THE BLING BLOG

Has Tacori Jumped The Proverbial Shark Tank By Getting In Bed With QVC Or Is It Just Good Business?

I am a loyal reader of the newish JCK Online blog called Behind The Counter, and in particular a big fan of writer Shanu Singh Guliani's ability to bring forth simple, yet thoughtful topics.  The blog is intended for consumption by those in the trade, but the subjects are disclosed in a manner such that anyone with a passing interest can understand and digest the information readily and also participate.

A couple of weeks ago she introduced a topic that I really believe has legs, and I wanted to wait to see how the comments would flesh out.  As expected, respondents are nearly evenly divided.  In her article Tacori: Are They Turning Their Backs On Independents? Shanu discusses how a little over a month ago, Tacori, an historically esteemed Los Angeles-based jeweler known for their intricate design work with platinum and diamonds, and perhaps equally known for their celebrity relationships and ability to cater to those with very deep pockets jumped into the sack with QVC.  Some thought it shocking and peculiar, but the more questions I ask, the more sighing and eye-rolling I encounter.  Take from that what you will.

This alliance brought Tacori's design elements together with QVC's "Platinum Clad" (sterling silver) and "Diamonique" (simulated gemstones) ostensibly to make Tacori affordable to the masses.  The result was a phenomenal success for both QVC and Tacori, having sold out of all of their merchandise in only 18 minutes.

I mean, Christ on a crouton, that's on par with ticket sell-out rates for the Rolling Stones.

Shanu asks some valid questions of store owners and salespeople,

It’s about a month later—how do you feel?  Do you dread the customer that comes in and says, “I bought my Tacori Ring off of QVC,” while standing next to another customer who has a $3000 Tacori ring on her hand debating if the brand is suddenly the right engagement ring to have, to bind her and her future husband’s eternal love.

Do you keep the line?  Send it back?  Never reorder again?  Or are you celebrating with Tacori?  Are you happy that now more of your clients know about the brand…  the name Tacori?  Or do you stash it in the back of the showroom hoping to pull customers to the side to take a look at this high-end brand that now sells on QVC?  On the other hand, who cares…  I’m a great salesperson, I have a great store, I love my customers and that’s the bottom line.

As I mentioned, the responses were nearly evenly divided.  Some jewelers are thrilled; some are disgusted.  One is saddened they'll have to part ways and terminate their relationship with Tacori.  One respondent was a civilian (non-jewelry industry type) whose wife's $9000 Tacori wedding ring set had been stolen and his insurance was only giving them a $1000 replacement and he was thrilled to have this option in the interim.  (That was actually very sad to read.  Bet he buys better insurance next time.  He said Tacori/QVC were super nice, accommodating and professional in getting him on the waitlist (!) for a QVC set (!) for his wife.)

Here's the thing.  Brands do this all the time.  Look at, say, Isaac Mizrahi.  He has three (four?) lines.  You can buy an Isaac Mizrahi shirt for $295 from Saks Fifth Avenue, one from Nordstorm Rack for $49 and one from Target for $19.99.  And shoes!  All at different price points.  Burberry carries different lines, too.  Ralph Lipschitz Lauren - my God, he has about eight or nine women's clothing lines.  There's a difference between, say, the RL polo shirt and the Polo polo shirt.  This is nothing new.

Does this dilute the brand?  Maybe, maybe not.  We could discuss this ad infinitum and never reach an agreement.  The only way designers make money is by diversifying and selling other stuff besides clothing, anyhow.  They must brand, as in a verb, themselves.  Perfume, baby!

My question for you is this:  would you have a problem if you had a $10,000 Tacori ring set and you were channel-surfing one night and saw "Tacori for Epiphany" being advertised on QVC and curiosity got the best of you and you discovered your exact treasured set (minus the precious materials) being sold for under $200, including shipping and tax?  And from all reports, the QVC stuff simply isn't garbage, much as we'd like for it to be.  It just isn't.  It's well-made enough stuff for what it is.  As long as you know what it is.

But let's be honest, girl to girl.  You can't tell me this wouldn't get your goat just a little bit.  Get stuck in your craw?  But you would shake it off like a big girl, right?  Right?  Just don't let your husband see that QVC show.  Ever! 

You, however, may go shop at QVC.com and search for Tacori in jewelry and find a suitable travel bauble or two or perhaps a set for your next foray into Darkest Peru or wherever your peripatetic muse takes you.  Hell, just get something because you like the look of it...  $70 won't break the bank and if you don't like it when you see it on your mitt or your neck or your lobes, they have a liberal return policy.

Plus, you're fantastic.  No one will know it's paste.  Quite honestly, mixing these simulated pieces with your own genuine ones isn't a grand faux pas.  In fact it's done more often than you'd think.  Buying some for travel pieces is a superb idea.  If you are a woman who carries herself with elegance and good carriage, who is going to question the authenticity your jewelry selections?  Certainly no one else of proper elegance and carriage.

A few caveats to keeping your secret...  if you happen to run into me or my mother we might corner you and ask you about your jewelry.  We've been known to do that.  Not to verify authenticity or question your selection, of course not, but to admire and examine them more closely.  We'll keep your secret.  As well, avoid flashing these in fine jewelry stores and trying to pass them off as the real deal.  Stay out of those places.  And finally, don't take them off and hand them to anyone.  That's a dead giveaway.  That silver weighs far less than platinum.

My personal recommendation?  WWBBB?  What Would Bling Blog Buy?  I'd buy these three and stack them in this order.  The blue one comes in red, too.  Big look, small price.  And I'd keep them very clean.

(photos from QVC)

Statement Rings: Are You Going To Make A Statement Or Just Hush Up?

The latest Neiman Marcus "book" hath arrived in all of its metallic silver and turquoise splendor to my mailbox.  Amidst the above-the-knee hemlines and long dresses and short tube dresses and trapeze dresses (so confused, so confused, head huuuuurts) there are the so-called "Statement Rings."

The "Statement Rings" are big knuckle-busters that, well, make a big, um, statement.  They're sort of this year's version of last year's cocktail ring.  Which was last year's version of the previous year's brightly-colored bubble gum machine ring.  Which was that year's version of...  you get the idea.

Some are beautiful, some are so-so, and some are downright awful.  Some of them play that mark-up game wherein they are priced at such a ridiculously inflated price point because you would not otherwise purchase them.  You know the ones?  If you saw them priced for what they're worth you'd think something was terribly wrong?  Right.  So take a look at the good, the bad, and the very, very awful.  And some nice surprises, too.

At left is a Stephen Dweck cushion-cut green agate ring set in polished bronze.  It's offered in sizes 6 or 7.

I picked it because it's green and I like green.

It's available for $330.

WTF?!

Agate and bronze for $330?!  Why is it $330?  Well, because you wouldn't pay $30 for it, would you, now?  And not at Neiman Marcus.  That's why.

Moving right along.  While it's no secret that I am not a huge fan of David Yurman, he has this "statement" thing down to a science and this one is damn near the pick of the litter.  In fact, you could take almost any of the Yurman puppies home and not kick your own ass, which is more than I can say for something I am going to show you later on.

This piece is sterling silver and 18K white gold with a big amethyst and .41 carats of pavé diamonds for $1325.  P.S.  Most of the $1325 is in those diamonds and the gold.  Amethysts, while large and colorful are cheap.  Particularly ones that are light purple like this one.  Still, it's quite a pretty ring and way more bang for the comparative buck than the Dweck.

More nicely-executed Yurman.  Color me shocked.  But in this dubious company of rings Yurman is the standout winner.

These are cable-shanked oval rings in either citrine or smoky quartz with rhodolite garnet, garnet and diamond accents set in sterling silver and 18 karat yellow gold.

The citrine is $1650 and the smoky quartz is $1450.

Again, the money is in the gold and diamonds for the most part.  You can spend money on citrine, but it's gotta be Madeira or similar.  That one is simply large.

And now, for something completely different.

This is called the Palu Saddle ring from John Hardy for $750.

It is made in Bali, and fashioned of woven sterling silver and hammered 22-karat gold.

To me, this one is unusual and different, yet recognizable at the same time.  Hardy lovers will feel comfortable with the woven silver and the silver and gold combination.  Newcomers to Hardy will like the hammered high-karat gold.  It's not what is expected and it's chunky, but also graceful.

Ah, yes.  Hello, Shitty Kitty.

The only "statements" that this $4,250 "imported" (read: CHINA) ring makes are:

1.  I like kitschy, krappy kitties.

2.  Someone best hide the credit cards from me.

3.  I want to buy Kimora Lee Simmons a new gold toilet.  Because everyone needs a gold-plated throne.  Eek.

(all photos from Neiman Marcus)

A Platinum And Diamond Palliative From Daniel K

If you were a dipsomaniacal dimwit on St. Patrick's Day, or had to suffer the fools ungladly, I hope this clover pendant from Daniel K serves to calm your jittery soul.  It does mine.

It's my way of apologizing for that photo of what'shisgreasybutt earlier.  Sorry.

What do you think?  I kind of love it.  Daniel K makes wonderful use of today's ubiquitous, yet elegant, Asscher-cut diamond in their pieces.  Go check out the site.  I have some favorites.  Let's discuss.

(photo from Daniel K via the Platinum Guild International)

This Might Give You A Hang O'Ver If You Don't Already Have One From Yesterday's Shenanigans

Ew, ick.

That's Colin Farrell wearing a platinum and diamond pavé clover pendant made by the design firm of QuiénSabe or WhoKnowsWho?  It's moderately pretty, but the photo is terribly low-res.  It was sent to me by a PR firm in LA, however they failed to attribute either the photo or the jewelry.  This happens a lot.

He looks like he has the greasy sweats in every single photo he takes, doesn't he?  If that picture doesn't put you off your lunch, what will?  Would someone please remind me why this person is a movie star?

Kathy Hilton Wears And Returns $1 Million Jacket, Still Has Paris & Nicky

Kathy Avanzino Hilton, house painter's daughter, mother of trainwrecks Paris and Nicky and unflappable bicoastal Cleopatra was shimmering in a $1 million platinum and diamond jacket as she was honored for her good works at "The Women's Project" soiree in New York on March 12th.

Mrs. Hilton's jacket had two pounds of platinum and 300 carats of diamonds adorning it.  The diamonds were from the venerable Lazare Kaplan diamond cutters, the creators of The Original Ideal Cut Diamond™.

Sadly, the jacket was a loaner.  Now, if only there were such a liberal return policy on people...  Noooo, she loooooves her darlings, yes she does!

(photo courtesy of the Platinum Guild International)

Stone Oak Jewelers - San Antonio Jeweler Doing The Next Big Thing

In sharp contrast to a recent article in Idex Online which enumerated the rapid acceleration of specialty independent jeweler closings in the U.S., Dan Dement and his family at Stone Oak Jewelers in San Antonio are experiencing the opposite challenge.

Thanks to self-professed "gadget man" Dement's commitment to stay on top of advances in CAD (computer-aided design) software, RP (rapid-prototyping) devices and a hard-learned personal motto to "over-buy" when it comes to technology, Dement can say with confidence that he, "would hate to be a chain store and try to compete with me."

Dan Dement finished his GIA Graduate Gemology degree over thirty years ago.  Among his career highlights include putting together the Hixon Collection of Colored Stones in the Gem Vault, which is part of the permanent collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.  But what he is undoubtedly most proud of is his family, and his family business.

Dan and his son-in-law Mike Bowling man the store on a daily basis, and daughter DeAnna Bowling and wife Tobi Dement alternate days.  DeAnna tells customers how beautiful their ideas and concepts are, and her father Dan figures out how to make them work.  They play a fun game of sweet cop/all-business cop.

According to Dement, "New technology allows American jewelers to bring back quality to the jewelry-making process, while being competitive with the overseas manufacturers...  as long as you're manufacturing quality, you're okay.  The future of the independent jeweler is in rapid prototyping, especially for those who don't have the skills to do handmade wax molds - or even part cast and part handmade molds."

Dement showed me an example of this beautiful radiant-cut emerald ring which commanded over ninety hours of labor to create the "old-fashioned" way, meaning handmade wax molds.  He created ten in that particular series.  If they started in November, he and his staff of jewelers could probably execute three or four of them by Christmas if they were lucky.  That's simply the way it was done.

However, with new RP technology, the same exact ring can be made in only 25 hours.  And by Christmas, nearly everyone who wants their rings, earrings and necklaces can get them.

But is it better?  Indeed it is, in nearly every way.

How?

Let's say your diamond has a "J.Lo" bulge in the girdle (a bumpy or wavy girdle).  In many machined, mass-produced ring settings, the "seat" for the diamond or center stone is not properly cut or shaped and whether you know it or not, you run the risk of losing your stone if it's not set properly.  With RP technology, Dement can make an exact fit for your stone.  Further, he can make heads and prongs for the stones as well.

Now what about the micro-pavé craze?  Can you do that with CAD/CAM and RP?  Yes, you can, and better than ever.  Dement favors the Matrix software, wherein all of the beadwork and prongs are precise and exact.  And get this - it can be cranked out in under a week - even with 200 stones.  At left is a sample of an actual Matrix micro-pavé computer rendering with hundreds of half-point diamonds.

And Dement's micro-pavé will last.  He prefers European shanks, and nearly never runs micro-pavé past the shoulders of a shank so you won't knock stones driving your car or washing dishes.  He likes to "Swiss-cheese" shanks, or do open-weave detail (see above ring) to allow light through make diamonds dazzle.

One piece that caught my eye was a 9.14-carat, certified, non-heat treated yellow sapphire set in platinum and 18K yellow gold with yellow diamonds.

It is a knockout.  The split-shank design is lovely and the diamonds match the sapphire perfectly.  As Dement would say, it's a "forever ring."  Wow.

His current favorites, this week, are the micro-pavé and palladium pieces.  "The palladium gives you a big look for less money than I could do for you last week.  Plus, no rhodium plating.  There's a learning curve there just like everything."

He has no problem telling you if you've got a problem on your hands, so to speak...  if your own diamond is in danger.  It's the good, all-business cop in him.

It's quite obvious, however, that Dan Dement is very grateful for his business and for his family.  "I've been very blessed.  Everyone I know told me I couldn't do it, but it did it.  But it's not me, it's my wife, it's my daughter, it's my son-in-law."  Perhaps that's why, when helping prospective customers make a purchase, he will ask them, "Which one of your great-grandchildren do you want to give this to?"

Beyond that, he makes a cooperative effort to share his .stl files and designs with other jewelers.  He figures the more American jewelers can work together to produce quality goods, the better.  And if he can be a part of that effort, he will.

If you're buying a diamond from Dan, all stones have a GIA certificate, a hearts and arrows mapping, a Sarin machine interpretation, and cut grading if available.

Technology is a wonderful thing.  And married with a traditional family business, Stone Oak Jewelers is a winner.  On a personal note, I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone or have them do some work for me.  In fact...  watch this space.

(all photos property of Stone Oak Jewelers)

ChicSherlock Is Like, The Coolest Thing Ever

Just who or what is ChicSherlock?  In her own words, ChicSherlock is...

...driven by wanderlust - an adventurous spirit that leads her hunting for the elusive. she never packs lightly.  she travels accompanied by a trunk full of stilettos for every well-heeled occasion and a valise of luxurious essentials like her favorite amethyst ring.

perpetually seeking the chicest in luxury jewelry, she is sharp-eyed and tireless.  she provides access to a vast range of coveted designs, from the one-of-a-kind ring you'll never see on another woman's finger to the of-the-moment pieces adorning the pages of glossy fashion magazines...

In my words, ChicSherlock is a fantastic online collection of fifteen fine designer jewelers brought together on one website by one intrepid purveyor of elite goods.  All of the jewelers have a style uniquely their own.  ChicSherlock provides a bio for each one and photos of their work and prices and a shopping cart.  There are online designer trunk shows.  You can maintain a personal online jewelbox.  You can even seek style support and jewelry fashion advice all in one place.

All of the designers are impressive.  But there are some distinctive standouts.  My very favorites are Alex Soldier and Hanut Singh.  Take a look at ChicSherlock and tell me who you like.

(thanks to Cate Corcoran for the tip)

Current Obsession, Part III: The Kwiat Solaris Collection

In honor of Wendy and her adoration for the Kwiat "it" ring of the season, I bring you not one but two Solaris rings.  And earrings.

Hot diggity!

Aren't they simply marvelous?  While the open style on the right is the only one I've seen in the store, the one with the radiant (?) in the center is quite fetching, too.

And just because I care, I found a gorgeous Solaris bracelet cuff, and a swinging pendant on a chain.

Overkill, perhaps.  But we wouldn't turn them away, would we?

(click on photos to enlarge)

(photos from Kwiat)

Current Obsession, Part II: More Kwiat Jewelry

In keeping with the au courant obsession with Kwiat, I bring you these dandy and dainty earrings.

They caught my eye because they're very sweet and very solid at the same time.

There's some movement and dynamism to them, in spite of the fact that they are studs.  They are at once elegant and simple.

They fall into the category of everyday wear, with .79 carats total weight of G-H, VS1 round diamonds set in 18K milgrained white gold.  The stones gradually and gracefully get larger towards the bottom.  The milgraining adds a nice texture and depth to the metalwork.

They are priced at $2535 retail.

(click on photo to enlarge)

(photo from Kwiat)

Current Obsession: The Kwiat Star Earrings

Among my very favorite shiny and sparkly things on the market right now the Kwiat Star earrings are stand-outs.  They are modern classics in the making.  While I don't generally fall in love with the merchandise mercilessly peddled in a company's ubiquitous holiday marketing campaign, these are the rare exception.  I adore them.

They come in two sizes, the more petite .91 carat total weight size and the larger 1.82 carat total weight size.  I've tried both sizes on, and both are equally endearing.  The smaller size earrings fall in the category of daily wear, however, while the larger pair are definitively more inclined for evening or event wear.

They have a very festive holiday (any holiday of your choosing) feel to them.

They are fashioned of G-H, VS1, round brilliant and marquise cut diamonds set in platinum heads on 18K white gold ear wires.  The metal work on the earrings is perfect.  I would expect nothing less from Kwiat.

The only drawback?  At over $3000 retail for the smaller size, they are a bit dear.  Much like Tiffany, the folks at Kwiat command an absolute premium for their goods.  But no doubt they stand behind their merchandise like Tiffany, too.

Kwiat has been around for nearly 100 years.  They cut their own diamonds and they are diamonds that knock your socks off and put your eye out from across the room.  Looking at them in two dimensions does them no justice.  None whatsoever.  They are spectacular diamonds.  In person they are stunning.  Breathtaking, even.

Perhaps I will look them up at the JCK Show in June.  At a bit of a discount they would be well worth my while.  Or even at full fare.  I've often heard dear old mom say that if you love something enough and you'll wear it...

Oh, bother.  Justify, justify.

(click on photo to enlarge for detail)

(photo from Kwiat)