Walking Up - Down Madison Avenue

Can't go wrong with this designer

Walking up or down Madison Avenue to see the latest fashions is one of the great pleasures of being in Manhattan. The shop widows can be summed up in one word ... magnificent. LA's Rodeo Drive is shockingly pint-sized compared to the 6 miles of Madison Avenue. On the Upper East Side stretch (comprising 1.5 miles between East 86th Street to East 57th Street, there are about 400 luxury and flagship stores, selling apparel, shoes, high end accessories (like purses, belts, hair ribbons, etc.) and fine jewelry.

All that glitters is gold!

These twinkling diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds at Travelers Jewelers on Madison (at East 77th Street) are huge and real gold and gems! I swear, they blink at me every time I walk by!

Georgio Armani (at East 66th Street) has shimmering windows too ... presently featuring evening gowns. Despite the glare from the street lights and traffic, I'm posting a few. There are many more to see!

Wouldn't the elegant designer dresses look lovely with some jewels? Feel free to select your favorite necklace, bracelet and/or ring.

Next razzle dazzle up the avenue stopping at Giuseppe Zanotti (on East 68th Street) for a pair of embellished fancy shoes.

This 12 carat sapphire ring with 14 solitaire diamonds in white gold is my favorite. A kind salesman let me slip it on my finger, and it's a perfect fit! Each time I pass Travers, I look for it in the window. But alas ... after months and months, somebody with deep pockets walked into the jewelry store and bought my ring! {Are you reading this? That's right, MY ring, sister! I know your ring size!!}😁 Fortunately, I have this photo to show you. What a beauty ... I will miss it!😍

On Madison Avenue there are ever changing pretties to see, and the exercise and eye candy are free!


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For The Love Of Sapphires

From the Saudi Arabian set: sapphire and diamond necklace with earrings.

Diana, the Princess of Wales and I share something in common ... our mutual love of blue sapphires. Reportedly, Diana favored the gems because they matched her eyes, whereas, I adore all things blue and sparkly.

Sapphires (like rubies are corundums and the 2nd hardest stones after diamonds (which btw are crystalline forms of pure carbon). Whereas tons of diamonds exist in the world, sapphires are rare (followed by rubies, then emeralds). 

It takes Mother Nature thousands of years to form the precious stones. The intense blue color of the sapphire is caused by the addition of titanium and iron to the mineral corundum. 

A sapphire's color is the single most important characteristic in determining its value. More vital than its clarity, since, unlike diamonds, there are few clean natural sapphires (or rubies) in nature.

While sapphires are mined all over the world, the top quality ones come from (in best to next best order): 1) Kashmir, 2) Burma, 3) Ceylon/Sri Lanka and 4) Elsewhere (like Australia, Madagascar, Thailand and the USA among other places). It comes as no surprise that no new sapphires are mined in the most coveted areas like Kashmir or Ceylon making those sapphires rare, expensive and thus, unaffordable for the average person.

Moreover, sapphires (and other gems) need skillful hands to clean, cut, polish and craft them into fine jewelry. Ok, school's out for the summer!🎶🎵 And now the fun begins ...

Let's take a look at Diana, the Princess of Wales' exquisite sapphire jewelry collection. Alas, a love of blue sapphires is where the similarity of Diana and my lifestyle ends.🙂

Yet amazingly in life, when people can buy their own bling, other people fall all over themselves to give it to them for free! Upon her marriage, Diana received a suite of gorgeous blue sapphires, including a necklace, earrings (see 1st photo) and ring from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, a man she had never met! The Princess of Wales already had her beautiful 12-carat sapphire and diamond starburst engagement ring, therefore she had the Saudi sapphire ring (of Burmese origin) turned into a comely double-purposed choker and headband (see middle photos). 

Diana's iconic 7 string pearl choker with a big center sapphire was refashioned from another gift. The sapphire at the center of the necklace started life as a brooch, an engagement gift from her mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, who has a few lovely sapphires of her own. 

Diana's sapphire and diamond drop earrings you see paired with her choker and headband (see middle images) were also favorites. 

Next, a sapphire bracelet (in the above photo on the left), as well as, Diana's prior mentioned oval sapphire with diamond earrings are both parts of that impressive Saudi Arabian wedding suite of jewelry.

In the above image, Diana wore the Saudi bracelet with a 2nd one: The bracelet on the right, featuring 8 oval-shaped sapphires and shimmering diamonds, is thought to be a gift from Dodi Al-Fayed.

Not only was The Princess of Wales a fashion icon, but she also had the crème de la crème of sapphires! It is impossible not to be in awe of what Mother Nature with man's artistry can do. So ooh and ahh worthy! Do you have a favorite?

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Another question to ponder: In Diana's day, a royal had to dress the part. Her wow factor brought attention to her charities. Likewise, today we have celebrities (without the expectation or crown) who champion the poor, while looking like they spend a million bucks on their couture gowns, jewelry and images.

Let's pretend it is you: Would you wrestle with having so much wealth knowing how poor over 50% of the world is? How do you reconcile the needs of many with the over-the-top materialism? It's complicated, isn't it?🤔



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Royal Engagement Rings: Let's Take A Look

Royal Engagement Rings: Let's Take A Look

When a royal couple gets engaged, count on seeing a gorgeous ring. Although diamonds are the hardest, most durable stones, there are plenty of diamonds in the world. Sapphires are rarer, which is why royalty often chooses a sapphire engagement ring. For fun, let's look at several famous royal rings: 

Kate Middleton (2011), now Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge - A 12-carat sapphire with 14 diamonds that once belonged to fiancé Prince William's mother, Lady Diana Spencer (1981), is a favorite. The ring was picked from Garrard's catalog by Diana and reportedly was inspired by a sapphire brooch that Queen Victoria received on her wedding day from new husband Prince Albert that today is often worn by her great, great-granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II. I adore blue sapphires, and you don't need to be engaged to a prince to wear a royalty-inspired knockoff. Trust me! (In a window of a Madison Avenue jewelry store near my home sits a 12-carat Ceylon sapphire and diamond ring exactly like the royal engagement ring. I'm going to walk over there, wearing all my cheap imperfect jewelry, to try it on. Heck, yeah!! It's the one, I wanted to buy.😊)

Queen Elizabeth II (1947) - To make his betrothed, Princess Elizabeth of York's engagement ring, Prince Philip's mother, Princess Alice (née of Battenberg) who married Prince Andrew of Greece, gave her son one of her tiaras, a wedding gift she received from Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra (Romanov) of Russia. Princess Alice was Tsarina Alexandra's niece. Diamonds were removed from the tiara and reset into an engagement ring. The ring is a round 3-carat brilliant stone flanked by smaller pavé-set diamonds mounted into platinum.

Queen Victoria (1840) - On the right is the exquisite sapphire brooch that a century later inspired Lady Diana's engagement ring. On the left is Queen Victoria's engagement ring. Both were designed by Queen Victoria's fiancé, soon to be husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and presented to her for the wedding. The serpent is an ancient Roman symbol for everlasting love and seems to have been a popular motif for rings during the Victorian era. (It is not for me, I hate snakes!) Set in 18-carat gold, the serpent eyes are rubies, the mouth a line of diamonds and the large center emerald is Queen Victoria's (born May 24, 1819) birthstone. Prince Albert put a lot of thought into the Queen's wedding gifts!

Princess Eugenie of York (2018) - Queen Elizabeth II's granddaughter selected a 3-carat padparadscha pinkish orange glow sapphire, surrounded by diamonds for her engagement ring. It is an ultra rare sapphire. (Not that anybody asks, yet I always prefer blue.) Her own mother, Sarah Ferguson (1986) received a red ruby with diamonds engagement ring commissioned by Prince Andrew as a nod to her red hair. Newspapers wonder if Eugenie is trying to carry on a family color tradition. Only Eugenie knows.

Sarah's ruby and diamond engagement ring

Maghan Markle (2017) - A trio of 3 diamonds, one 2.5 cushion-cut central diamond with two round side diamonds to make 3 carats, set in yellow gold designed by her fiancé, Prince Harry, who used some of the jewelry once belonging to his mother, Diana, later the Princess of Wales.

It's always fun to look, write and gush over jewelry. 

Although sapphires are my favorite gems, I still prefer a traditional round-shaped (called a Tiffany setting) diamond as an engagement ring ... a BIG one, surrounded by smaller diamonds! Do you have a favorite stone.

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