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Diamond Engagement Ring
Dear Whiteflash Sales Team,
The diamond ring is absolutely gorgeous. I took to appraise for insurance purposes to a jewelry shop and it outshined every stone in the store. I love it!!
Thank you,
Inna
Milus TriRetrograde watch
The Milus TriRetrograde watch and movement is really the novelty that put the watch maker back on the map a few years ago. Their latest creation using the unique triple retrograde seconds counters is this lady’s Merea TriRetrograpde Seconds Skeleton Joaillerie timepiece. This watch does not frame the TriRetrograde complication as much as past Milus watches have, though the fun-to-watch novelty that counts each minute in three retrograde counters of 20 seconds each is still there. The dial is partially skeletonized with decorated rose gold bridges and perlage polished steel below. The case in rose gold makes interesting use of diamond and ruby jewel decoration that has the look of the dial extend on to the bezel. Inside the watch is the automatic movement unique to Milus, and attached to the timepiece is a red stingray leather strap. I do enjoy the “barbell” style lugs. Definitely a standout watch that is hard to miss. Not for everyone’s tastes but enough people will be smitten.
Graduation Gifts at Whiteflash.com
Whiteflash.com, a leading online retailer of designer jewelry, offers a range of jewelry styles for every taste and budget this graduation gift-giving season. Gold or platinum, with precious or semi-precious stones, a gift from Whiteflash’s selection of uniquely designed fine jewelry makes a memorable keepsake for years to come. The value of precious metals makes jewelry a desirable gift as well as a sound investment.
The graduation ceremony symbolizes a rewarding personal and professional achievement that results from hard work and dedication. Such a special occasion merits a celebratory gift that is both beautiful to wear and something that the recipient will cherish. Gift givers can count on us to deliver the high quality and service of a fine jeweler, with convenience and competitive pricing available only online. Adorn that special graduate with a beautiful diamond pendant or coronate her with diamond studs.
Whiteflash specializes in all types of jewelry — whatever the style, we have it all. From traditional diamond jewelry to trendy fashion jewelry, Whiteflash carries only the best selection of women’s jewelry and men’s jewelry, at the most competitive prices.
The finest collection of jewelry available to the public is also backed by Whiteflash’s incomparable experience rooted in the fine jewelry industry. As a customer-focused company, we strive to bring the highest quality products directly to consumers to ensure their satisfaction is exceeded.
The History of Engagement Rings
The engagement ring that symbolizes the eternal love of two people who have pledged to join together in marriage actually dates back to the 15th century.
One of the first recorded accounts of an engagement ring was in 1477 when Archduke Maximilian of Austria presented Mary of Burgundy with a diamond ring. Maximilian wed Mary within 24 hours, thus beginning a tradition that has spanned centuries.
Although diamonds were reserved for royalty and the wealthy for the next 400 years, it wasn’t until 1870, with the discovery of the diamond mines in South Africa, that these gems became more accessible and affordable to the public.
Since that first engagement, the betrothal ring has a rich history of change.
- The tradition of placing both the engagement ring and wedding band on the fourth finger of the left hand stems from a Greek belief that a certain vein in that finger, the vena amoris, runs directly to the heart.
- Posy rings, which were inscribed with love poems and messages, were popular betrothal rings from the Middle Ages until Victorian times.
- The smallest engagement ring on record was given to two-year-old Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, on the event of her betrothal to the infant Dauphin of France, son of King Francis I, in 1518. Mary’s tiny gold ring was set with a diamond.
- Hearts were favorite motifs for engagement and wedding rings during the 17th and 18th centuries. These rings often used rubies (signifying love) and diamonds (signifying eternity).
- Colored stones were the gem of choice for engagement rings in the 18th and 19th centuries.
- The Tiffany, or solitaire, setting was introduced in the late 19th century.
- The “princess ring,” sporting three to five large diamonds in a row across the top, was fashionable in the United States in the early 20th century. The three-stone style is extremely popular today.
- In the early part of the 20th century, platinum was the metal of choice for engagement rings because of its strength and durability in holding a diamond. However, platinum was declared a strategic metal during World War II, and its usage was restricted to military purposes. This led to the rise of both yellow and white gold in bridal jewelry. During the past 10 years, platinum has made a dramatic comeback.
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Rappers who drape themselves in gold and diamond ‘bling’ have been forced to buy imitation jewelry as the recession hits their spending power.
Hip-hop artists have even started to taunt each other over the trend, as they increasingly turn to cheaper metals or fake reproductions, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Jason Arasheben, a leading jeweler in Beverly Hills, told the US newspaper: “A lot of these rappers simply don’t have the money for real stuff anymore.
“It’s to the point where they are wearing imitation jewelry, and that’s ridiculous.”
After years of starring in rap-music lyrics and videos, “bling” is losing its ring.
The recession is cramping the style of hip-hop artists and wannabes — many of whom are finding it difficult to afford the diamond-encrusted pendants and heavy gold chains they have long used to project an aura of outsized wealth.
In an attempt to keep up appearances, celebrity jewelers say rappers are asking them to make medallions with less-precious stones and metals. Some even whisper that the artists have begun requesting cubic zirconia, the synthetic diamond stand-in and QVC staple.
Hip-hop luminaries with the cash to keep it real are appalled. Bling aficionados fret that the art of “ice” is being watered down.
Rapper 50 Cent has relished the chance to accuse his musical adversaries of not glittering like gold. During a radio interview, the artist, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, taunted rapper Rick Ross for wearing faux and rented jewelry. “Everything that you see has to absolutely be fake,” said Mr. Jackson. Rick Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts II, has denied the claims. Mr. Jackson didn’t return requests for comment.
“A lot of these rappers simply don’t have the money for real stuff anymore,” says Jason Arasheben, who crafts custom jewelry for wealthy clientele, including Saudi royals and Hollywood movie stars, at his California boutique called Jason of Beverly Hills. “It’s to the point where they are wearing imitation jewelry, and that’s ridiculous.”
Mr. Arasheben designed the colossus of hip-hop jewels three years ago for rapper Lil Jon: an enormous gold necklace that spells out “CRUNK AIN’T DEAD” with 3,756 round-cut white diamonds (Crunk is a southern rap subgenre that Lil Jon — real name, Jonathan Mortimer Smith — has struggled to keep alive). The neck-straining piece, which weighs more than five pounds, was recognized in 2007 by Guinness World Records as the largest diamond pendant on Earth.
‘Big, Chintzy Junk’
He also fashioned a pendant in the image of headphones bedecked in black and white diamonds a few years ago for rapper Biz Markie, whose whimsical jewelry hailed from a less self-conscious era in rap. The rapper — whose real name is Marcel Theo Hall — says he is saddened to see newer rappers favor big, chintzy junk over smaller jewels that illuminate personality.
“When I was wearing a big rope, it was a symbol that I was one of the elite,” says Mr. Hall, whose 1990 hit “Just a Friend” is enjoying a renaissance on iTunes after being featured in a Heineken beer television ad. “These kids think size matters, but they be lyin’. It just makes them look silly.”
Both Mr. Smith and Mr. Hall had planned to sell their pieces for charity last fall in an auction titled “Hip Hop’s Crown Jewels.” But in a sign of bling’s fading shine, Phillips de Pury & Co. postponed the auction to March and then canceled it altogether due partly to insufficient interest from buyers.
From the dawn of rap music three decades ago, hip-hop artists have festooned themselves with gaudy ornaments to signify that they have risen above humble origins to become ghetto royalty.
English-American trailblazer Slick Rick sported a diamond-studded eye patch, portraying himself as the “Black Liberace,” while the three members of Queens, N.Y.-based Run-D.M.C. rocked gold rope chains that seemed thick enough to hold a real anchor.
To be sure, phony or inferior ice has been around as long as rappers’ traditional standard gear of two-turntables-and-a-microphone. But with Internet piracy cutting into musicians’ record sales and the recession shrinking attendance for live shows, jewelers say the ersatz stuff has never been more widespread.
Crunk Aint Dead
“Times are hard, ain’t nobody rocking it like that anymore,” says rapper and record executive Bryan “Birdman” Williams, who co-founded Cash Money Records in New Orleans in the early 1990s with his brother, Ronald “Slim” Williams. The independent label has sold more than 45 million albums.
The founders of the record label claim that its most famous artist, Lil Wayne, coined the term “bling” during a recording session to give a sound to blinding opulence. The word entered popular usage after the hit “Bling Bling” by then Cash Money artist B.G. and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003.
‘D-Quality Diamonds’
“People think these big pieces are blindin’ but they be like D-quality diamonds, and when you try and sell them you learn they ain’t worth a thing,” says Slim Williams. “You can’t be doing it like we did it no more.”
In humid Houston, a Southern rap capital renowned as a mecca of ice, jeweler Johnny Dang says he is adapting to the changing climate by giving customers the less-expensive jewelry they want.
“The look is still big, it is still bling, but people are going with smaller diamonds and lower-karat gold,” trading down from 18- and 14-karat alloys to 12k, which is only 50% gold, or less, says Mr. Dang. A Vietnamese immigrant, he started out at flea markets and now has a shop in the tony Galleria mall next to Neiman Marcus.
To survive, Mr. Dang is relying more often on machine-made versions of his jewelry that can cut the cost of a $10,000 handcrafted pendant in half.
Mr. Dang’s “grillz” sales also have fallen off 60% in the recession. He and his business partner, the rapper Paul Wall, helped popularize the bejeweled dental retainers earlier this decade, when diamond-laced varieties molded with platinum were selling for tens of thousands of dollars.
Melting Down Grillz
Now the recession has so damped the extravagance that a Web site called sellyourgoldteeth.com is doing brisk business buying grillz for meltdown value. “It’s a sign of the times,” says Mark Porcello of Porcello Estate Buyers, which runs the site.
Hip-hop artists aren’t eager to admit to thrift, and numerous rappers rumored to be trading down declined to talk about the trend.
“You gotta understand, it is every rapper’s fear to be exposed as a fraud,” said Gregory Lewis of Brooklyn, who posts conversations with artists on the Internet under the alias “Doggie Diamonds, the interview king.” “If you admit you wear fake jewelry, it is over for you. It’s like bragging you drive a Lamborghini when you really drive a Toyota.”
Porsche P'8499 24-carat gold sunglasses
Those uber-rich folks who love to flash their wealth at the smallest pretext can now stroll out on the beach wearing these gold and platinum sunglasses from Porsche while others go blind looking at these full-on bling pair of shades. The Porsche P’8499 sunglasses are made of gold and platinum – the front of the text and the bar are made of 18-carat gold and 900 Platinum Pt. for optimal protection with 24-carat gold mirrored polycarbonate lenses. The Porsche P’8499 sunglasses are available in the Porsche trademark number of 911 only for a blingy price tag of $6,670. And those who are looking for a similar option for a lower price, can settle for a 18-carat gold “P’8447” from Porsche Design, which adorns a price tag of $2,415.
Jewelry from Hershey's
The classic Hershey’s Kiss shape is an icon. It brings to mind visions of simpler times — uncomplicated chocolate being “kissed” onto the confectioner’s paper. With the Hershey’s Kiss’ close association with Valentine’s Day and other love-related occasions, it was only a matter of time until they came out with diamonds.
The new collection by World Trade Jewelers, which celebrates the Hershey’s Kiss and is the official Hershey’s Kiss jewelry line, is showcasing this week in Las Vegas at JCK, and is available in NYC this summer at Peachtree Jewelers, Golden Nugget Jewelers, AOL/Time Warner Center, and The Plaza Hotel — priced from $499.00 – $7999.00.
The pieces are simple and lovely — and a beautiful way to give “chocolate” to someone who’s watching their weight. The Hershey’s Kiss collection, including the Medium Hershey’s Kiss Pendant, 1.66ct, $3,995 (above), will be available nationwide in the fall.
Kisses and diamonds always work well together…I think Hershey hit a home run here!
Sidney Mobell, a San Francisco-based jewelry designer, makes turns ordinary, everyday items into extraordinary, though often odd, works of art. In 2003, 19 pieces of Mobell’s work were donated to the Smithsonian for their US National Gem Collection. Because his work often is often laden with gems, it became the Smithsonian’s Mobell Collection of Jeweled Art. His work is world-renowned for being both intricate and outrageous, even earning him a place in the “Guinness Book of World Records” for the World’s Most Expensive Monopoly Board.
The famous Monopoly board weighs 32 pounds, includes 60 diamonds, 47 sapphires, and 24 rubies. Each of the 28 title cards is gold plated, the tokens are 18-karat gold, and 42 diamonds display the numbers on the dice. It is valued at over $2 million.
Having begun as a designer of diamond jewelry, his clients included the rich and famous from around the world. Christina Onassis is a big fan of his work. Then his inspiration turned elsewhere, beginning with a sardine can. Using a regular can of sardines as his exemplar, Modell spent a day in his shop, emerging from it with a replica made of 18-karat gold with 55 diamonds around the edge of the lid. He later said, “My wife thought I was crazy.”
He created mousetraps of solid gold and studded with a wedge of pave-diamond cheese, which earned him a spot on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson. He designed a diamond-encrusted gold cell phone, an 18-karat gold pacifier with 8 round brilliant diamonds, and, as a gift for his wife’s friend, a gold fishing reel studded with 5.1 carats in diamonds, 237 sapphires, and 253 rubies. He designed that piece so the gems would cast a kaleidoscope effect as it spins. He also included with that gift a solid gold fish hook.
Now 19 of his pieces are touring the country, making people look at precious metals and gemstones in a whole new light. A person can look at a solid gold pacifier and wonder ‘why?’, or wonder if it is worth as much when it is shaped as an ordinary object—as opposed to being a necklace or pair of earrings or ring. Would anybody actually play on a $2 million Monopoly board? But these are not the questions Mobell had in mind when he created. He mostly did it for fun. That is part of what makes his work genius
Deciding on what type of Diamond Ring to Purchase?
New and improved techniques and design detailing are blended to create contemporary engagement rings. They are made using the finest gems and metals and have a modern style and feel. They are the perfect choice for a young bride who is hip and stylish or an older bride who is up on the latest styles. When buying a contemporary engagement ring you will have your choice from a wide array of setting and styles.
One design classic that is always in fashion is one made using a diamond solitaire. This style which gained notoriety though Tiffany is by far the most popular choice for brides. These rings will have one gem in a prong setting which is beautiful in its simplicity. This classic ring can be made to fit just about any budget depending on the stone and setting that you select.
While many people will go with regular yellow gold, platinum can give your ring added prestige. The look of platinum and white gold are enhanced when colored gem stones are used. These days more and more women are using colored gem stones for their contemporary engagement ring.
Those who need to stay on a strict budget should look at beautiful gem chips set on a white gold band. Another good choice on a budget would be a princess cut crystal. Opals are a good choice for brides with a complex personality. The colors that can be found in various gem stones can reflect the personality of many young brides today. Almost any reputable jeweler will be able to sell you an engagement ring with a contemporary flair which shows off your personal style.
Pick a jewel who has been recommend to you and has a strong reputation for quality and service. Ask the jeweler to see samples and pictures so you can see the look and style of their work. Ask the jeweler for a written appraisal of the ring you select so it can be properly insured. A great recommendation is Whiteflash.com they are a great place to buy diamonds!
Fiat 500 Barbie Car
A few months back, Fiat presented a new 500 model to commemorate the illustrious Barbie doll’s 50th anniversary, and it looked simply gorgeous. Now, we have the detailed shots of the limited edition car, and it looks even more gorgeous than before. The deep lacquer finish makes this car a real eye-catcher. Made in collaboration with Mattel, the Fiat 500 Barbie comes fitted with diamond-encrusted hubcaps, window moldings and antenna. The crystals even outline the doll’s famous silhouette. The seating is done in silver laminated Alcantara fabrics. There’s a light-up vanity mirror. Only five examples have been made and each costs 100,000 Euros. More images after the jump…
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