Dresses For My Senior Mom

It seems every spring I order my senior Mother a few dresses, and this spring is no different. She was a stylish dresser as a younger woman, and she still cares about her appearance.

Old Navy put a summer dress on promotion for $10, which she likely wouldn’t have chosen for herself, fearing it was too youthful, but I think it will look adorable on her when temperatures are boiling.

She was never a sun worshiper and has lovely skin with no noticeable age spots, so why must she stay all covered up just because she’s elderly during the hottest months of the year?

The dress is 100% cotton with hidden pockets! After reading all the reviews, the word mini doesn’t worry me; women of all ages stated the length was just right. None mentioned it being too short. At 5'7", I might’ve ordered tall for myself to be safe. My Mom is petite in stature. The drop skirt is super cute, and the loose fit will make the dress easy to manage for all necessary functions during the day, including sitting in a transport wheelchair for outings. The scoop neck is high up enough and classic, and the back doesn’t dip too low. Also, the straps are substantial enough and far from spaghetti-thin. We can always carry a shawl or sweater to drape over her shoulders.

During the sale, I got her 3 dresses (the colors you see in the post).  They were a bargain! I bought her a t-shirt (for pants) and 2 layering tanks, also, which she wears under clothing and to bed. All are soft and machine washable. Free shipping to boot!

Mom is wearing this cozy t-shirt dress in pink that I bought for her last spring. Pink and red are her favorite colors. I don’t think her new dresses will bunch up like her t-shirt dress when she sits. Here we are years ago, enjoying a summer day.

I have as much fun dressing my Mom now as I did my dolls back in the day.🌞

How did I do?

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What Makes A Red Or Pink Diamond?

What Makes a Red or Pink Diamond?

Photo: Prestigeonline - The Eternal Pink diamond

Today I’d like to feature red and pink diamonds. Natural red and pink diamonds are the rarest diamonds* on earth. Natural pink diamonds make up less than 0.01-0.1% of all gem-quality diamonds mined, while natural red diamonds make up less than 0.00001% of the diamonds mined. Many of them were found in the now closed Argyle mine in North-Eastern Australia. 

Fancy colored gemstones usually form when impurities such as boron or nitrogen enter their atomic structure. This is not the case for pink or red diamonds. Their colors are caused by a distortion in the diamond's crystal lattice produced by intense heat and pressure from all directions after the stone's formation in the earth, an ultra rare occurrence! A special configuration of molecules lets us see the stone as pink or red as light passes through it. 

Red diamonds are often less than a carat in weight. 👈The Moussaieff Red Diamond, a trilliant-cut, internally flawless 5.11-carat red diamond, is the largest known red diamond in the world. Discovered in the 1990s in Brazil’s Minas Gerais region, it weighed 13.90 carats in its rough, uncut form. Auctioned for $8 million in 2001, experts think it would fetch $20 million today due to the double rarity of its color and size.

Photo Phillips Auction House

The Argyle Phoenex👉 at 1.56 carats is the largest brilliant round cut fancy red diamond in the world. The ultra-rare pure red gemstone came from the now-depleted and closed Argyle mine. It sold for a record breaking $4.2 million at a Phillips auction in Geneva in 2024. Small, yet intense and stunning!

Frankly, unlike red diamonds, I’ve never been enamoured by pink diamonds until the 👆Eternal Pink diamond came along. At 10.57 carats, it’s not the biggest pink diamond in the world, but IMHO it’s the most gorgeous, plus I love the diamond's exquisite ring setting. The Eternal Pink diamond is a cushion cut internally flawless Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink color reduced from a 23.78-carat rough stone found in Botswana. In 2023, it was sold at Sotheby's for $34.8 million.

Many of the world’s other big pink diamonds are less saturated, so a paler pink and so large, they don’t look as lovely on a finger, which is not to say you wouldn’t ogle them upon sight.

Photo: National Jewelry/Sotheby's

The CTF Pink Star👉, mined in Africa by DeBeers, is not only the biggest and most expensive pink diamond ever sold, but it is the most pricey gemstone ever auctioned. Costing $71.2 million in 2017, the 59.60-carat oval-mixed cut stone is internally flawless and graded by the GIA as a Fancy Vivid Pink Diamond. 

Golly-gee, is it an enormous diamond to wear as a ring, but I’m sure I could get used to all the carat weight, if I had to wear it.:)

The Desert Rose - Sotheby's

👈The Desert Rose is the largest and most famous pear-shaped diamond in the world. A 31.68 carat Fancy Vivid Orangy Pink diamond, with VVS1 clarity, it sold at Sotheby’s for $8.8 million in 2025.

The Fortune Pink,👇 a mere 18.18 carat diamond graded Fancy Vivid Pink by GIA with VVS2 clarity, was the previous largest pear-shaped Fancy Vivid Pink diamond. Christie’s auctioned it for $28.8 million, and I’m going to show you its luminous beauty below. The new owner can wear it mounted as either a ring or a necklace.

Pink and especially red diamonds start as the rarest gemstones on Earth, and as their natural supply dwindles, their value will keep rising! But more than their monetary value, they are a true, rare, natural phenomenon. Reminders of Mother Nature’s powerful forces and lustrious beauty.

*Red gemstones are the rarest type of gemstone. Rubies are also rare.

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Michael Gabriels Lab Created Diamond Jewelry

Michael Gabriels lab-grown diamond ring

Diamonds over 2 carats increase in price exponentially, not linearly, because eye-clean, bigger diamonds are rarer and in demand. The jewelry industry uses the term magic sizes to describe the price jump at round numbers that occur at .05, 1.00, 2.00, 3.00 carats and up. If you buy a natural diamond ring slightly below the round numbers, for example, at 2.95 carats, you’ll pay less but get the same effect as a 3.00 carat diamond ring.

Nowadays, people who desire bigger carats are considering lab-grown diamonds for at least 50% less than the cost of natural diamonds of the same size and quality. Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds. Just like natural-grown diamonds, lab-grown diamonds are pure carbon arranged in a crystal lattice. They have the exact same chemical, physical, and optical properties as natural diamonds. The difference between the two is their origins. Natural diamonds are created over billions of years in the earth, while lab-grown diamonds are created in weeks in a laboratory using advanced technology that mimics the natural geological process of diamond formation. 

Do you want to know how lab diamonds are created? Two methods are used: High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT), which mimics the Earth’s mantle, and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), which uses carbon-rich gas to grow diamond crystals atom by atom. Both methods produce 100% real diamonds. HPHT produces high-quality, often larger crystals and intensely colored diamonds with strong, consistent crystals, while CVD offers greater control, producing exceptional clarity and larger, high-quality, colorless stones such as pure type 2a (IIa) diamonds (i.e. diamonds without metallic inclusions, which are very, very rare in natural diamonds). Only an expert with a spectroscopy in a laboratory can tell a natural diamond and a lab diamond apart. Natural diamonds usually contain small amounts of nitrogen gas that become incorporated into the diamond structure. UV light (fluorescence) can highlight the growth structure of the diamond being tested. Lab-grown diamonds can also be identified by the types of inclusions they might show. CVD, HPHT, and natural diamonds will all have their own distinctive inclusions. Type 2a diamonds produced by the CVD method are the most chemically pure type of diamond, containing no measurable nitrogen, boron, or metallic impurities. They have exceptional transparency and brilliance, comprising less than 2% of gem-quality diamonds. Of course, that would add to their expense.

Often, you pay 50%-70% less for lab-grown diamonds, which usually have better color (D-F) and clarity (VS1) than natural diamonds. In other words, customers get a bigger, cleaner stone for less money. More sparkle! Natural diamonds fetch a higher resale value. But jewelry isn’t an investment, and you should only think of it as a luxury buy, since you’ll usually lose money by selling your jewelry.

Lab-grown diamonds are lowering the price of both natural and lab diamonds as more retailers enter the market and more people buy them.

Michael Gabriels, a 3rd-generation New York jeweler at 46 Howard Street in Soho specializes in lab-grown diamond jewelry with stellar craftsmanship, beautiful design, and good reviews for attentive customer service. Good craftsmanship is vital. You want to buy excellent cut diamonds. In a tennis bracelet or necklace, you want all the diamonds to have matching color and clarity. With regular promotions, you can also score a deal.

Lab-grown diamond jewelry isn’t cheap, but it’s sustainable and considered a better value because you can get more carats and better color and clarity for a lot less moola! No longer must customers spend 5-figures to buy a bigger or cleaner carat diamond ring, bracelet, or pair of earrings!

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Summer Dresses At Uniqlo and Old Navy

Uniqlo

I buy all my summer dresses at Uniqlo or Old Navy. One of the two retailers always comes through for me with color and cuteness. I prefer cotton or linen, and with a tad of spandex is ok. Each merchant's dress collection can always be dressed up or down and can be machine-washed and dried, although I tend to hang-dry my dresses.  

Let’s do a quick round-up to see what they’ve launched this year.

First Up is Uniqlo:

Followed by Old Navy:

I’m featuring what I like. There are a few other styles at both retailers. Each of the dresses comes in several more colors and/or patterns, and between the 2 retailers, why shop anywhere else? Mini, midi, or maxi, sleeves or sleeveless, every summer, they’ve got us covered! No pun intended, hardy, har, har.😉😎

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Celebrities In Diamond Stud Earrings

Photo: here- Click to enlarge photos you want to see.

A luxury item I covet but will never buy is a relatively huge 4+ carat pair of diamond stud earrings. 4-carat diamond studs can cost anywhere from $30,000 - $50,000+ for natural diamonds. Prices are determined by cut, carat, color, and clarity. Customers might consider G-H/SI or F-G/VS, which are of decent quality.

Well, that’s a lot of moola for a single piece of jewelry, isn’t it? Obviously, I was born into the wrong class in society! But, you know what? I will still indulge my love of diamond stud earrings on this blog!

Let’s do a roundup of celebrities who are lucky enough to either work in lucrative fields, or are born into families of wealth, or can borrow their jewelry from famous designers. I’d be fine and dandy with borrowing jewelry! Wearing diamonds without having to buy them is a fabulous deal!

Not all these famous ladies are wearing the biggest diamond studs. Some may even be lab-grown diamonds or not diamonds at all. Only they know.

I wonder if Jennifer Lopez and Angelina Jolie borrowed their diamond studs to attend an awards show? Kelly Clarkson may have treated herself for all the shows and TV spots she does.

Michelle Williams, Michelle Obama, Judge Judy, and Simone Biles likely own the diamond studs they're wearing. All have had enough success to buy them.

Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber

Diamond studs of all sizes look great on everyone of all ages in all professions. What’s more, lab-grown diamonds are making diamond stud earrings more accessible to average wage earners, and the technology is improving all the time. Still not cheap, but diamond prices, both natural and lab-grown, are falling! Since 1st on the market, lab-grown diamonds have decreased by as much as 75%! Lab-grown diamonds are physically, chemically, and optically identical to gemstones formed over billions of years in the Earth. The only difference is their origin ... they are created in a laboratory, and only a jeweler using a special loupe can tell the difference.

Diamonds over 2 carats increase exponentially in price. Lab-grown white sapphires in 925 silver are a winning substitute for diamonds if you covet bigger stones without breaking the bank.

It’s all beautiful eye candy to us glitter-lovers!

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Should You Buy Fine Jewelry Today?

Don’t get me wrong, I like quality and looking polished and coordinated, but I’m not a luxury bag, shoes, or apparel maven. Fine jewelry is my luxury temptation of choice, which is just as much of a luxury buy as a Hermès handbag. Therefore, who am I to judge? We don’t buy luxury goods because we need them, but because we want, ummm, love them, and they are not true investments like a stock portfolio.

Fortunately, I have a small capsule (not a collection) of fine jewelry, gifts I got for a special birthday or graduation, or a few pieces I saved up to buy as a wage earner over the years.

But would I advise buying fine jewelry at today’s prices? Sadly, I don’t think so. Like Chanel bags, Dior frocks, or Christian Louboutin heels, fine jewelry is significantly marked up in response to demand, and let's call it, created perceptions of greater value. Additionally, today we are being charged thousands of dollars for not a lot of gold. Skimpy chains, bands, and bracelets have gotten shockingly expensive!

IMHO, these 3 bracelets from Brilliant Earth are gorgeous ... what a classy stack! Would you like to know how much it would cost a customer to buy them? Here’s the breakdown in US dollars ...

Sol Starburst Diamond 7” Bracelet (1/8 ct. wt) in 14k yellow gold. Cost: $3,595

Diamond Flexible Tennis Bangle Bracelet (1 1/3 ct. tw.) in 18K White Gold $3,595

Sol Slim 6.5 In. Bracelet in 14K Yellow Gold. Cost:$2,350

Total cost before taxes: $9,540 

Such a tidy sum is not practical for an average wage earner, despite the lovely aesthetics. The individual bracelets are not the thickest!

In fact, the price of gold has hit record highs of over $4,700 per ounce at this time. Driven by geopolitical tensions and central bank buying, gold has experienced a sharp long-term upward trend. 

THE SAVVY SHOPPER will continue to feature fine jewelry as it’s too pretty not to, but as a value shopper, I can’t in good faith tell anyone to splurge on it. You’ll have to decide for yourself whether or not to empty your bank account. 

Oh, my goodness, 6 bangles would double the tab! If I were to spend $9,540 - $19,080+ on jewelry, I would spend it on a single piece with the biggest single diamond I could buy, rather than a stack with multiple single diamonds, because a bigger diamond would be easier to sell on the pre-loved market if the owner absolutely needed money.*

With graduations and weddings in the future, what are your thoughts on buying fine jewelry at today’s prices? Is it worth it?!?

*BTW: Bigger gemstones are rarer (so cost more) than small diamonds. Tennis bracelets are pricey because of demand + the price of gold + the color of the diamonds must match, and a ton of diamonds are sifted through to find matching colors. {Clean Origins is known to own its own diamonds and offer above-average customer service. This blog is not sponsored.} 

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LaPointe's Feather Coat Is Fun

Photo courtesy of Town & Country

As a Manhattanite living in a small apartment, I don’t buy clothes like the coat that comedian Sandra Bernhard is wearing in the March 2026 issue of Town & Country. Although guests to my home think I have good-sized closets, to avoid clutter, I must organize ... plus limit my wardrobe to classic outerwear, jackets, sweaters, and shoes that go with everything else I own. All my coats and many of my shoes are black! Why? For their versatility. They go with everything!

Still, what a fabulous piece this feathered coat is from LaPointe’s Spring 2026 Collection! I love the beautiful purplish-blue color! The bit of silvery glitter on the ends of its sleeves. The shape is full yet not overwhelming, and the midi length is perfect for showing off Sandra's stylish pumps. Classic, old-style, showbiz glamour!

Oh, what fun to borrow it for a night out on the town!

Above are other pieces I like from LaPointe's feather collection. With the jackets, we must also sport the matching purse. They go together like Rodgers and Hammerstein. Do you agree? Have you ever worn feathers?

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Admiring 2 Harry Winston Diamond Rings

Another day, another eye candy blog. Let's browse: Here are 2 gorgeous Harry Winston diamond rings average wage earners can admire, yet likely not afford to buy. Even if consumers have the money in the bank, it would be unwise to spend it on luxury items like high-end jewelry rather than on necessities, emergencies, or retirement. But looking, ooing, and ahhing are free. So here we go!

The first ring is crafted in platinum; set with a 12.55-carat step-cut emerald, in a D-color that is internally flawless. The main diamond is flanked by 2 tapered baguette diamonds. The cost depends on the carats, color, and clarity a customer selects if buying it directly from Harry Winston. Both rings are available, with consumers choosing their center diamond.

Ring number 2 is crafted in platinum; set with a 6.01-carat pear brilliant-cut diamond, with E color and VS2 clarity; and it is also flanked by two baguette-cut diamonds. Once again, it’s available and customizable at Harry Winston’s, but Fortuna auctioned this 6.01-carat diamond ring for $187,000.

Oh, what if an average earner loves, loves, loves these beautiful diamonds as much as I do, but could never justify a Harry Winston purchase?

As I always say, "First a dreamer, then a realist!" Use the Harry Winston rings as inspiration and be willing to make some compromises to fit your budget! So what is a practical person who isn’t one of the new billionaires in our country to do?

Consder lab grown diamonds costing considerable less! Lab-grown gemstones are physically, chemically, and optically the same as gemstones that form over billions of years in the Earth's mantle. Be flexible on carat size, color, and clarity, and switch from platinum to 18k or 14k gold to lower costs. The benefit of gold over platinum is that the ring can be resized to fit a changing finger size over time. The 👆lab-grown pear-shaped diamond on the left is 2 carats in 18k gold, priced at $2,424.10, and it, too, is gorgeous!

For the emerald cut ring, this lab-grown diamond ring to the right👉 is without the side baguettes for $1,979.25. Still, if you yearn to dupe the Harry Winston design at a higher price, another option is here. Research all sellers thoroughly before making any purchases.

On a jewelry budget, perhaps rings are the best splurge, because you can admire their beauty while you wear them, unlike a necklace that requires standing in front of a mirror. You catch the sparkles of a ring as you toss your hand around!

Angara

Although much less than Harry Winston, $2,000+ for jewelry isn’t exactly cheap either, is it? If you’re simply looking for bling to wear without investing weeks of salary, there are yet more compromises you could make. You could buy lab-grown white sapphires, which are inexpensive and crafted in 925 sterling silver, which is still categorized as fine jewelry. Sterling silver is softer than gold, so you wouldn’t want a sterling silver engagement ring that you might wear daily, banging it around. Do. Not. Accept. That fiancée of yours must work a little harder! Sterling silver is a fine metal for necklaces, earrings, and rings you wear mindfully when you have few chances of banging it. Moreover, it's wise to take lower-priced jewelry that you can afford to replace on vacation.

Italo rings

Italo is one of several jewelry companies making lab-grown white sapphires in 925 sterling silver. With its ongoing deals, a buyer can score Harry Winston dupe rings at $70 - $100. Decent quality for the price.

Even so, I’m thinking if my ☆・*Fairy Godmother☆・* were to ever appear, she’d procure those 2 Harry Winston rings for me. I know she would, and I’m waiting! Are those fast twinkling lights I see, you know, the kind when a body holding a wand👤👗 materializes out of thin air?😛

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