Jewelry Fashion Trends

Last week Mahatma Gandhi's pocket watch and personal belongings including sandals, glasses, bowl, and thali were auctioned for $2.096 million. The new owner plans to bring the collection back to India and put it on permanent public display.

The Gandhi’s watch was not the only interesting and valuable item sold by Antiquorum Auctioneers. A watch belonging to both U.S. president John F. Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis - Jacqueline Kennedy's second husband – was sold for $120,000. It is known as "Kennedy Onassis" watch, and is considered to be the only known item connecting Jackie O and her two famous husbands.

Are you a woman who buys new wardrobe every season? If yes, read this first before you go shopping. Lisa Armstrong, fashion expert from The Times chose 2008 trends in fashion than she thinks will last in 2009. Based on her research she selected 2008’s fashion achievements that will still be around for next 12 months.

1) Cropped trousers: cute, sleek – especially when worn with the surprisingly practical shoe-boot or ankle boot – these solve the winter leg problem while allowing you to do what you want with your top half.

2) Stripy T-shirts

3) The boyfriend jacket: tailored, sleeves that can be “casually” pushed up, slightly large, or then again, impeccably fitted, this is the painless way to wean yourself off cardigans and, in doing so, give yourself a more businesslike edge.

4) The asymmetric cardigan: longer-at-the-front cardigan is the way forward: versatile, camouflaging and ever-so-slightly avant-garde.

5) Colored tights: a brilliant way to update… everything

Source: The Times

Do you sometimes wonder what type of diamond is set in your jewelry? Now you can check it with help of International Gemological Institute (IGI). The institute has launched a new service that can identify a diamond’s type. The service is called IGI Diamond Typing and is available via the New York laboratory.

Although diamonds are very pure form of carbon there are other elements present in almost all diamonds. These "impurities" are not what are known as inclusions, and are so small as to be invisible even under a very powerful microscope. Based on the concentration levels of nitrogen or boron, diamonds are classified into following types I, Ia, Ib, II, IIa and IIb. Almost 98% of diamonds are type I and the purest are type IIa.

The IGI will accept up to 10 diamonds, regardless of individual weight, at its New York lab. The service will cost $150 and will have a turnaround time of 48 hours.

Would you have imagination, skills and patience to build these amazing miniature motorcycle sculptures from old watch parts?

Jose Geraldo Reis Pfau is the author of these beautiful sculptures which he makes usually on weekends as his hobby. These miniature motorcycles look very much real. Metal, glass, aluminum plastic, silver and even gold pieces are put together, creating very different forms. All parts come from old watches. The artist is a huge fan of motorcycles (1:1 scale) and used to have several types of motorcycles since the 60’s.

His miniature motorcycles collection is a personal collection and they are not for sale yet, but he hopes to be able to sell them in the future. He owns more them 200 miniatures at the moment.

His work of art has been presented to the public in jewelry fairs, and he is also planning exhibitions in Brazil and outside the country.

If you follow latest fashion you will notice that denim-skirt is back. Celebrities and models are often photographed wearing jean skirts just about everywhere. Even high end fashion houses like Chanel included denim mini-skirt in the latest collection. That means one thing – denim skirts are trendy and you should have it in your wardrobe.

According to Amy Scattergood from Lost Angeles Times, perfect skirt should be casual, slung low on the hip and fit nicely your body. You should avoid pleats or detailing and stick to simple design. Denim minis will always go well with flip-flops or casual sandals, T-shirts or linen.

The good news is that you don’t need to spend much money on fashionable skirt. You can even make one at home. You will need an old pair of jeans or a vintage pair from a thrift store. Levi's have the trim fit and thick, durable weight that you want, as well as the minimalist styling that makes these skirts instant classics. The trick is to start with jeans that ride down a little on your hips that are roomy enough to allow for comfortable movement after you're done and that won't require any additional fabric when you're making the conversion from pants to skirt. It's an easy cut across both legs, a satisfying amount of seam-ripping, some quick stitching, a wash and dry to fray the edges -- and you're done.

For full instructions how to make a Jean Skirt from your old jeans click here