Fine custom jewelry design lends unique distinction to gifts, engagement rings ...

18.05.12

By Tim Dooley

At last, fans of celeb couple Angelina Jolie and Bradd Pitt can celebrate the pair’s engagement, confirmed last week in the New York Daily News and sealed with a stunning piece of fine custom jewelry in the form of Jolie’s new engagement ring. According to the news report, Pitt was heavily involved in the design process alongside jeweler Robert Procop, who had created pieces for Jolie in the past. Pitt combined his own unique vision with Procop’s skill to craft an unforgettable piece of jewelry; and for anyone interested in doing the same for themselves, a fiancé or a loved one, all it takes is a little inspiration and help from a talented master jeweler.

Custom jewelry is the perfect way to celebrate an engagement; but it is also makes for an ideal gift on any occasion. Perhaps you have old jewelry in your family and would like to repurpose the stones in new settings, or maybe you’ve come across a unique stone or gem and want to create a signature piece for yourself or someone special. Whatever your inspiration, the right jeweler will take your ideas and materials and work with you to turn the dream into a reality. However, it is important to select the best jeweler for the job.

Source: Pomerado Newspaper Group

Angelina Jolie vs. Jennifer Aniston: Whose Brad Pitt Engagement Ring Is Better?

18.05.12

Who Wore It Best: Brad's bling edition!

Before Brad Pitt popped the question to the mom of his six children, Angelina Jolie , he got down on one knee in front of Jennifer Aniston in 1999.

Both times, Pitt has collaborated with the jeweler designing his future fiancee's engagement ring. For Aniston's multi-level, swirl-design sparkler, he tapped Silvia Damiani; for Jolie's giant emerald-cut stone, he worked with their long-time jeweler and friend, Robert Procop.

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But it looks like Pitt, 48, has gotten a bit more conservative when it comes down to the price tag. Back in 1999, Aniston's ring, which she debuted during a Sting concert in NYC, was estimated to be worth around $500,000; jewelry expert Michael O'Connor quoted Jolie's ring to be somewhere around $250,000.

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On Friday, Brangelina fans everywhere were rejoicing when Pitt's rep confirmed that the long-time loves were finally settling down and making things official. Jolie, 36, flashed her new engagement bling during a private art viewing at LACMA on Wednesday.

Source: Us Magazine

Queen of the stone age: Solange Azagury-Partridge has never been too precious ...

18.05.12

Solange Azagury-Partridge's flagship boutique, with its red-velvet cases and carefully considered interiors (each piece of furniture and every fitting has been chosen by the designer herself), is a world removed from the jewellery label's origins in Azagury-Partridge's west London basement.

Hers is a fashionable fairytale: after designing her own engagement ring in 1987, her unusual and avant-garde pieces caught the attention first of her close friends and then a wider coterie, who placed orders, spread the word and eventually convinced her to set up business three years later.

She opened a first shop in Westbourne Grove in 1995, and added the Bond Street store in 2010. In 2001, she was personally approached by the designer Tom Ford to take over as creative director at the Parisian fine jewellery house Boucheron, which she left in 2004 to focus on her own line. Twenty-two years after its rather low-key inception, Solange Azagury-Partridge is a global name.

When I go to meet the designer in her offices a little further down Bond Street, my first encounter is with one of her employees, who is crying – not, as the fashion apocrypha normally goes, because her boss is such a tyrant, but because she is so sad to be leaving the firm. "S.A-P" will be ready in just a moment, she tells me between sniffs, and so I settle myself in an office more boutique than workplace, scattered with intriguing objets and eclectic furniture mismatched in all the right ways.

Source: The Independent