Jewelry PR Division

A favorite line of accessories editors the world around is "and then take one piece" off referring to the rule of removing one piece of jewelry after you are fully dressed and prepared for the day.

Of course another editor tip through the ages has been stretching a wardrobe of basics through clever jewelry usage. But if you are instructed to constantly downsize your accessorising options for day is it possible that you need a wardrobe of jewelry basics too?

Given the classic popularity of a string of pearls, diamond stud earrings, and the tennis bracelet it seems that jewelry lovers the world over agree. This makes discovering the right pieces of jewelry for your even more critical. Even the classics make different statements. Pearls make any outfit more conservative whereas a diamond stud is a classic touch that ups the elegance factor on any outfit. The same principles of choosing basics in clothing applies to jewelry.

But remember even when the editors appear to know better than we mere mortals do it can be good to break the law sometimes and throw it all on. You can always take a few pieces off at the end of the night. That is still technically following the laws of accessorising right?

There is no industry that appreciates an ugly duckling story more than fashion. In a business that banks on miraculous outward transformations for the "inwardly" beautiful nothing is better than a good makeover story. ABC is counting on just this type of appeal with their new show Ugly Betty.

In the superficial world of high fashion, image is everything. Styles come and go, and the only constants are the superthin beauties who wear them. How can an ordinary girl – a slightly plump plain-Jane from Queens – possibly fit in?

And of course the last time fashion magazines were used as a backdrop for this premise in The Devil Wears Prada there were plenty of cool product-tie ins to help all of the plain Janes watching feel like they were part of the miracle of fashion makeovers. The Hobo bag designed by stylist Patricia Field that was sported by Andrea Saches sold out within days.

For jewelry fanatics Ugly Betty offers a similar promise of cool by association with the big "B" necklace worn by Betty Saurez

You can buy it at the clever Enlightenment Through Shopping and feel just a little bit closer to makeover nirvana yourself.

The GIA or Gemological Institute of America is the world’s largest and most respected nonprofit institute of gemological research and learning.

Each year it sponsors the Schuetz Design Competition to honor the best in men's jewelry design in honor of the late men's jewelry designer George A. Schuetz.

Top jewelry blog Modern Jewelry has a full report on this year's winner.

Gopal Roy, an India-based jewelry designer has won th Schuetz Design Competition with his entry of men’s jewelry design. Roy’s winning entry features two white gold rings joined with yellow gold bars capped by bezel-set round diamonds. The center stone is an Asscher-cut ruby with two long diamond baguettes set on each side. The contest was organized by Gemological Institute of America, and the winner received a $500 prize and a trophy.

STORM Watches is a proud sponsor of this year's EMA's, MTV's European Music Awards has especially commissioned 4 Unique Limited Edition watches that will be your access all areas pass to the legendary MTV Europe Music Awards 2006, being held in the Scandinavian party town of Copenhagen on November 2nd.

You will get the full VIP treatment at the pre-party and then get to see the main event itself, where some of the biggest names in music are performing. Finish the night off in style dancing until the early hours at the VIP after show party.

To enter the competition you must be 18 or over. Competition closing date 14th October 2006.

Please read The Terms & Conditions and enter to win!

Who says that chemistry is just for geeks? DuPont has certainly done its part to make our lives better accessorized through chemistry.

The chemical giant gave the world Lucite which became a popular material for decorative jewelry Post-World War II.

Lucite® methyl methacrylate polymer was among the first plastics derived from petrochemicals. DuPont chemists discovered Lucite® in 1931 while exploring the high-pressure technology developed for ammonia production. The polymer’s crystal-clear appearance and its strength were far superior to nitrocellulose-based plastics. Lucite® was in heavy demand during World War II for use in windshields, nose cones, and gunner turrets for bombers and fighter planes. After the war, DuPont marketed it for use in a variety of decorative and functional uses, such as lamps, hairbrushes and jewelry.

Sadly Lucite is no longer being manufactured (though it lives on through Rohm & Haas Chemical Company's trademarked http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymethyl_methacrylatePlexiglas which is an identical chemical compound). But for for Americana lovers there is still hope. Circa Sixty Three
is here to save the day.

The collection is made from uncirculated vintage Lucite, brass and 24k gold plate. Lucite, which was manufactured from the 1950s – 1970s, has recently become a sought-after item – designer Danielle Insetta is showing the line in Paris right now at the W Workshop fashion show. She started Circa Sixty Three in 2005 when she left her career on Wall Street to make jewelry after falling in love with vintage plastics she found at a Paris flea market.

Collectors and jewelers snapped up more than 380 rare jewels at Christie's this week, making it the auction house's largest jewelry sales week in America in 15 years.

The top lot of the week was a 51.08-carat rectangular-cut D-color VVS1-clarity diamond set in an 18-karat white gold ring, which was sold at the Magnificent Jewels auction on Oct. 10 to a private European buyer for $3.15 million, or $61,700 per carat.

The next top lot of the week was a 22.63-carat marquise-cut D-color internally flawless diamond set in a platinum ring, which was sold at the Magnificent Jewels auction to a private American buyer for $1.75 million, or $77,420 per carat.

In addition to the Magnificent Jewels auction, Christie's hosted three other jewelry auctions this week: Magnificent Jewels from the Collection of Ellen Barkin on Oct.10, An Exceptional Collection of Art Nouveau Jewels on Oct. 11 and Van Cleef and Arpels: A Centennial Tribute Part I on Oct. 11.

Ellen's Wedding Ring

Ellen Barkin's jewelry, more than 100 pieces that included her wedding ring from her marriage to Revlon billionaire Ron Perelman, has fetched $20.3 million at auction. A hush came over the packed Christie's sales room Tuesday evening when the auctioneer announced the sale of the ring, a wide band set with four rows of bell-cut diamonds topped in 18-carat gold.

It sold for $130,000, surpassing a presale estimate of $50,000. The auction house did not disclose the buyer's name. Among the other 103 lots, ranging from period jewels and gemstones, a 22.76-carat diamond ring was purchased by a private American collector for $1.8 million - the highest price of the night.

Arab and Israeli diamond traders are touting Dubai as the first forum for Arab-Jewish cooperation in decades, but others say the Arab Emirate is eyeing a share of the lucrative Jewish-dominated diamond trade.

As Israelis and Arabs emerge from the war in Lebanon, a booming diamond exchange in this Arab country 1,300 miles away is hard proof that some Arab-Israeli ties have survived despite the region's tensions.

The two-year-old Dubai Diamond Exchange has put the Gulf emirate squarely inside a global business dominated by Jewish traders. And that, inevitably, means trade ties with Israel, another world diamond hub.

"There has been no visible platform for Arab-Jewish cooperation since the 1960s," said Chantal Abboud, Beirut-based representative of Antwerp's diamond industry in the Middle East. "Now, Dubai has created it."

Israeli Diamond Exchange president Avi Paz says diamonds and hospitality flow freely between Israel and Dubai.