From locals’ favorite Tommy Bahama to Project Runway Winner, Michael Costello, this years’ runway shows exceeded expectations. Headliner Costello was accompanied by his friends from Project Runway, Margarita Alvarez, Mah-Jing Wong, Justin LeBlanc, Candice Cuoco, Kentaro Kameyama, Viktor Luna and Laura Kathleen Baker. The emerging designers lit up the stage with their cutting-edge creations.
Drawing inspiration from the creativity the week-long fashion show brings to the Desert, two staff members from The Agency Palm Desert/Palm Springs made a paper dress to showcase in their Palm Desert location.
Vicky and Belinda wanted to highlight The Agency’s sponsorship of Fashion Week El Paseo while also producing a creative piece of art that reflects The Agency brand. The Agency is a full-service, luxury real estate brokerage.
There was a showcase of dresses made of paper, fabric, tape, and materials found in nature. The unique and beautiful dresses were suspended in air and lit to highlight their style and grace.
The final touch of The Agency red paper dress was a handcrafted 14k gold Incogem pendant, letter A for The Agency. The pendants are a perfect accessory for any cocktail dress, even if it’s made of paper.
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PHOTO: davidyurman.com
In 1969 David met Sybil while working for sculptor Hans Van de Bovenkamp in New York City. She would become his co-creator – his partner in business and in life.
Their jewelry business began when David designed the sculpted bronze Dante necklace as a gift for Sybil. A gallery owner fell in love with it and placed a few in her gallery. They immediately sold out, and that was the just the beginning. David and Sybil sold their earliest collections at craft fairs around the country.
In 1979, David and Sybil married in New York. They headed straight into a business meeting where the plan was to sell the company. The offer was too low and the Yurmans walked away from the deal. A year later, David Yurman, the brand and company, was created. In 1980 he received the Jury Award from the World Gold Council for the Starlight necklace, a precursor to the iconic Cable design.
In 1982 David and Sybil welcome son Evan, and a new generation of jeweler is born. From a very young age, Evan showed an aptitude and love for design.
David introduces the iconic Cable bracelet in 1983.
The Cable motif soon becomes the connecting element in every David Yurman collection.
With the introduction of Silver Ice®, David Yurman is the first major designer to set diamonds in sterling silver, revolutionizing the world of fine jewelry. In 2010 the David Yurman flagship store opened on Madison Avenue in New York. The five-story converted townhouse honors the brand’s dedication to beautiful design and craftsmanship, from the cable-inspired staircase to door handles hand-sculpted by David Yurman himself.
In 2006, David Yurman opened a boutique on North Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and introduced the Wedding Collection: unique engagement rings created with the eye and heart of a sculptor. Evan Yurman, David and Sybil’s son, collaborated on the design of Men’s, Wedding, Timepiece, and High Jewelry collections.
The story began out of necessity, Mikimoto's father was an Udon shop owner who fell ill when Mikimoto was only 11. Being the eldest son he left school and sold vegetables to support his family. Seeing the pearl divers of Ise unloading their treasures at the shore in his childhood started his fascination with pearls.
In 1888, Mikimoto obtained a loan to start his first pearl oyster farm at the Shinmei inlet on Ago Bay in Mie prefecture with his wife and partner Ume. In 1893, after many failures and nearing bankruptcy, he was able to create the hemispherical cultured pearls. He introduced these mabes at a marine products exposition in Norway in 1897 and began an export business. However, it took him another 12 years to create completely spherical pearls that were indistinguishable from the highest quality natural ones, and commercially viable harvests were not obtained until the 1920s.
In 1899, the first Mikimoto pearl shop opened in the Ginza district of Tokyo selling natural seed pearls and half round pearls. The Mikimoto business expanded internationally, opening stores in London (1913).
By 1935, the Japanese pearl industry was facing oversupply issues and descending prices for Japanese cultured pearls. Mikimoto promoted Japanese pearls in Europe and the United States to counteract falling prices.
After World War II, Mikimoto opened stores in Paris, New York City, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Bombay, and was thus one of the first Japanese brands to attain an international presence and recognition.
The “Phoenix Mikimoto Crown” used by former Miss Universe winners as well as the crown used by Miss International is credited to his patented work.
Mikimoto lived to the age of 96, he is known as the Pearl King. The skill of a scientist and the soul of an artist combined to create the genius of Kokichi Mikimoto, the inventor of cultured pearls.
For more information on Pearl Jewelry at Jewels by George, click here.
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Educated in Rome and Switzerland, Elsa Peretti initially made her living teaching Italian and working as a ski instructor in the German-speaking Swiss mountain village of Gstaad, before moving to Milan, Italy in 1963 to pursue a degree in interior design and to work for the architect Dado Torrigiani.
“Style is to be simple.”
In 1964 she decided to take a new career path as a fashion model. After having spent her first couple of years in Barcelona, Spain, she followed Wilhelmina Modeling Agency'ssuggestion to move to New York City in 1968. While modeling in Manhattan, Elsa began creating new jewelry styles for a handful of fashion designers including Giorgio di Sant' Angelo and Halston. She was initially inspired by a silver flower vase she had found at a flea market. In 1972 Bloomingdale's, one of New York's landmark shopping stores, opened a dedicated Peretti boutique.
Elsa Peretti explores nature with the acumen of a scientist and the vision of a sculptor. She allows us to see such forms as the bean, the apple and the snake in intriguing and beautiful new ways.
Information source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsa_Peretti
“After using almost every precious gemstone, I always go back with love to my one and only love- DIAMOND.”
— Yossi Harari
Yossi Harari’s fascination with jewelry began early when at the tender age of eight announced to his parents that he would be “the family jeweler!” The owner and founder of a now world-eminent handcrafted, fine 24-Karat gold jewelry brand, Harari had a wonderful childhood upbringing being raised in Istanbul, Israel, and Switzerland. Growing up, he was fortunate to be surrounded by his grandfather’s extensive collection of art and antiques and ancient artifacts. His senses were constantly entertained and by the age of eleven, he surprised his mother by redesigning one of her diamond rings — the first jewelry item he made. It was the beginning of his artistic endeavor of creativity and design from which he has never strayed.
Yossi received degrees in Gemology and Jewelry design from the Gemological Institute of America in Los Angeles, followed by a History of Arts degree from Tel Aviv University. Honing his skills in the U.S. and Israel, Harari opened a couture jewelry atelier in Istanbul in 1991 where he revived the long-forgotten art of 24K goldsmithing.
Today, Harari is one of the most famed, trendsetting craftsmen whose 24k gold pieces grace the shelves of prestigious retailers, such as Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, and adorn celebrity clients. In 2007, 2009, and again in 2014, Harari was awarded the Couture Design Award — ‘The Oscars’ of the jewelry industry — that recognizes excellence in jewelry and timepiece design. He attributes the success of his nearly 26-year old business to “a Love for Art.”
Yossi Harari is renowned for his innate understanding of modern women’s desire to be adorned in luxurious, chic, bohemian, yet cutting-edge couture jewels — embellished with diamonds or precious-stones — that can be worn from day to night and create an iconic, and fashion-forward look.
]]>Charles traveled throughout Europe before moving to New York. There he worked as a traveling salesman and his travels lead him to Africa. In Africa, Charles learned quickly and started buying and selling diamonds. His efforts were soon noticed by The DeBeers Company and they offered him a job. He worked for the famous diamond maker for 10 years, setting up purchasing centers in several African countries.
After DeBeers, Charles operated a successful jewelry business in Los Angeles for many years. As he grew older he dreamed of a more tranquil lifestyle and gravitated to the peace he found in Coachella Valley. After a brief semi-retirement, the lure of diamonds drew him back into the business. Charles set out to create a new and unique piece of jewelry that showcased the beauty of the diamond from all angles. He lived and worked in the Valley for 35 years until his passing in 2013.
Click here to read the rest of the story and how Incogem came to be a featured item at Jewels by George.
]]>The pendants are handcrafted of 14k yellow gold. The diamonds are brilliant cut with 58 facets, VS1 in clarity (G.I.A.) and H in color (G.I.A.). Each diamond weighs 0.012cts. The square pendants measure 12x10x5mm. The diamonds float in a bed of clear lucite. The pendants are easy to clean and maintain and have been passed down from generation to generation as an heirloom piece.
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