We didn't have a newsletter in August and we apologize to those who were having withdrawal symptoms and feared they had been taken off the list. We are back in business for September and hope not to miss a month again.
We want to remind our friends that we will be exhibiting at the Avenue Show, September 30—October 3, 2010. Opening night is Wednesday, September 29th at the Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street. Please call Jane at the office 212.794.9100 for passes.
We are so excited to be on the cover of the October issue of Vanity Fair where Lindsay Lohan is wearing our beautiful gold charm bracelet! It’s a miracle….the bracelet is very visible.
We are thrilled to announce the publication of our friend Ruth Peltason's book Living Jewels: Masterpieces from Nature. There are lots of corals and natural pearls. This is a must have book. Of course we are a bit biased since the cover features our Tiffany coral brooch. We have other pieces inside as do some of our clients. Ruth will be giving a lecture on her book sponsored by the ASJH at FIT on October 7, 2010 at 6 p.m. If you wish to attend, please call my office and speak with Jane.
A special item this month are these pearl and diamond drop earring set in 18k gold with 10.90 carats of diamonds. We bought these really well and they will make a party very special.
Another special item we bought this month is this "couscous" bracelet in 18k gold with sapphire and diamond flowers. It is a tiny bit small so those of you with small wrists, get in line.
This cushion cut ruby ring has a diamond on each side and is 7.34 carats. While not Burma, the certificate says East Africa, no heat. It is unusual to find a ruby of this size that hasn’t been heated.
We also bought a fabulous emerald ring when we bought the ruby. This emerald is over 20 carats and has an exquisite diamond mounting made by Carven-French that is set with approximately 5.00 carats of diamonds. The little diamond sections on the side dangle. The certificate states that this is a Columbian stone and shows little evidence of treatment.
We have an unusual piece of jewelry by Haroldo Burle Marx, a Brazilian born in 1911 who was a landscape architect with his brother. While most of his jewelry was made in the 1950's, it was not available in the U.S. until 1981 when a shop was opened in Washington DC by Alta Leath, the wife of a congressman. This brooch has a lovely oval-shaped aqumarine dangling from a curl of 18k gold which could be a C.
We are happy to feature corals this month. We just read in the NY Times that because of climate changes, corals all over the world are turning white and lovely rich colored coral is harder and harder to find. This month we have a necklace that we think is one of the prettiest we've ever had. It consists of round corals alternating with 18k gold discs. We have a great pair of round earrings in the same color. Seaman Schepps is always popular and we got these white shells studded with coral. The necklace would also be nice with gold earrings and we have a good selection this month.
Gold earrings work perfectly with the coral necklace and everything else. The Henry Dunay are hammered quatrefoils. The shiny yellow and white gold domed ones are by Bulgari. Then the yellow and white gold ones with a touch of diamonds are also by Bulgari.
We got two more great pairs of earrings. There are 14k polished gold hoops. The small hoops are 18k gold and are set with diamonds and really have a sparkle. We've got a little turquoise selection for very reasonable prices. The big ring and the bangle are both 14k gold.
Fall is coming and this is a perfect brooch to wear with suits. It is 14k gold with dark citrines and diamonds and is signed Traebert Hoffer and Mauboussin.
We've got three pretty retro bracelets and a terrific watch. My favorite is the wide bracelet with diamond studded balls in 18k gold. This is everything a retro bracelet ought to be. This could be your signature, worn every day. Next is a lovely French rose gold one. The watch is 18k rose gold and platinum and is accented with diamonds. Lastly is a wonderful two tone one, rosy yellow and white.
We have some unique wood bangles made by Arthur Kemelman who is an English scholar, academic editor, avid gardener and woodworker who lives outside Jerusalem. Arthur has created these bracelets from fallen rosewood trees and hunks of wood he finds around the countryside. Working the wood to uncover the faults and imperfections within, Arthur applies gold leaf to the crags to create these beautiful, stylish and unique bangles. Sizes can be custom fit to accommodate any wrist. These are fabulous.
We love the look of long chains with a pendant. The long chain on the left is an old 18k one with a slider in pearls and diamonds. The rose quartz pendant is in 18k gold and has two little diamond accent. The labradorite pendant is shown on an 18k chain. Both of these pendants have bales that open so they can be used with various sized chains. The old watch chain with a sort of horse shoe and the other one is in 14k.
Marcella is back in town and we’ve got lovely Bakelite pieces she has designed. The tortoise shell colored ring has a one carat diamond. It is a size 5 and would work on most pinkies. The black ring is a size 6 and has just under 1.50 carats of diamonds. The bi-color ring is also a size 6 and has 11 small diamonds, weighing about .87 carat. The beige- yellow earrings are centered with mother of pearl and each has 5 small diamonds.
In the summer, I had more time to read in Southampton and have really found some winners.
Now here's where a Kindle comes in handy. James Patterson, the very successful thriller writer, writes many books today with another writer. His name alone is enough to propel it to instant success. He writes many books with other authors and his latest collaboration is The Postcard Killers with Liza Marklund, a successful crime writer in Sweden, where the book hit number one five months ago. It debuted at number one in the U.S. on September 5th on the New York Times fiction list. I got the book section on Saturday, ordered it on my Kindle that night and read it on Saturday and Sunday. It is a terrific read and I want to see if any of her other books are available in English.
I ordered on my Kindle two books by Jennifer Weiner, Fly Away Home and Best Friends Forever. Fly Away Home is the story of a well-educated woman who gives up all to become the devoted mate of her husband, a U.S. senator. When it comes out that he has had an affair with a staffer, she is devastated. Her two grown daughters have suffered from her neglect and the book details every one coming together after the crisis. I really enjoyed this book. Best Friends Forever is the story of two friends who suffered various tragedies in their youth and only recently become friends again. I was shocked to find Fly Away Home at the top of the New York Times best seller list and Best Friends Forever high up on the paperback list.
The new Peter Robinson, Bad Boy is an absolutely delicious read and even though he has written close to twenty Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks books, each one stands alone and helps you to understand Banks better. Robinson is a star.
I just finished a wonderful book, Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. It’s the story of an American journalist married to a Frenchman, living in Paris. She is assigned to write a story on the sixtieth anniversary of Vélodrome d'Hiver, which was when the French policemen rounded up the Jews to be transported to camps. Julia gets onto the story of a girl called Sarah and a link with Julia’s in-laws is discovered. I didn’t know much about this low moment in French history and you learn a lot. The writing is beautiful.
One surprise was Think of a Number, a first novel by John Verdon. I loved this book. It is the story of Dave Gudrun, a retired ex-cop who has moved from New York to a small town upstate with his wife Madeleine. He still thinks like a cop and is dragged into a classic locked room mystery by an old schoolmate. This story is riveting and you really feel for Dave and Madeleine.
Daniel Silva's new book The Rembrandt Affair featuring Gabriel Allon, the art restorer Mossad operative is out and is a great read as usual. Even though they are somewhat predictable, I always enjoy these books.
We made a little foray to Target in Riverhead while in Southampton trying various facial cleansers and exfoliators so as not to pay over $100 for Sisley et al. We love the Boots No. 7 products from London. Our other favorite is Regenerist and we want to try other products in the Olay line. Another good one is Renew which I pinched at my sister's. It is by Avon and solves the problem of what to buy when the Avon person at your office needs an order. It's a really good cleanser.
Ninth Avenue is my new favorite street. Between the show at the Javits Center and a doctor on West 57th street, I have been able to explore. Did you know there's a farmer's market between 56th and 57th streets on Wednesday and Saturday? I got fab baby bok choy and there's a man who makes homemade dog treats so I got a bag for Francesca, Coco and Yuki, our in-house kennel. They quite liked them. There is a lovely park on the corner where you can have lunch. On the west side of the street there’s a great deli at 47th Street, southwest corner, that sells two dozen roses for $10 and he clips the stems. Between 49th and 50th is The Amish Market which is a treasure trove of delicious things to eat. There are lots of interesting restaurants, especially Indian and Pakistani.
We would like to recommend a food blog, Foodalogue started by Joan Nova who worked for Roy Furman at Furman Selz. We recently had a reunion lunch when Joan was in New York and I was reminded of her new career in southern Florida. She recommends meandering meals, musing and travels and the site is very interesting. In her latest letter she recommends a Peruvian restaurant, CVI.CHE 105 in downtown Miami which sounds scrumptious. I want to go when we do the Miami Beach show in January. I think you will enjoy the recipes and other info on this blog.
I saw three of the movies on my “to see” list. Cairo Time was wonderful and to me was everything that I Am Love tried to be and failed. Patricia Clarkson plays Juliette, the wife of a diplomat who is detained in Gaza when she travels to meet him. He has deputized Taruq, played by Alexander Siddiq, to show her around and the movie show Cairo at its most seductive and erotic. The growing attraction between the two makes a beautiful, romantic movie and I loved it. The American with George Clooney was everything I expected and more. It was a very European type movie with minimal dialogue and lots of soulful looks. It starts in Sweden and quickly moves to Italy. George Clooney is magnificent as an assassin on his last job and you want desperately for him to succeed at making a happy life, Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts is too long and there is too much eating and meditating but when it gets to the love with Javier Bardem, the movie comes to life.
I mentioned last month that White Collar on USA was one of the summer replacements that we like very much. The gorgeous Matt Bohmer plays ex-con turned FBI consultant ‘Neil Caffrey. He is always perfectly dressed and in August was on the cover of WWD. He is absolutely beautiful, with blue eyes that will stop traffic. He is going places and remember you heard about him here.
A strong recommendation is, Wall Street, Money Never Sleeps. This is the Oliver Stone sequel with a superb Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko. This movie does a fairly decent job of explaining the trouble we got in with real estate and is very entertaining to boot. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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