Bathroom Bling Breaks Price Records

Care to powder your nose with pure platinum? Or visit 'the throne' in real 24 karat gold? Now the precious metals that are fixtures in our jewelry boxes are literal fixtures in our, ahem, little girls rooms.

Luxist reports some of the most expensive bathroom tiles on the market today can be yours for a mere $615 per 2' x 2' square. The pieces are a reproduction of Gustav Klimt's famous work "The Kiss" and use pure 24 kt gold and platinum as well as colored ceramic to bring the romantic piece to a bathroom near you. Pure gold and platinum tile fittings are also available for borders and space fillers.

Imagine what they could do with 'The Scream".

The craftsmanship involved in creating the tiles involved a three-year planning process that culminated with 17 separate firings in the kiln according to Luxist. The limited edition pieces are available through British tile experts, Original Style.

Would you put precious metals in the 'WC" if you could afford it? Or is the bling best left to rooms with more, um, aspirational undertones?

Diamond Jewelry Gift TIps - Mother's Day, Birthdays and More

Diamonds are doubling down this month as the must-have jewelry purchase for gift givers. Why, you ask? Because lucky ladies born in April have diamonds as a birthstone (no one said life was fair, jewelry hounds), AND Mother's Day is just a month away on May 9th.

So if you're a mom who is tired of getting the same old 'one hour massage' gift certificate that sits in your 'everything drawer' and expires just when you need it most. Or you're an April birthday girl who is tired of people forgetting that they're just a diamond away from getting the perfect birthday gift - it's time to give those folks a nudge in the JewelClub direction.

I've touted this site many a time. It's a Friends and Family site of a jewelry manufacturer that offers steep discounts on all fine jewelry - in addition to the special deals they dole out on a select group of styles. This month, it's the diamond dozen you need to check out.

This fun, fashion piece is under $100.

These diamond studs are over $400 off suggested retail. And they're 1/3 carat. Not too shabby.

Just go to www.jewelclub.com, use the code: INSIDER and click on the Treasure Hunt feature at the top right of the homepage to see the 12 styles they are discounting all month. Or just take a stroll through the hundreds of diamond styles they have - from right hand rings to the big kahuna - diamond engagement rings and more.

It's luxury within reach. It's gift giving at its blingiest. It's time to get something in a little white box this year!

Chris Aire Jewelry Hits the Runway

Jewelry news makers we haven't heard much from lately are making big headlines this week.

First, The King of Bling - Jacob The Jeweler - is out of prison - working his way back from his reduced sentence at a Halfway-house. And Chris Aire, aka: The Ice Man, cometh to a runway in Beverly Hills to launch his new jewelry line, The Hollywood Collection.

A motley crue of Hollywood stars came out to support the bling-meister yesterday at the Beverly Hills Hotel, including Adrian Brody, Jermaine Jackson, a few of Diana Ross's offspring and the event's host, Cedric The Entertainer.

But the main event was the carat count on the catwalk as stunning bib necklaces, icy dog tags and bold statement earrings brought Aire's "Hollywood Collection" to life.

So what makes this line stand apart? All of the product is sourced from Aire's homeland, Nigeria.

"The purpose of my partnership with the Nigeria Ministry of Mines and Steel is to bring attention to the vast and largely untapped gold and gemstone resources in Nigeria, which I hope will stimulate investments and create jobs to provide additional revenue sources for the country," Aire said in a media release. "All of the materials in my collection were mined adhering to the highest standard of world labor laws."

The pieces are crafted in white, yellow and red gold and feature a rainbow of gemstone colors - from emeralds and sapphires to amethysts and tourmaline. Prices range from $500 to as high as $45,000.

While there are signs of Aire's blingy hip hop past (he is credited as the first to capitalize on the urban jewelry market), diamond dog tags are for the most part replaced by red carpet-ready statement necklaces and icy cuffs in this latest offering.

Does this mean the urban landscape of million-dollar grills, huge icy pendants and walnut-sized diamond studs has faded into jewelry history? Or will the bling be back as soon as Lil' Wayne gets out of the big house? Thoughts?

Blue Diamond Sells for $6.4

I've got the blues today. In a good way.

Sotheby's Hong Kong unloaded one whopper of a flawless blue diamond today for a mere 6.4 million USD. The rare, 5.16-carat rock was snatched up by London's famed Moussaieff Jewellers, who paid more than the 5.9-million dollar estimated price tag for the gem.

The pear-shaped stone is the first of 11 blue diamonds from the celebrated De Beers Millienium Jewels Collection to appear at auction.

"The price was above the high estimate," a spokeswoman for auction house Sotheby's told AFP.

But the world per-carat record for a blue diamond remains the 10.5 million dollars paid by a Hong Kong property tycoon for a seven-carat blue diamond in Geneva in May last year.

What are they putting in the water in Hong Kong? And can I fill a pool with it?

Sotheby's said gem sales in Hong Kong were on the rise -- the city has overtaken New York to become the company's second biggest market after Geneva.

Terry Chu, deputy head of Sotheby's jewelery department for China and Southeast Asia, said diamonds were particularly appealing to new Asian buyers because of their stable prices and assured quality.

"There have been a lot of new diamond buyers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and elsewhere in the region," Chu told AFP.

You had me at "Lei Hao"

Diamonds on "Dancing With The Stars"

Dancing With The Stars is known for its gaudy display of costume jewelry, but this latest DWTS diamond ditty is my favorite so far.

Cincinnati Bengal superstar, Chad OchoCinco, gave dancing partner, Cheryl Burke, a huge diamond ring 'thank you' after last night's rowsing Paso Doble performance according to Us Weekly.

Said Cheryl of the surprise stash,

"At first I was like, Is this even real?...not even any of my boyfriends have given me anything like this! Ochocinco likes the bling!"

So what's the final carat count? Ocho only told US "A lot", but a source revealed the icy ring set in platinum came from Jason of Beverly Hills and cost more than $10,000.

Child, please!

Full disclosure: The Bengals are my hometown team and Chad is either a "love him or hate him" kinda player. But after this shiny gesture not only is he my favorite footballer - he's the one I'm rooting for to take the DWTS crystal ball.

What do you guys think? Do you think he's trying just a little too hard? Does he have a chance to beat that skater guy and the former Pussycat Doll? Will he win Cheryl's heart in the end? Weigh in!

H. Stern's Alice In Wonderland Rings

More news about Alice In Wonderland jewelry may be a bit 'tired' at this juncture - I've been tracking it since last year when Tom Binns announced he was bejeweling an Alice line. But I just caught a glimpse of these H. Stern couture cocktail ring creations and had to share them with you.

Of course they are all limited edition and by special order only (i.e. only celebrities and 'friends of' will be able to get their hands on them) but I find H. Stern's interpretation to be the best of the lot (Yup. Even better than Binns, Stella McCartney and Swarovski).

The collection consists of five signature rings - each inspired by the natural world of Wonderland vs. the more literal icons that have shown up in other collections (hearts, tea cups, etc.)

Which one is your favorite? I'll tell you mine at the end of the post...

(Descriptions from the H. Stern website)

Cheshire Cat: The Chesire Cat ring was reproduced in detail in a small sculpture of gold dipped in blue enamel, and is seen stretched out on a smattering of gold and diamond branches. The golden cat’s smile received a special treatment and, as in the film, glows in the dark.

Topiary Garden: The film shows plants artistically cut out in topiary technique forming a magnificent garden. This scenario led the H.Stern designers to create a bird made of hundreds of golden leaves, soldered one by one and covered by green enamel.

Living Flowers: The roses in Alice’s garden are now sculptured in Noble Gold, and thanks to the finish in enamel, gain a tone of dark purple, which contrasts with delicate buttons sprinkled with diamonds.

Mushroom Forest: The Forest of mushrooms where Alice wanders in the film inspired the creation of this enameled gold ring in colors and textures carefully chosen to represent the natural forms. In order to reproduce the tones used in the film, dozens of colors were tested until the ideal tone for each piece was achieved. The texture of the real toadstools is seen not only on the outside of the ring but also on the inside. Some are covered with diamonds.


Jabberwocky: The intriguing dragon that terrifies Wonderland gave origin to an impressive ring with a gothic look in the style of Tim Burton. The body of the dragon is represented with black gold and diamonds on a double-band ring.

So ok. These aren't the kind of rings you can wear to the office - but if I had to choose just one, I don't think I could resist the charms of a glow-in-the-dark Chesire Cat grin amongst those gorgeously intricate tree limbs in that first entry.

How about you? Which one would you like to bring home if you had to choose?

Jewelry for the Peeps

Easter jewelry isn't generally thought of as a bona fide category like Mother's Day or Valentine's Day. But that didn't stop me from searching...

In my dream world, I'd be wearing this stunning couture bunny bracelet featured in Chopard's 150th anniversary line (I still can't stop thinking about all those bejeweled creatures just screaming for a new home).

But instead I came upon this friggin adorable diamond accent chick pendant from Gordon's Jewelers that reminded me of another favorite Easter-time obsession.

Peeps!

Those sugary birds and bunnies in a box are ready for their close-up again this year. But I am not alone in my obsession - folks in the Peep subculture have been creating Peep dioramas for years now. The Washington Post even holds an annual competition with over 800 participants.

This Sex and The City entry gave me a chuckle:


And how about this take on Up! - Eep!

Love the 'Thrilla in Manilla' ("All I wanna say is that they don't really peep about us"):

But Project Peepway has to be my favorite. Yes, that is a Tim Gunn (!) peep on the left there. ("Make it happen, peeple!")

One day you're in? The next? You're peeped.

Are you guys as peep obsessed as I am? What about your Easter/Passover jewelry thoughts? How do you bejewel this holiday? Peep in!