Harry Winston’s Sunflower Collection

Brrr, Manhattan is experiencing a deep freeze, forcing us to stay indoors. So today, let’s get our sunshine in an indirect way.🌞 Without leaving your home, come with me to Harry Winston to admire his Sunflower Collection. It’s for diamond lovers, although a customer could select the pieces set with several colored gemstones that feature rubies, emeralds, sapphires, or yellow diamonds!

We, ordinary wage earners, can’t afford the collection, but we can be inspired by its beautiful design when occasionally buying or being gifted more affordable jewelry.

1st up: The Sunflower Graduated Diamond Necklace is set in platinum with round brilliant-cut diamonds. The so-called small necklace has 429 round brilliant diamonds weighing 20.60 carats. That’s the small?😳 I could live with “small,” --  little puny 20 carats of diamonds in this necklace! Could you?

What’s more, the collection has matching watches, rings, earrings, and bracelets! So let’s continue our blog shopping spree, shall we?

The Harry Winston Premier Sunflower Automatic Watch is 36 mm in size with a yellow mother-of-pearl dial and a pearly yellow alligator leather strap. It comes in blue, red, and green also, but we’re focusing on sunshine yellow today. The Sunflower Diamond Two-Motif Twin Ring, set in platinum, has 36 round brilliant diamonds totaling 3.58 carats; its center stones weigh 0.70 carats.

The Sunflower Diamond Earrings on Wires in small, set in platinum, have 18 round brilliant diamonds weighing 3.73 carats. The center diamonds are approximately 0.70 carats. The platinum Harry Winston Sunflower Earrings on Wires in medium have 18 round brilliant diamonds that weigh 4.43 carats, and the center stones are 1.00 carats. Ooh, la, la, these resemble the Sisi’s Stars I covet!

Now we’ve arrived at selecting a bracelet: The Sunflower Diamond Bracelet in small has 198 round brilliant diamonds weighing 9.70 carats, and the large has 165 round brilliant diamonds weighing 16 carats. Both are set in platinum.

Visiting Harry Winston on my blog is much friendlier than going in person to the 5th Avenue flagship store. The shop is not welcoming to browsers, unlike Tiffany down the block, whose associates are fantastic to tourists!

17 round brilliant diamonds weighing a total of 1.72 carats, with a center stone of 0.70 carats conprise the small, set in platinum

Still, I will always be grateful to the jeweler, Harry Winston, for buying and donating the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian in Washington DC in 1958, so it’s on public display. The story is, he sent the Hope Diamond there in the US Mail!!😲

I hope you've enjoyed your Harry Windson scan on THE SAVVY SHOPPER! Before we know it, the weather will turn into a warm sunflower-growing season again. Let's never lose our love for summer, Mother Nature, or her jewels!🌻

Meanwhile, stay warm, my lovelies, in these frigid temperatures! 

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High Jewelry Sapphires & Diamonds

Chopard from the Red Carpet Collection

High jewelry is unaffordable to middle- and working-class consumers, but what gorgeous eye candy to behold! If you're a jewelry lover, you can’t help but think how magnificent Mother Nature, combined with the artistry of a jeweler, is! You may not be able to buy it, but you can take the style as inspiration when selecting more budget-friendly pieces. For example, I like cutting-edge design, but, as I must limit what I actually buy, I rarely buy cutting-edge and lean towards classic, timeless pieces. Also, while I appreciate ladylike jewelry, I avoid ornate and over-the-top femininity. Once you know your style, you can apply it to find jewelry that fits your budget.

Today, let’s take a look at High Jewelry Sapphire and Diamond Pieces, shall we? Peerless craftsmanship and elegance define Chopard’s Red Carpet Collection, a/k/a Haute Joaillerie.

The top👆Sapphire and Diamond Necklace, resembling a crown, features oval-shaped sapphires and round, pear, and marquise-cut diamonds set in 18-carat white gold. It is available in several carat sizes of sapphires and diamonds (e.g, there’s a 97.46-carat version with over 100 carats in diamonds). Oh, I’ll take that one! Dream big!!😝

A Chopard Red Carpet Collection ring has a 9.45 carat cushion cut sapphire framed by pear-shaped sapphires and round and pear-shaped diamonds. The collection’s drop earrings are set with 43.48 carats of pear-shaped sapphires and 2.53 carats of diamonds in white 18k gold. The drop earrings also come in emeralds.

Two sapphire-and-diamond watches from Chopard’s Red Carpet Collection are more like jeweled bracelets with timepieces at their centers. A customer has a choice between diamonds with sapphires or sapphires with diamonds. Which would you pick?

I’m tossing in two other pieces I love that are not designed by Chopard as I’m no slob!😉

A Madagascar cushion-cut sapphire ring, set in platinum, is 30.21 carats. The sapphire is flanked by 2 diamonds totaling 2.56 carats. Its price is listed as $525,000. The ring would go perfectly with the Harry Winston sapphire and diamond necklace on the right. The necklace’s 111.73-carat cushion-cut sapphire is detachable. 

When prices aren’t listed, you have to find out by walking into the jewelers’ shops. As the old saying goes, if you have to ask, you can’t afford them, which, sheesh, we already knew that, didn’t we!?!

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Pretty LeVian Couture Emeralds

LeVian is a jeweler known for its chocolate diamonds and use of bold, vibrant, slightly-off-the-beaten-path colored gemstones like blueberry sapphires and passion rubies. The family run retailer since the 15th century has also maintained its Persian orgins in some of its designs. Personally, I don’t own any of its commercial-grade jewelry sold at Macy’s, Saks or Belk department stores.

Still 2 pieces from LaVain’s High Jewelry Platinum Collection really caught my eye! I (not my bank account😛) can envision wearing them as they are classic and gorgeous!

The Dora is a pair of earrings featuring 9.22 carats of pear-shaped Costa Smeralda Emeralds™ interlaced with 2.65 carats of marquise, pear, and round Vanilla Diamonds™ crafted in 18k Vanilla Gold™.

The Aelia is a 13.53 carat Costa Smeralda Emerald™ in 18k Vanilla Gold™ framed by .86 carat of Vanilla Diamonds™ in a floral pattern.

You may wonder what exactly are Costa Smeralda Emeralds™, Vanilla Gold™ and Vanilla Diamonds™? I had to look it up:

"Le Vian uses Vanilla Gold to describe its unique 14k or 18k white gold alloy, which is designed to be very white and often eliminates the need for rhodium plating. Vanilla Diamonds are Le Vian's branded, specially selected, high-quality white or near-colorless diamonds chosen to sparkle against their colorful, food-named gold and gemstone collections.” 

"Costa Smeralda Emeralds are high-quality, natural, and untreated emeralds ethically sourced from Zambia and Brazil, exclusively marketed by Le Vian.” The hue of the emeralds are a deep forest green.

I think of the terms as more of a marketing tool but once you know their meaning you do understand what you’re getting.

It’s unlikely and impractical for us average wage earners to buy high jewelry, and yet it’s great fun to see! For one, the stones are rare as they are usually big with fewer flaws. Super ogle-worthy!!

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Photo: Harry Winston

The Golden Globes aired last week and soon Oscar's A-listers will walk the red carpet adorned with borrowed jewels worth thousands (and sometimes millions) of dollars from the world's leading designers of high jewelry. 

On the right Graff and on the left Bvlgari

So let's do a quick round-up of 10 of the World's Most Prominent Jewelers (in no particular order) featuring pieces of their jewelry:

1) Cartier - Louis-François Cartier founded Cartier in Paris in 1847, but it was his grandsons, Louis Pierre and Jacques, who turned the family jewelry business into a globally recognized luxury brand.

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2) Boucheron was founded in Paris, France in 1858 by Frederic Boucheron. In 1921 Boucheron was commissioned to make the gorgeous emerald and diamond Greville tiara inherited by Queen Elizabeth II that her granddaughter Princess Eugenie wore for her wedding.

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3) Bvlgari - The Italian luxury jeweler is headquartered in Rome and was founded in 1884 by silversmith Sotirios Voulgaris who began his career in his family's shop in Ottoman Epirus (now Greece). In 2011 Bvlgari became a subsidiary of the French conglomerate LVMH. Its pieces have a timeless yet modern vibe.

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4) Van Cleef & Arpels—The French luxury jewelry company was founded in 1896 in Paris, France, by Dutch diamond cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels. After Solomon died in 1906, Alfred's brothers-in-law, Charles, Julien, and Louis Arpel joined the enterprise. Flowers, animals, and fairies are common themes in its jewelry.

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5) Tiffany & Co. - Founded in 1837 as Tiffany & Young by American Charles Lewis Tiffany, it was renamed Tiffany & Co. in 1853 when he took control of the store and concentrated on jewelry. Tiffany became famous in the early 20th century under the artistic direction of Charles's son, Louis Comfort Tiffany. The luxury brand specializes in luxury diamonds and flawless colored gemstones and is also famous for its Tiffany diamond engagement ring, a 6-prone setting. The shop is very accessible to the public. Inside the 5th Avenue/57th Street flagship store, locals and tourists always feel welcome admiring its luxury jewelry.

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6) Mikimoto - Kokichi Mikimoto started the cultured pearl industry by successfully creating the world's first cultured pearls and after establishing his luxury pearl company called Mikimoto in 1893. Before cultured pearls (real pearls grown on pearl farms), drivers had to deep dive into the ocean to find pearls growing in oysters; consequently, only royalty could afford to buy them.

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7) Chopard - Louis-Ulysse Chopard founded the watch and jewelry company in 1860 in Sonvilier, Switzerland. Today it is owned by the German Scheufele family. Chopard is best known for making luxury Swiss watches (and jewelry), and its clients have included Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

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8) Harry Winston - Is an American luxury jeweler and  Swiss watch company headquartered on 5th Avenue in New York City. It was founded by its namesake Harry Winston in 1932. It is one of the most prestigious jewelers in the world. Harry Winston has owned some of the biggest and most iconic gemstones on earth including the rare blue Hope Diamond which he donated to the Smithsonian in 1958, famously sending it through the US mail. He is known as the jeweler to the stars since they often wear his jewelry to high-profile events.

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9) Graff - Was founded in London in 1960 by British jeweler Lawrance Graff. The jeweler, who began his jewelry apprenticeship at age 14, is fascinated by diamonds and collects diamonds and gemstones of unparalleled rarity, perfection, and beauty. He designs unique and classic pieces and his business acumen made Lawrance, his ex-wife, and his adult children billionaires.

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10) Pomellato is an Italian jewelry company founded by Pino Rabolini in Milan in 1967. Its jewelry is characterized by round, tactile forms and colorful, mixed-sized gemstones.

Nudo rings

Are you now more familiar with the styles of these 10 top jewelers I've featured today? If so, try to guess whose pieces the stars wear on March 2nd at the 97th Academy Awards. 

Do you have a favorite jewelry designer?

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