Weekend Finds

These are my weekend finds! The first one is a locket ($8), although the man at the antique store said it also may have been used to hold powder and a puff. The second one is a wicked cool lion pendant carved out of tortoise shell on a 12k gold-fill chain. The flip-side of the pendant is opposite in colors, so it's much lighter with dark accents. I got it at a school's yard sale ($3). And, lastly, is my German candy necklace. My sister bought me this one after I ogled it for a while. It's so springy and sparkly. It has a chunky yellow clasp that has "Made in Germany" stamped on it ($10? Not sure, she wouldn't tell me how much it was!).

Overall, i'd say it was a very successful bargain-finding weekend!

Wanna look like a mobster from the 80s?

American Apparel bought the remaining stock from an Italian factory named Esse-Pi, and are now selling the chains exclusively. They are gold and silver plated, and made between 1970 and 1985. The necklaces and bracelets are AA-style all the way, being unisex and very '80s and all. I'd recommend that if you buy these, be careful with them as they are gold- or silver-plated, and that can tarnish easily. Now go get your neon windsuit out of storage (or buy one at AA!) and slap on a couple of these badass chains.

Stylish First Lady??

Wouldn't it be nice to have a stylish first lady?

Last night Mrs. Obama attended the Nordstrom and Vogue cocktail party for New Yorkers for Children, and wore a fabulous Tom Binns necklace. I think her entire look is spot-on: in my opinion, when you do a ginormous necklace like this you need to keep the rest of your outfit simple. She looks great! And bravo on owning/wearing Tom Binns, Mrs. O! His jewelry is wikkid cool!

Effing Adorable.

How EFFING cute is this?

I found it on Reform School and Mixco. Both, btw, are very nifty sites.

How EFFING cute is this?

Sale Alert!

SALE!

Hello, there's a sale going on over at jcrew.com. There are some luverly pieces, which I bet will sell quickly!

Today's Want

Today's Want:
This FABULOUS rose cut chrysophase chain from Irene Neuwirth. It's set in 18 kt gold and is 50" long, which gives you endless wearing possibilities. I can see this necklace going casual with a tank and jeans, or oh so fancay for a night out.

Chrysophase is one of my favoritefavorite stones, due to its color and luminescence. Rose cut is my favorite cut, so, you see, I neeeeed this. It's only *cough* $17, 320 *cough*.

Officially Obsessed.

I am officially obsessed with Lydia Courteille. Her work is simply stunning. It reminds me so much of Lalique - it's very old world-y and rich and sumptuous. I'm drooling on myself trying to describe these pieces.

From my research, I've found that she's most well-known for her rings, but also creates fabulous necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Also, she apparently incorporates antiques into her work, and some of her stones date from the 16th century! Dang.

She apparently has a dark side, too. Check out this wikkid diamond skull ring in black rhodium.

Here's a list of some sites that carry her work:

• Brownsfashion.com
• Couturelab.com
• LaBoutiqueDesJoailliers.com

Also, here's a link to a video where some lady (Susan Tabak, we hates her!) gets to try on some of Ms. Courteille's jewelry at her store in Paris!

ARE WE SERIOUS?

Ok, this is redonkulously delicious: Ylang23 (one of my favorite jewelry sites) has just launched an ESTATE JEWELRY PAGE. Whatwhat. Prices range from $600 - $28,500. We can always drool.
A few of my favorites include: the rose gold watch bracelet, these fire opal and diamond earrings,
this gold and diamond knot ring and this sweeeet gold honeycomb bracelet with diamond moons! Diamond moons people!