Designer Jewelry & Watches at Discount Prices...

Discount Shopping sites have become a common sight today...and the plethora of Designer Shopping websites have actually given us some great names and styles to choose from.

Whether you love the tried and true stores like Loehman's (my personal fave), TJ Max, Ross, Steinmart, etc. OR the new breed of online membership sites, today it is all about stretching your spendable income.

Today we are going to look at some of the rising numbers of Jewelry Brands that are using these sites to close out goods from past seasons and do a little inventory clearing....good for them and good for us!

HauteLook is currently clearing such names as:

Currently at Editor's Closet:

RueLaLa has Barse coming up and is currently showing:

Do you have a favorite Designer Discount site? share it with us in the comments...and yes if you want an invitation to any of the above I would be happy to send one your way (I WILL see monetary compensation for inviting you...as will you when you invite your friends ;-p)...just drop me an email at: robynahawk at yahoo.com

2011 Orchid Raffle Announced!!!

The Gem and Jewelry World's Foremost Resource on The Internet. Open to the public, Free of Charge!

For Immediate Release: October 5, 2010 Ganoksin Orchid Raffle 2011 is announced! $10,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate Give-away! Rio Grande is your online source for innovative jewelry-making products, great service and technical know-how. Whether you are just starting out or are a seasoned professional jeweler, metalsmith or artisan, we share your passion. The Ganoksin Project is giving away $10,000 worth of gift certificate prizes towards an exciting SHOPPING SPREE throughout the extensive Rio Grande tools & supplies catalog! Now your Rio Grande shopping dreams could be made true. ;-) Your chances of winning are realistic! Yes, You CAN WIN the tools and equipment you really need! All raffle proceeds go directly to support Ganoksin Project and The Orchid list, which supports the exchange of free information for all. Without your dedicated support and continued generosity The Ganoksin Project would not exist. How It works We are pleased to announce the latest in our series of the Orchid Give-aways! TO ENTER THE DRAW: You purchase a downloadable eBook(s), which entitles you to ONE entry in the draw for EVERT $35 you spend. Each of the 2 (two) winners of our random draw can use their gift certificate to purchase $5,000 worth of products sold online at Riogrande.com. An exciting shopping spree throughout the extensive Rio Grande’s tools Catalog! Perfect for outfitting your bench or supplies box. Now your Rio Grande shopping dreams could be made true. This year we offer three complete eBooks Lost Wax Jewelry Making: The Build-up Technique One of the few books available on wax modelmaking; "Lost Wax Jewelry Making: The Build-up Technique" by Minoru Azama, printed in Japanese by Kashiwa Hobby Books. 1999. Azama process emphasizes building up wax as opposed to starting with a wax blank and carving away material. He uses this approach for organic as well as geometric subjects. The potential of this technique is unlimited! Azama's work is outstanding, some of it so very precise and geometric that one would think it had been carved of hard wax. The book was written for students at the Japan Jewelry Academy, and Mr. Azama has been generous enough to write a complete English translation. Complete Edition: $70 Part 1 Only: $35 Part 2 Only: $35 Small Scale Photography This eBook gives excellent lessons on how to set up a home or studio photo booth to take professional-quality photographs and slides of your jewelry or small objects such as ceramics, glass and so on. Taking your own quality images saves money and time. The system (not counting the cost of camera and tripod) costs less than 60.00$ to set up. How to build a drop shadow photo booth, film types, lighting, miniature spotlighting, composition, backgrounds, surface understanding and image creation are covered. PR techniques are taught and sources are listed. The ideas shared in this set can save you hundreds of dollars in professional photographic fees and time. Free Bonous: Digital photo notes Complete Edition: $70 Part 1 Only: $35 Part 2 Only: $35 Cheap Thrills in The Tools Shop This Classic book is a loose, eclectic collection of short cuts, bench tricks and alternative equipment options for goldsmiths. Cheap tool making, conversions and unexpected sources for tools are all described. Sections include shop machines, tools, setting tools, soldering and more. Will save you hundreds of dollars in the jewelry studio. Lots of line drawings, lists and reviews of sources round out the book. A good table of contents and index make finding information easy. This was the first bench tricks book published in English in 40 years and led the interest in Bench Tricks in the jewelry/metals field. Complete Edition: $70 Part 1 Only: $35 Part 2 Only: $35 Increase your chances! Buy more than one! There are two different chapters in this series and you can buy one or more of these and each purchase puts you in the draw for the voucher. You are not limited in the number of entries you can have. You can buy and download as many copies as you wish. The Grand Prize winners will be drawn on March 15, 2011 Remember: - Participation is open worldwide! - Only 2,000 Tickets issued and they sell fast! Support Orchid! Buy an eBook! Only $35 per chapter. We wish you all the best of luck and happy purchasing. Hanuman The Ganoksin Project

The Ganoksin Project is the largest virtual single information source for searchable archived content for jewelry and metals in the world. Its 10,500 Orchid members foster sharing, support community, enhance productivity and encourage studio safety, by promoting education in the jewelry and metal arts worldwide.

Canturi Designer Barbie to Benefit Breast Cancer Research

Canturi Jewels unveiled their "Barbie by Stefano Canturi" in NYC at Vogue's Fashion's Night Out events last month and that started this glamorous Barbie's Tour of the US and Europe which will end at Christies Auction House.

The New York Daily News reports:

The curvaceous, custom-designed doll is donning a necklace featuring a 1-carat pink diamond. She's being offered Oct. 20 at Christie's auction house in New York for an estimated $300,000 to $500,000. At that selling price, Christie's says she would be the world's most expensive Barbie.

All proceeds will benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Jeweler Stefano Canturi arranged the emerald-cut, fancy vivid diamond in a geometric pattern with smaller white diamonds, totaling 3 carats. He also designed the doll's black strapless dress, stilettos, hair and other features.

The world auction record for a Barbie is $17,091, set in 2006 at Christie's London.

You can follow Canturi Jewels on Facebook

or check out their website

Jewelry from the Neiman Marcus "Christmas Book"

YES - it is the over the top "Fantasy Gifts" that has made the Annual Neiman Marcus Christmas Book a tradition. We all wonder how they will ever out do the previous year's offerings...well, it's that time of year again and once again...they have wow-ed us!

Flip through the 50th Anniversary Neiman Marcus Christmas Book HERE!

It has been 50 years of divine decadence and to celebrate? A Diamond and Gold 50th Anniversary Charm Bracelet that pays homage to the "His & Hers" gifts of the last half century...

Description from the Christmas Book:

Diamond and Gold His & Hers 50th Anniversary Charm Bracelet

In 1960, Stanley Marcus created an international stir with a brilliant public relations coup: listing matching Beechcraft airplanes as His & Hers gifts in The Christmas Book for an attention-getting $176,000. Over the years, customers have been able to order very real His & Hers gifts including a high-tech bowling alley, complementary Egyptian sarcophagi, custom action figures, even matching bathtubs. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Mr. Stanley's idea, we proudly present a precious jewelry bracelet like no other. Master jewelers crafted it from a one-of-a-kind collection of 11 marquise-cut diamonds. Certified fancy–and extremely rare–naturally colored diamonds in the collection include richly hued pink, blue, and orange diamonds. The centerpiece diamonds have micropavé settings and are surrounded by 18-kt. white and yellow gold. Displayed from a classic link bracelet with a diamond lobster-claw clasp, the 11 diamond and gold charms commemorate His & Hers gifts over the years: an airplane, Chinese junk, hot-air balloon, camel, sarcophagus, Buffalo calf, windmill, ostrich, Shar-Pei puppy, robot, and vintage motorcycle. Only one will be created. Want to slip it around her wrist to capture the romance and rewards of your special partnership? Item Diamond and Gold His & Hers 50th Anniversary Charm Bracelet Price 248,000.00 CBF11_O4834 Call 1.877.9NM.GIFT for the sparkling details.

Autore Takes Another Jewelry Design Award...

Now in their second year, Veranda magazine’s Art of Design Awards “honor trailblazers forging paths in the design industry with work that is both innovative and timeless.”

For the 2010 Awards the magazine recognized:

Paul Wiseman in Interior Design

Bernie de Le Cuona in Fabric Design

Gil Schafer in Architecture

Suzanne and Christopher Sharp of The Rug Company in Accessories & Furniture

Nancy Goslee Power for Garden Design

Alessio Boschi for Autore in Jewelry Design

Check out the October issue for more “The world is craving authenticity right now—things that are thoughtful and well executed,” said Sr. Editor Dana Caponigro. “By looking both backward and forward, the Art of Design Award winners prove that good classic design is anything but boring.”

Nominated by leaders in the decor and design worlds, the winners were selected by a judging panel that included fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, architect Peter Pennoyer, designer Rose Tarlow, and David McFadden, chief curator of the Museum of Arts and Design.

This has been a big year for Autore who earlier this year won the 2010 Couture Design Award for Pearl Jewelry for it's Princess of the Lagoon Lariat - the unique design can be worn in 7 different configurations and features:

18ct white gold
1 pc of 21mm unique dark silver Autore Baroque South Sea pearl
12.95 x 12.00 Autore South Sea pearl strand
3 pieces of 9/11mm white Drop Autore South Sea pearls
Brilliant and rose cut diamonds = 8.78cts
Diamond cut Paraiba tourmalines = 6.70cts

Australia's Jewellery World reports that following the Couture presentation in Las Vegas, Autore CEO Rosario Autore said the multifunctional jewel is the masterpiece of Autore's Venezia collection and "the product of the influences of Serenissima architectural motives, the playful spirit of the Carnival and the soft blue tones of the waters of the Venetian lagoon."