THE BLING BLOG

The Bling Blog Appears In Women's Wear Daily!

The Bling Blog made its MSM (mainstream media) debut in late October with a feature in the Accessories section of Women's Wear Daily.

How 'bout them apples?

Included in Cate Corcoran's article were the inimitable Manolo, the diminuitive yet formidable Kristopher Dukes, and the impeccably stylish and not-at-all snobbish Bag Snobs.

I feel utterly honored and thrilled to have been included in such a cohort of fine, bright and funny writers and arbiters of taste and style.  A quick hop to the Manolo and you can read the intro to the article.

All I can say is "Wow."

It was great fun being interviewed by the very magazine/newspaper with which I used to wallpaper my bathroom as a teenager.  My mother subscribed; I pilfered the leftovers.  I pored over them, too, night after night, deciding which were the best editorials.

Can you imagine?  The bathroom was plastered with Linda, Christy, Naomi, Cindy, Tatjana and the other Amazons in their finest 80's Hervé Léger Ace Bandage wrap dresses, big hair (remember Linda with long hair) and furs and all.

And now some twenty years later to get to talk WWD about what I love to do the most, write about jewelry?  That's what is called a dream come true.

Donating To A School Auction

A local elementary school, the Patricia J. Blattman School, hosted its annual auction (aka the "Bear Bash") this past Sunday.

In past years, with the help of some very expert fundraiser moms, they've raised tens of thousands of dollars each year for the school through this one-night event.

This year, I was asked to donate a piece of jewelry to the auction.  At left is the necklace I donated.

It is an 18 inch strand of natural, multicolor freshwater pearls, 10-11mm, with a 14kt diamond clasp.

So why do this?  Several reasons, really.

1.  It's a nice thing to do.  The monies from the auction (I will post the actual final bid amount once I have it) go directly to the school for a project of the kids' choosing to have at the school.  There has been some talk about a rockclimbing wall.

2.  The school happens to be the school in the neighborhood where we are building our house.  So if we have children, that's where they'll go to school.  Nice to get involved, right?

3.  Another reason?  I am semi-new to town and don't know too many people, and it is a great way to get to know people and let people know I am here and what kind of work I do.

4.  And one final reason?  The winning bidder wants to buy matching earrings.  And she wants to see my other stuff, too.

Interestingly enough, JCKStyle had an article about this very topic last Friday.  They were talking about the Disco & Diamonds online charity auction for the G&P Foundation for Cancer Research.

Square J Designs

Hey!  Guess what?!

Go check out the sleek and sassy front page of the new Square J Designs website!

The logo and site were designed by Trey Hermann, aka Buffalo, Husband of The Bling Blogstress.

More will be added soon as photography is completed.

Hope you like it as much as I do!

Pugs In Pearls - A Most Regal Portrait Of Puggishness

Always aiming to please, here we have a brief photo essay entitled Regal Pugs In Pearls.

At left is Linus, a six year-old apricot fawn Pug in four different strands of round, natural (not dyed!) color freshwater pearls, varying from 8-11mm and a haughty expression.

At right is Nixon, a six year-old smutty fawn Pug in a single strand of 13-14mm grey-black South Seas pearls and a soft, friendly, sleepy, but loving expression.

All pearls are strung to order, and priced upon request.  Dog hair not included.

(photography done by the reluctant but ever-game Trey, click to enlarge for detail)

In Which I Write From The Chunder Bed

Trey was sick all day yesterday, and I am told I did quite a good job of taking care of him!  I guess this sort of surprises me a little, since I don't take care of him much, he looks after his big self, not unlike John Wayne.

And so what do I say to that?  MY TURN!

While I don't feel completely icky, I feel quite icky, with a temperature of 99.5 and vague aches all over.

And so, Joan Rivers, you shrew, you ask, "What are you wearing?"

1.  clean, shiny hair
2.  Nick & Nora red flannel circus theme pajama bottoms
3.  t-shirt from Taboo Artists Atlanta reading "BUY ART, NOT DRUGS"
4.  one very fabulous engagement ring, slightly dirty

Okay, so in the spirit of yesterday's post about his ring, here's the scoop on my ring.

The center stone is a 3.85 carat fancy deep orangy-yellow brown round brilliant diamond with blue and orange fluorescence.

It is what is called a "cognac" diamond.

Its color is natural, untreated and therefore unenhanced in any way.  And can I tell you how damn orange and peachy and gorgeous the thing looks in the grocery store?!  Zow-wee!  DAMN!

It is set in a platinum mounting with 121 0.005 carat white diamonds, color G-H, totalling .60 carats.  Now, if you remember our lesson on carat weight, a diamond weighing 0.005 carats is called a "half-pointer."  Therefore, 121 half-pointers equal about .60 points, or .60 carats.

Size?  Four and a quarter.  4.25 - a tiny finger!

With Jack Hovsepian, owner and chief designer of the DANHOV facility in downtown Los Angeles, the ring was designed using JewelCAD software.  It was a combined effort of Square J Designs, Hermann Design and Danhov.  Let me be the first to say that Danhov and Jack know their business and they were a pleasure to work with.  They are, in fact, doing a piece for the company this month.

We emailed photos to Trey in Texas and talked on the phone until we were all satisfied.  The whole thing took about two hours.  Once the design was set, they made a wax mold based on the computer's specifications, and about ten days later I had a ring.

(photos courtesy of DANHOV)

This Is My Mom

This is my mom Judy.  She is the chief designer for Square J Designs.

She is truly the artistic one.  She can execute sketches and drawings with ease; a task I have never been able to master.  She insists I can learn...

Judy has a graduate degree in Geosciences from the University of Arizona.  She would have had a Ph.D. but decided to have some kids instead.

She has had extensive training at and received multiple certificates from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in Santa Monica and Carlsbad.

She has an amazing eye for quality and chooses only to work with the finest materials.

No word on whether or not she wishes she'd gone for the Ph.D. instead.

Kidding.

I have asked her to do some writing for The Bling Blog, or at least to let me know if I am screwing up some facts.  She's good like that.