oscars: Best Hair and MakeupSarah Jessica ParkerWe've come to expect the unexpected from Sarah Jessica Parker (and are never disappointed). This year, Parker skipped the frills in favor of a '60s inspired Chanel Haute Couture column gown topped with elaborate silver embroidery. Eschewing pink, the Best Actress winner looked luminous in an ethereal silver beaded Marchesa column with a peek a boo lace bodice. She accented the stunning design with understated diamond jewelry and a textured minaudiere.
Indeed,van necklace replica, from the most delicate shades of blush to the boldest fuchsia, the red carpet turned pink! Exaggerated ruffles, soft draping, frothy fabrics, dramatic trains and Cinderella esque silhouettes gave new meaning to the term Hollywood royalty.The few celebrities who bucked the romantic trend,clover necklace brand replica, including Sarah Jessica Parker, and Meryl Streep, chose sophisticated styles with retro vibes.From a timeless beauty (Demi Moore) to a graceful Hollywood icon (Meryl Streep),van cleef and arpel clover necklace fake, here are the night's fashion winners.Demi MooreDemi Moore often chooses classic, tailored cuts, but last night she glowed in a stunning blush toned Atelier Versace silk organza gown with petal like tiers of ruffles. She finished off this softer look with Van Cleef Arpels tassel earrings and diamond cuffs, a gold leather Salvatore Ferragamo clutch and dress matching Versace satin sandals.Diane KrugerThe ever flawless Diane Kruger turned to her favorite designer Karl Lagerfeld for her cream and black chiffon gown from Chanel Haute Couture. Both edgy and feminine, the design featured a pleated and ruffled skirt that led into a bow bedecked mermaid train.See more dresses from the 2010 Academy AwardsWe love the way commands the red carpet in dramatic dresses, and her choice this year was no exception. The "Up in the Air" star added matching platform sandals and delicate Kwiat diamonds.Oscars: Top 7 Fashion TrendsZoe Saldana"Avatar" beauty Zoe Saldana walked the red carpet in one of the night's most memorable gowns: a purple ombre design from Givenchy Haute Couture that paired a flower like tulle skirt with a shimmering bodice. After an awards season of black and black,van cleef and arpels sweet alhambra necklace replica, it was a pleasure to see the "Nine" star in a deep shade of bordeaux.Oscars: Best Hair and MakeupSarah Jessica ParkerWe've come to expect the unexpected from Sarah Jessica Parker (and are never disappointed). This year, Parker skipped the frills in favor of a '60s inspired Chanel Haute Couture column gown topped with elaborate silver embroidery. Eschewing pink, the Best Actress winner looked luminous in an ethereal silver beaded Marchesa column with a peek a boo lace bodice. She accented the stunning design with understated diamond jewelry and a textured minaudiere.
- Cheap copy Vannecklace jewelry You should never pass up
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Beverly Johnson on the night she was 'preyed upon'
First black Vogue model dubbed 'the face that changed it all' reveals how Elizabeth Taylor tricked her, her sexy exchanges with Mike Tyson and the night she was 'preyed upon' by Bill Cosby
Supermodel Beverly Johnson, 62, details glamorous tales and struggles with racism and drug addiction in her memoirThe Face That Changed It All reveals her first time meeting Elizabeth Taylor and the visit when she believes Bill Cosby allegedly drugged herJohnson became the first black cover model of American Vogue in 1974 and had a successful modeling career lasting three decadesBy
Legendary supermodel Beverly Johnson, who was the first black model to cover Vogue, reveals details about her sexy exchanges with Mike Tyson and glamorous tales from her past in a memoir.
Johnson, 62, tells of her encounters with the rich and famous and friendships that included the likes of Jackie Kennedy, Oprah, Michael Jackson and Keith Richardson.
But she also shares the not so glamorous times which include her struggles with divorce, racism and drug addiction as well asintimate details about her love affair with late tennis icon, Arthur Ashe,van cleef and arpels necklaces, for the first time.
Scroll down for video
During her modeling career, she said she experienced jealously from fellow models, particularly the few black ones at the time, who were all competing for exposure (Johnson pictured in a portrait in 1977)
Her first time meeting Elizabeth Taylor was in 1973 at a party of fashion designer, Halston, where Taylor was sat across from her and she got to try on her 'famed Taylor Burton diamond'.
'Sitting across from me was the grand dame of all grand dames, Ms. Elizabeth Taylor, in all her legendary glory,fake van cleef clover necklace,' she wrote in an excerpt from The Face That Changed It All.
'I'd never imagined for a moment that I would be in the same room with her. But there she was, looking exactly how I'd have imagined she would, and more,' she continued.
'She was incandescently beautiful, with the most gorgeous porcelain skin and a head full of glossy dark brown hair. I had to force myself not to stare.'
While Taylor said 'hi' to Johnson, all she could muster up to say in response was 'I love your ring'.
Shortly after the exchange, the 69.42 carat ring from Cartier purchased by Taylor's estranged husband, Richard Burton, for $1.1 million in 1969 was thrown across the table so Johnson could wear it.
Johnson writes of when tennis icon, Arthur Ashe (left), called her for a date after he won Wimbledon in 1975 and how she and Mike Tyson (right) dated for months before parting as friends
Taylor walked away from the table and left unsuspecting Johnson responsible for the expensive ring, which she took as Taylor's version of a joke, according to theNew York Post.
No stranger to luxury gifts herself, Johnson tells of the time that a Van Cleef Arples five carat ruby ring was sat next to the salad plate at a party of a well known world leader.
During her modeling career, she experienced jealously from fellow models, particularly the few black ones at the time, who were all competing for exposure.
And among Johnson's friends included Michael Jackson after she met the Jackson family in the 1970s. He often turned to her for skin care tips as a result of struggling with acne as a teen.
Johnson recalled when tennis icon, Ashe, called her for a date after he won Wimbledon in 1975.
'We had all night lovemaking sessions,replica alhambra van cleef necklace,' she wrote. 'I was forced to pull out a bigger book of tricks to help him get to the point of no return sooner, or risk some serious health issues of my own.
'Swinging from the chandelier [every night we spent together] was taking its toll on my well being.'
Her love interests also included Mike Tyson, who she met when he was 20 years old, and during a phone conversation before his fight for the heavyweight championship, she blurted out that if he won, she would 'give him some' surprising even herself.
The pair dated for months before eventually parting as friends.
The memoir also details of the time she believed she had been drugged by Bill Cosby during a visit to his home to read for a role on The Cosby Show
After he won, he made it from Las Vegas where the fight took place to the door of her home in New York 19 hours later where she kept her promise.
She described the night as 'the most passionate of nights she had experienced with a man'.
Johnson also details the time she believed she had been drugged by Bill Cosby during a visit to his home to read for a role on The Cosby Show,replica van cleef arpel necklace.
She said he was a gracious host introducing her to the cast and asking her about her life and career.
He had invited her several times to his home to read for the role, and during the second visit she tells of how they were alone, and he insisted on her drinking an espresso that he brought to her.
First black Vogue model dubbed 'the face that changed it all' reveals how Elizabeth Taylor tricked her, her sexy exchanges with Mike Tyson and the night she was 'preyed upon' by Bill Cosby
Supermodel Beverly Johnson, 62, details glamorous tales and struggles with racism and drug addiction in her memoirThe Face That Changed It All reveals her first time meeting Elizabeth Taylor and the visit when she believes Bill Cosby allegedly drugged herJohnson became the first black cover model of American Vogue in 1974 and had a successful modeling career lasting three decadesBy
Legendary supermodel Beverly Johnson, who was the first black model to cover Vogue, reveals details about her sexy exchanges with Mike Tyson and glamorous tales from her past in a memoir.
Johnson, 62, tells of her encounters with the rich and famous and friendships that included the likes of Jackie Kennedy, Oprah, Michael Jackson and Keith Richardson.
But she also shares the not so glamorous times which include her struggles with divorce, racism and drug addiction as well asintimate details about her love affair with late tennis icon, Arthur Ashe,van cleef and arpels necklaces, for the first time.
Scroll down for video
During her modeling career, she said she experienced jealously from fellow models, particularly the few black ones at the time, who were all competing for exposure (Johnson pictured in a portrait in 1977)
Her first time meeting Elizabeth Taylor was in 1973 at a party of fashion designer, Halston, where Taylor was sat across from her and she got to try on her 'famed Taylor Burton diamond'.
'Sitting across from me was the grand dame of all grand dames, Ms. Elizabeth Taylor, in all her legendary glory,fake van cleef clover necklace,' she wrote in an excerpt from The Face That Changed It All.
'I'd never imagined for a moment that I would be in the same room with her. But there she was, looking exactly how I'd have imagined she would, and more,' she continued.
'She was incandescently beautiful, with the most gorgeous porcelain skin and a head full of glossy dark brown hair. I had to force myself not to stare.'
While Taylor said 'hi' to Johnson, all she could muster up to say in response was 'I love your ring'.
Shortly after the exchange, the 69.42 carat ring from Cartier purchased by Taylor's estranged husband, Richard Burton, for $1.1 million in 1969 was thrown across the table so Johnson could wear it.
Johnson writes of when tennis icon, Arthur Ashe (left), called her for a date after he won Wimbledon in 1975 and how she and Mike Tyson (right) dated for months before parting as friends
Taylor walked away from the table and left unsuspecting Johnson responsible for the expensive ring, which she took as Taylor's version of a joke, according to theNew York Post.
No stranger to luxury gifts herself, Johnson tells of the time that a Van Cleef Arples five carat ruby ring was sat next to the salad plate at a party of a well known world leader.
During her modeling career, she experienced jealously from fellow models, particularly the few black ones at the time, who were all competing for exposure.
And among Johnson's friends included Michael Jackson after she met the Jackson family in the 1970s. He often turned to her for skin care tips as a result of struggling with acne as a teen.
Johnson recalled when tennis icon, Ashe, called her for a date after he won Wimbledon in 1975.
'We had all night lovemaking sessions,replica alhambra van cleef necklace,' she wrote. 'I was forced to pull out a bigger book of tricks to help him get to the point of no return sooner, or risk some serious health issues of my own.
'Swinging from the chandelier [every night we spent together] was taking its toll on my well being.'
Her love interests also included Mike Tyson, who she met when he was 20 years old, and during a phone conversation before his fight for the heavyweight championship, she blurted out that if he won, she would 'give him some' surprising even herself.
The pair dated for months before eventually parting as friends.
The memoir also details of the time she believed she had been drugged by Bill Cosby during a visit to his home to read for a role on The Cosby Show
After he won, he made it from Las Vegas where the fight took place to the door of her home in New York 19 hours later where she kept her promise.
She described the night as 'the most passionate of nights she had experienced with a man'.
Johnson also details the time she believed she had been drugged by Bill Cosby during a visit to his home to read for a role on The Cosby Show,replica van cleef arpel necklace.
She said he was a gracious host introducing her to the cast and asking her about her life and career.
He had invited her several times to his home to read for the role, and during the second visit she tells of how they were alone, and he insisted on her drinking an espresso that he brought to her.
Wallis Simpson's jewellery
One of Wallis Simpson's most famous sayings was that "You can never be too rich or too thin," and she could well have extended the aphorism to say . "or have too much bling." The stylish American for whom King Edward VIII gave up his throne had another epic love affair: with jewellery. Yet her baubles were more than just expensive adornments. Through them, history, fashion and romance are perfectly combined and preserved forever.
In the opinion of David Bennett, Chairman of Sotheby's Jewellery in Europe and the Middle East, Simpson's jewels are "the most important jewellery collection put together in the 20th century". When her collection was first sold by Sotheby's in 1987, the year after the Duchess of Windsor died (the sale was announced on 12 December 1986, exactly 50 years after the abdication), the auction held in Geneva caused a huge wave of interest. It eventually raised $50m (31m) and set a new world record for a single owner jewellery collection.
Today, 20 pieces bought from the original collection will be sold at Sotheby's, and are estimated to reach in the region of 3m. If the $43m difference between the estimate and the final figures for the 1987 sale are anything to go by, today's auction will raise considerably more than the estimate. While buying baubles at this level is the preserve of the super rich, it continues to fascinate a much wider group of people. Jewellery remains the most potent symbol of extreme emotions; of passion, faith, hope, power and greed. As Richard Edgecumbe, jewellery curator at the V told me when the museum opened a new jewellery gallery two and a half years ago: "Jewels are a potent link with the past, a celebration of art and craftsmanship, and an embodiment of deep human emotions."
You only have to look at the interest around Prince William giving Kate Middleton his mother's engagement ring to see how charged with symbolism jewellery is. While clothes, shoes and bags receive far more attention in fashion terms because they are affordable and renewed more frequently, speculation about the royal meringue is so far secondary to the royal rock. Prince William said he proposed with Princess Diana's ring, "to make sure my mother did not miss out on today and the excitement that we are going to spend the rest of our lives together". To some the gesture will seem moving and optimistic,replica oyster rolex datejust, others will be unable to shake off the sense that the ring is associated with some rather bad karma, given the failure of his parents' marriage. The unhappy saga doesn't seem to have deterred consumers from wanting their own take on Princess Diana's sapphire and diamond ring, however, as the high street jeweller H Samuel reports a 150 per cent increase in searches for sapphires on its website, along with a 400 per cent increase in searches specifically for sapphire rings. Engagement rings are charged with not just luck but etiquette when Nicolas Sarkozy proposed to Carla Bruni with the same model of Dior ring he had given to his previous wife towards the end of the marriage, it was seen as a considerable faux pas.
Many believe jewels go far beyond mere protocol and that they can be good luck talismans, or cursed stones. As the private jeweller and Cartier expert Harry Fane, who owns the Obsidian gallery in London, puts it, "they have to be more than just rocks". The Hope diamond is the most legendary example of a stone deemed deeply unlucky, and unless you are entirely immune to superstition, the chain of ill fortune which has followed it seems convincingly dramatic. Believed to hail from the Kollur mine near Golconda in India, legend has it that the deep blue, 112 carat, golf ball sized stone was taken from the brow of a temple idol by the French merchant traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier in the 1660s. From then until 1958 when it was donated to the Smithsonian museum in Washington by jeweller Harry Winston, who sent it in a plain brown package by registered mail it was associated with the premature death, madness, suicide and murder of many who possessed it, or their loved ones.
The Hope diamond is an extreme example of a stone,rolex datejust 2 replica, but a mix of attitudes towards buying pre owned jewellery prevails among high end collectors. According to Harry Fane, there are three main approaches to provenance. He says there are certain people who simply don't want to buy jewellery that has belonged to someone else; those who aren't concerned either way and will just invest in a piece because they like it, and those for whom the story behind a jewel, and in particular telling that story, will be more important than the piece itself.
According to Fane, in the Sotheby's sale "there is a synergy of all these elements. The collection has an extraordinary provenance, it is historic and romantic,replica oyster datejust rolex, and features major, exceptional pieces of jewellery by Cartier who were the 'King of Jewellers, Jewellers to Kings'. You can't get better examples of this kind of jewellery."
While Tuesday's sale of "Exceptional Jewels and Precious Objects formerly in the collection of The Duchess of Windsor", also contains items such as cufflinks, buttons and medals belonging to Edward in his early life, the jewels commissioned and exchanged by the king and his mistress turned wife are likely to generate the most interest. The gem set and diamond cross bracelet by Cartier, is probably the most intimate piece, with each cross bearing an inscription marking a critical point in the couple's lives. One, reading "God save the King For Wallis", refers to an assassination attempt on Edward, another records Simpson's appendectomy. Another, with the words "The Kings [sic] Cross" marks the time in 1936 that, after a heated argument, Simpson hailed a taxi and said "King's Cross" to the driver. "I'm sorry lady," he replied. Perhaps the most remarkable item from a historical point of view is a gold and gem set cigarette case given to Edward (or David as she called him) by Wallis for Christmas in 1935. On the lid is a map of Europe which shows holiday voyages made by Edward and his guests including Wallis Simpson in 1934, 1935 and 1936. The final holiday, taken in the summer of 1936, would have been marked on the case after Wallis had presented her lover with the gift. It is particularly poignant because in 1936 he made the historic decision to abdicate; it was during the cruise around the Mediterranean that the couple's relationship started to come out into the open after being reported in the international press.
Wallis Simpson was a style icon, thanks to her unswervingly simple and immaculate take on fashion. She was rigidly disciplined about what she wore and about her figure; to maintain the lean frame necessary for the sleek silhouette she favoured, it is said she would subsist on very little food if she felt she had gained weight. She was a mistress of self invention and image, and it's hardly surprising that Madonna is making a film about her (WE, after Wallis and Edward, slated for release next year). Simpson's severe clothes provided the perfect foil for extravagant jewellery, and in 1936 as the love affair was about to reach boiling point, the society chronicler Henry "Chips" Channon wrote that "Mrs Simpson was literally smothered in rubies."
There's certainly nothing subtle about her taste in rocks, which seems to have become increasingly opulent throughout her life. One of the standout pieces of the sale and one that became a familiar motif from the 1987 auction is a ruby, sapphire, emerald, citrine and diamond flamingo clip, mounted by Cartier in Paris in 1940. In order to make the jewel, the Duchess had several of her pieces unmounted so the stones could be reused; she did this frequently, and even had jewels reset that previously belonged to Queen Alexandra. Encouraged by the Duke, the avant garde statement was designed by Cartier's high jewellery director Jeanne Toussaint (the designer behind Cartier's Great Cat jewels, who was known by Louis Cartier as panthre) and designer Peter Lemarchand.
Another notable animal inspired piece is the onyx and diamond panther bracelet, designed in 1952, by Toussaint and Lemarchand. When I visited Sotheby's to preview the collection, Alexandra Rhodes, of Sotheby's International Jewellery Department, took it out of the glass and placed it on my wrist, explaining that Lemarchand would sketch the big cats at the zoo in Vincennes in France, in order to make his designs as lifelike as possible. Its impressive miniature engineering the articulated body enables the cat to lie sleekly over the wrist, its paw stretching outwards conveys a powerful sensuality. Run your fingers across the pav diamonds along its back and you can feel the animal's musculature. By 1952, however, the message is more like here is the cat that got the cream.
At least that's what it looked like on the surface. Perhaps, however, these later jewels tell the story not only of passion, but of excess and an obsession with style borne of lack of purpose. In her 1988 book The Windsor Style, Suzy Menkes reveals the underlying shallowness of the couple's life in exile in their lavishly decorated home in Paris. She repeats a line spoken by Edward VIII to a friend, in which he says: "You know what my day was today? I got up late and then I went with the Duchess and watched her buy a hat." It captures the rather empty pursuit of style that characterised their days. The Duchess declared that she "would rather shop than eat", and spent much of her time being fitted for couture dresses. In Menkes' book, the Duchess of Marlborough, one of the couple's social circle, is quoted as saying, "I went to look at the flowers at [the Duchess's funeral]. It was tragic. They were all from dressmakers, jewellers, Dior, Van Cleef, Alexandre. Those people were her life."
Of course this was over a decade after the Duke of Windsor had died, and the Duchess was left a widow, and few lives can live up to the unfading, eternal lustre of diamonds,replica mens rolex oyster perpetual datejust watch, sapphires and rubies. Despite the more nuanced reality behind the image, and the fact that the Duke was already disillusioned with the duties associated with being king when the romance blossomed, what these jewels will be associated most with is a love affair powerful enough to make a king give up an empire. That's what will bring down the hammer at Sotheby's tonight.
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One of Wallis Simpson's most famous sayings was that "You can never be too rich or too thin," and she could well have extended the aphorism to say . "or have too much bling." The stylish American for whom King Edward VIII gave up his throne had another epic love affair: with jewellery. Yet her baubles were more than just expensive adornments. Through them, history, fashion and romance are perfectly combined and preserved forever.
In the opinion of David Bennett, Chairman of Sotheby's Jewellery in Europe and the Middle East, Simpson's jewels are "the most important jewellery collection put together in the 20th century". When her collection was first sold by Sotheby's in 1987, the year after the Duchess of Windsor died (the sale was announced on 12 December 1986, exactly 50 years after the abdication), the auction held in Geneva caused a huge wave of interest. It eventually raised $50m (31m) and set a new world record for a single owner jewellery collection.
Today, 20 pieces bought from the original collection will be sold at Sotheby's, and are estimated to reach in the region of 3m. If the $43m difference between the estimate and the final figures for the 1987 sale are anything to go by, today's auction will raise considerably more than the estimate. While buying baubles at this level is the preserve of the super rich, it continues to fascinate a much wider group of people. Jewellery remains the most potent symbol of extreme emotions; of passion, faith, hope, power and greed. As Richard Edgecumbe, jewellery curator at the V told me when the museum opened a new jewellery gallery two and a half years ago: "Jewels are a potent link with the past, a celebration of art and craftsmanship, and an embodiment of deep human emotions."
You only have to look at the interest around Prince William giving Kate Middleton his mother's engagement ring to see how charged with symbolism jewellery is. While clothes, shoes and bags receive far more attention in fashion terms because they are affordable and renewed more frequently, speculation about the royal meringue is so far secondary to the royal rock. Prince William said he proposed with Princess Diana's ring, "to make sure my mother did not miss out on today and the excitement that we are going to spend the rest of our lives together". To some the gesture will seem moving and optimistic,replica oyster rolex datejust, others will be unable to shake off the sense that the ring is associated with some rather bad karma, given the failure of his parents' marriage. The unhappy saga doesn't seem to have deterred consumers from wanting their own take on Princess Diana's sapphire and diamond ring, however, as the high street jeweller H Samuel reports a 150 per cent increase in searches for sapphires on its website, along with a 400 per cent increase in searches specifically for sapphire rings. Engagement rings are charged with not just luck but etiquette when Nicolas Sarkozy proposed to Carla Bruni with the same model of Dior ring he had given to his previous wife towards the end of the marriage, it was seen as a considerable faux pas.
Many believe jewels go far beyond mere protocol and that they can be good luck talismans, or cursed stones. As the private jeweller and Cartier expert Harry Fane, who owns the Obsidian gallery in London, puts it, "they have to be more than just rocks". The Hope diamond is the most legendary example of a stone deemed deeply unlucky, and unless you are entirely immune to superstition, the chain of ill fortune which has followed it seems convincingly dramatic. Believed to hail from the Kollur mine near Golconda in India, legend has it that the deep blue, 112 carat, golf ball sized stone was taken from the brow of a temple idol by the French merchant traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier in the 1660s. From then until 1958 when it was donated to the Smithsonian museum in Washington by jeweller Harry Winston, who sent it in a plain brown package by registered mail it was associated with the premature death, madness, suicide and murder of many who possessed it, or their loved ones.
The Hope diamond is an extreme example of a stone,rolex datejust 2 replica, but a mix of attitudes towards buying pre owned jewellery prevails among high end collectors. According to Harry Fane, there are three main approaches to provenance. He says there are certain people who simply don't want to buy jewellery that has belonged to someone else; those who aren't concerned either way and will just invest in a piece because they like it, and those for whom the story behind a jewel, and in particular telling that story, will be more important than the piece itself.
According to Fane, in the Sotheby's sale "there is a synergy of all these elements. The collection has an extraordinary provenance, it is historic and romantic,replica oyster datejust rolex, and features major, exceptional pieces of jewellery by Cartier who were the 'King of Jewellers, Jewellers to Kings'. You can't get better examples of this kind of jewellery."
While Tuesday's sale of "Exceptional Jewels and Precious Objects formerly in the collection of The Duchess of Windsor", also contains items such as cufflinks, buttons and medals belonging to Edward in his early life, the jewels commissioned and exchanged by the king and his mistress turned wife are likely to generate the most interest. The gem set and diamond cross bracelet by Cartier, is probably the most intimate piece, with each cross bearing an inscription marking a critical point in the couple's lives. One, reading "God save the King For Wallis", refers to an assassination attempt on Edward, another records Simpson's appendectomy. Another, with the words "The Kings [sic] Cross" marks the time in 1936 that, after a heated argument, Simpson hailed a taxi and said "King's Cross" to the driver. "I'm sorry lady," he replied. Perhaps the most remarkable item from a historical point of view is a gold and gem set cigarette case given to Edward (or David as she called him) by Wallis for Christmas in 1935. On the lid is a map of Europe which shows holiday voyages made by Edward and his guests including Wallis Simpson in 1934, 1935 and 1936. The final holiday, taken in the summer of 1936, would have been marked on the case after Wallis had presented her lover with the gift. It is particularly poignant because in 1936 he made the historic decision to abdicate; it was during the cruise around the Mediterranean that the couple's relationship started to come out into the open after being reported in the international press.
Wallis Simpson was a style icon, thanks to her unswervingly simple and immaculate take on fashion. She was rigidly disciplined about what she wore and about her figure; to maintain the lean frame necessary for the sleek silhouette she favoured, it is said she would subsist on very little food if she felt she had gained weight. She was a mistress of self invention and image, and it's hardly surprising that Madonna is making a film about her (WE, after Wallis and Edward, slated for release next year). Simpson's severe clothes provided the perfect foil for extravagant jewellery, and in 1936 as the love affair was about to reach boiling point, the society chronicler Henry "Chips" Channon wrote that "Mrs Simpson was literally smothered in rubies."
There's certainly nothing subtle about her taste in rocks, which seems to have become increasingly opulent throughout her life. One of the standout pieces of the sale and one that became a familiar motif from the 1987 auction is a ruby, sapphire, emerald, citrine and diamond flamingo clip, mounted by Cartier in Paris in 1940. In order to make the jewel, the Duchess had several of her pieces unmounted so the stones could be reused; she did this frequently, and even had jewels reset that previously belonged to Queen Alexandra. Encouraged by the Duke, the avant garde statement was designed by Cartier's high jewellery director Jeanne Toussaint (the designer behind Cartier's Great Cat jewels, who was known by Louis Cartier as panthre) and designer Peter Lemarchand.
Another notable animal inspired piece is the onyx and diamond panther bracelet, designed in 1952, by Toussaint and Lemarchand. When I visited Sotheby's to preview the collection, Alexandra Rhodes, of Sotheby's International Jewellery Department, took it out of the glass and placed it on my wrist, explaining that Lemarchand would sketch the big cats at the zoo in Vincennes in France, in order to make his designs as lifelike as possible. Its impressive miniature engineering the articulated body enables the cat to lie sleekly over the wrist, its paw stretching outwards conveys a powerful sensuality. Run your fingers across the pav diamonds along its back and you can feel the animal's musculature. By 1952, however, the message is more like here is the cat that got the cream.
At least that's what it looked like on the surface. Perhaps, however, these later jewels tell the story not only of passion, but of excess and an obsession with style borne of lack of purpose. In her 1988 book The Windsor Style, Suzy Menkes reveals the underlying shallowness of the couple's life in exile in their lavishly decorated home in Paris. She repeats a line spoken by Edward VIII to a friend, in which he says: "You know what my day was today? I got up late and then I went with the Duchess and watched her buy a hat." It captures the rather empty pursuit of style that characterised their days. The Duchess declared that she "would rather shop than eat", and spent much of her time being fitted for couture dresses. In Menkes' book, the Duchess of Marlborough, one of the couple's social circle, is quoted as saying, "I went to look at the flowers at [the Duchess's funeral]. It was tragic. They were all from dressmakers, jewellers, Dior, Van Cleef, Alexandre. Those people were her life."
Of course this was over a decade after the Duke of Windsor had died, and the Duchess was left a widow, and few lives can live up to the unfading, eternal lustre of diamonds,replica mens rolex oyster perpetual datejust watch, sapphires and rubies. Despite the more nuanced reality behind the image, and the fact that the Duke was already disillusioned with the duties associated with being king when the romance blossomed, what these jewels will be associated most with is a love affair powerful enough to make a king give up an empire. That's what will bring down the hammer at Sotheby's tonight.
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Weird Choice Of Ice Cream Van Chimes Archive,replica rolex oyster perpetual datejust stainless steel
I work in an office near Campo Lane and can report that the van that plays The Good The Bad and The Ugly is alive and well heard it a couple of weeks ago. Top quality.Yep I've heard it too. I work near the Novotel, we used to hear The Good, The Bad and The Ugly van every afternoon at 3pm. It used to make us giggle in the office. Ice Cream Vans are brill. I love the quirky little tunes they play. I hope they never get rid of them, they're so distinctive to British life. Never actualy seen the van though does it actually exist or is it just a ghostly tune from nowhere!Come to think of it,replica used rolex datejust, no, nobody has seen it. I think you could be right, it is a ghost ice cream van. Pity, my Dad could have helped to man it, people have said that he resembles Lee Van Cleef around the eyes. If it is a ghost, I think we should get in touch with Derek Acorah and Yvette Fielding,replica rolex oyster perpetual datejust blue face, let them do some investigating!!I was wondering if any of the readers remembers Jeff Simmons? He used to be an ice cream man in the Upperthorpe area; to this day I can vividly remember his multicolored van trundling down the road chiming out a reggae infused version of the theme from Grange Hill.Jeff and I became firm friends and had been kicking around the idea of making meat based drinks and deserts for several months. One evening he called and said that he had to talk to me, he was insistent so we met later that night. Jeff also worked as a catering assistant but had been made redundant however, he had been given a fair amount in redundancy pay and wanted to use this money to get the business up and running. So I decided to throw in my wife's savings and join him as an equal partner.The next couple of months were spent in a rented garage perfecting recipes for our new product line. We also worked on package designs and distribution. I remember as we walked home at night we'd fantasize about how rich and famous we'd become it was quite a magical time for both of us.Within three months we had a full product range (Brilliant Bovine Blancmange, Luscious Lamb Lemonade, Terrific Trout Tiramisu, Chili Cod Coffee and Pork Jelly Tartlets) all with colorful recyclable packaging that featured whimsical illustrations of Cows, Sheep and Pigs participating in various racket sports.Jeff started selling our creations from his ice cream van, business was slow to start with but soon picked up. Production had to be moved to larger premises and within months we had a fleet of ice cream vans selling our puddings and drinks across Sheffield. Fates cruel brush on the easel of life painted an odd picture for us,replica rolex lady datejust, and within a couple of years we were simply making management decisions and dreaming up new recipes. Jeff longed for the simple life of selling ice cream and my wife wanted her savings back, so we decided to sell the business on and return to simpler lives of quiet contemplation and reflection. As he plucked away he can hardly have imagined that 50 years later that very same tune would be used to irritate me in my garden all afternoon as the chime for a ice cream van.
I work in an office near Campo Lane and can report that the van that plays The Good The Bad and The Ugly is alive and well heard it a couple of weeks ago. Top quality.Yep I've heard it too. I work near the Novotel, we used to hear The Good, The Bad and The Ugly van every afternoon at 3pm. It used to make us giggle in the office. Ice Cream Vans are brill. I love the quirky little tunes they play. I hope they never get rid of them, they're so distinctive to British life. Never actualy seen the van though does it actually exist or is it just a ghostly tune from nowhere!Come to think of it,replica used rolex datejust, no, nobody has seen it. I think you could be right, it is a ghost ice cream van. Pity, my Dad could have helped to man it, people have said that he resembles Lee Van Cleef around the eyes. If it is a ghost, I think we should get in touch with Derek Acorah and Yvette Fielding,replica rolex oyster perpetual datejust blue face, let them do some investigating!!I was wondering if any of the readers remembers Jeff Simmons? He used to be an ice cream man in the Upperthorpe area; to this day I can vividly remember his multicolored van trundling down the road chiming out a reggae infused version of the theme from Grange Hill.Jeff and I became firm friends and had been kicking around the idea of making meat based drinks and deserts for several months. One evening he called and said that he had to talk to me, he was insistent so we met later that night. Jeff also worked as a catering assistant but had been made redundant however, he had been given a fair amount in redundancy pay and wanted to use this money to get the business up and running. So I decided to throw in my wife's savings and join him as an equal partner.The next couple of months were spent in a rented garage perfecting recipes for our new product line. We also worked on package designs and distribution. I remember as we walked home at night we'd fantasize about how rich and famous we'd become it was quite a magical time for both of us.Within three months we had a full product range (Brilliant Bovine Blancmange, Luscious Lamb Lemonade, Terrific Trout Tiramisu, Chili Cod Coffee and Pork Jelly Tartlets) all with colorful recyclable packaging that featured whimsical illustrations of Cows, Sheep and Pigs participating in various racket sports.Jeff started selling our creations from his ice cream van, business was slow to start with but soon picked up. Production had to be moved to larger premises and within months we had a fleet of ice cream vans selling our puddings and drinks across Sheffield. Fates cruel brush on the easel of life painted an odd picture for us,replica rolex lady datejust, and within a couple of years we were simply making management decisions and dreaming up new recipes. Jeff longed for the simple life of selling ice cream and my wife wanted her savings back, so we decided to sell the business on and return to simpler lives of quiet contemplation and reflection. As he plucked away he can hardly have imagined that 50 years later that very same tune would be used to irritate me in my garden all afternoon as the chime for a ice cream van.
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For Oscar de la Renta, we have a new scent for women under development for a launch in the spring. Madar concluded, addition
to growing our business by launching new fragrances and rolling them out into new markets, we are equally committed to supporting
our established fragrances,replica rolex datejust watch, especially bestsellers,rolex oyster perpetual lady datejust replica, with major advertising and promotion campaigns. Dupont and Van Cleef Arpels. The fragrance products developed,
produced and distributed by Inter Parfums are sold in more than 100 countries throughout the world,the oyster perpetual datejust replica.
Statements in this release which are not
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Clothes Circuit
Red carpet style has become too safe. With all eyes focused on how they look entering an awards ceremony, actors fear taking risks. So when they do, it a treat.You might have hated Cody flowing animal print gown, her tattoo and skull and crossbones earrings, but at least she wasn borrowing diamonds from Harry Winston. (Not that we know of anyway the jewelry companies are polished at sending out press release).We also think Cotillard deserves an award for wearing that whilte mermaid gown from Jean Paul Gaultier. Admittedly, had it not been on her figure, with that perfect hair and makeup to go along with it,replica ladies rolex oyster perpetual datejust, we might not have given it such high marks, but there was nothing to fault here.And as for Swinton draped velvet Alber Elbaz dress, we first thought they had stitched it in too much of a hurry and forgot one sleeve. Most of the one shoulder looks on the red carpet were sexy; this one just looked odd. But with her cropped hair, minimal makeup and lack of jewelry, Swinton was making a statment and even though not eveyrone could pull this off, it suited her. In a navy blue Prada four button tuxedo and navy silk tie, Bardem also sported the perfect facial stubble and yes,replica rolex oyster perpetual datejust value, good hair.Also cutting fine figures at the Oscars were Patrick Dempsey in Versace , Duane Rock Johnson in a shawl colloard Versace tuxedo and George Clooney in Giorgio Armani.Viggo Mortensen can always be counted on for something different, and his long coat was both fashion forward and beautifully cut. Ditto for Spike Lee, in his white coat and trilby.We weren as impressed with Daniel Day Lewis. His shawl collared tux was cool, but did he really wear gold hoop earrings?Hollywood was seeing red Sunday night as its leading ladies wore crimson and garnet, rose and ruby to the Academy Awards. Conventional wisdom might say that red would blend in with that endless red carpet, but it didn keep acresses from choosing it. We counted at least a half dozen Katherine Heigl, Anne Hathaway, Heidi Klum,rolex oyster perpetual datejust mens replica, Miley Cyrus, Ruby Dee and Helen Mirren in red frocks. And deeper shades were worn elegantly by Julie Christie (in short!) and Jessica Alba.Black was the other red carpet standout, from Jennifer Garner Oscar de la Renta gown (what a background for all those vintage Van Cleef Arpels diamonds!) to Hillary Swank floral appliqued Versace. Also in black were Nicole Kidman (her diamondl necklace had a huge wow factor),replica rolex gold oyster perpetual datejust, Penelope Cruz and Laura Linney. On first glance, Amy Ryan Calvin Klein dress looked black, but it was actually midnight blue silk chiffon.As for trends, one shoulder looks made a big impression and are universally flattering, as long as you have perfect shoulders and long lean arms, that is.
Red carpet style has become too safe. With all eyes focused on how they look entering an awards ceremony, actors fear taking risks. So when they do, it a treat.You might have hated Cody flowing animal print gown, her tattoo and skull and crossbones earrings, but at least she wasn borrowing diamonds from Harry Winston. (Not that we know of anyway the jewelry companies are polished at sending out press release).We also think Cotillard deserves an award for wearing that whilte mermaid gown from Jean Paul Gaultier. Admittedly, had it not been on her figure, with that perfect hair and makeup to go along with it,replica ladies rolex oyster perpetual datejust, we might not have given it such high marks, but there was nothing to fault here.And as for Swinton draped velvet Alber Elbaz dress, we first thought they had stitched it in too much of a hurry and forgot one sleeve. Most of the one shoulder looks on the red carpet were sexy; this one just looked odd. But with her cropped hair, minimal makeup and lack of jewelry, Swinton was making a statment and even though not eveyrone could pull this off, it suited her. In a navy blue Prada four button tuxedo and navy silk tie, Bardem also sported the perfect facial stubble and yes,replica rolex oyster perpetual datejust value, good hair.Also cutting fine figures at the Oscars were Patrick Dempsey in Versace , Duane Rock Johnson in a shawl colloard Versace tuxedo and George Clooney in Giorgio Armani.Viggo Mortensen can always be counted on for something different, and his long coat was both fashion forward and beautifully cut. Ditto for Spike Lee, in his white coat and trilby.We weren as impressed with Daniel Day Lewis. His shawl collared tux was cool, but did he really wear gold hoop earrings?Hollywood was seeing red Sunday night as its leading ladies wore crimson and garnet, rose and ruby to the Academy Awards. Conventional wisdom might say that red would blend in with that endless red carpet, but it didn keep acresses from choosing it. We counted at least a half dozen Katherine Heigl, Anne Hathaway, Heidi Klum,rolex oyster perpetual datejust mens replica, Miley Cyrus, Ruby Dee and Helen Mirren in red frocks. And deeper shades were worn elegantly by Julie Christie (in short!) and Jessica Alba.Black was the other red carpet standout, from Jennifer Garner Oscar de la Renta gown (what a background for all those vintage Van Cleef Arpels diamonds!) to Hillary Swank floral appliqued Versace. Also in black were Nicole Kidman (her diamondl necklace had a huge wow factor),replica rolex gold oyster perpetual datejust, Penelope Cruz and Laura Linney. On first glance, Amy Ryan Calvin Klein dress looked black, but it was actually midnight blue silk chiffon.As for trends, one shoulder looks made a big impression and are universally flattering, as long as you have perfect shoulders and long lean arms, that is.