Archive for February 22nd, 2006
The Carbon Fiber World & Jewelry
[Press Release] PR Web
An overview of how carbon fiber has impacted many industries and how it has even entered the jewelry making market. The uses and possible shortage of the material and the overall impact it is having in our world.
(PRWEB) February 21, 2006 — Since joining the composite world, Carbon Fiber has become one of the most popular materials across every industry looking to scale down on the use of metals in production. As carbon fiber composites made it into NASA, the bicycle world, and the automotive world, the supply has become an increasing issue. The needs and uses for this material have been used to decrease the overall weight of an object and it also gives a sleek and fast look.
The Carbon Fiber industry has increased to the point that many fear long term shortages since many of the manufacturing companies are scooping up all they can to use the material in their state of the art technological pieces. The fear is there but the material is ever so popular amongst different segments that it is hard to pinpoint when the phenomenon will end. Many import vehicle owners are looking to enhance their cars by adding carbon fiber hoods, bumpers and side view mirrors in hopes to not only showing of a sleek look but an overall lighter weight car. Basically the material shows no discrimination against its uses and everyone is looking to get into it while it is hot.
As the carbon fiber world continues to roll its course, the jewelry industry has also opened its doors. Even though there is a limited supply that is starting to occur, people in the jewelry industry are starting to get their hands on this hot material. At Titanium-Buzz.com, there are many different styles and designs that are showcased. The Bullet Carbon Fiber ring that features punched holes through the composite material and the ring can even have a red or blue tint added to give it an even more detailed look. Also, the white gold ring with a carbon fiber inlay is using the unique look to blend together the traditional to the new composite material. Carbon Fiber has become a material in the jewelry world that will fuse two exotic materials together to create something that is as unique as the person who wears it. At Titanium-Buzz.com they continue to stay on the cutting edge of the jewelry world and will continue to evolve with different composite and exotic materials.
February 22nd, 2006
‘Baubles, Bangles, and Beads’ at Yale
Waterbury Republican-American
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
BY TRACEY O’SHAUGHNESSY
Copyright © 2006 Republican-American
As long as there has been vanity, there has been jewelry. Even in a country founded by Puritanical ascetics, a little bling went a long way.
Jewelry has always been a way to preen and intimidate, but it has also been one of the most practical ways to transport wealth. Money burns and blocks of gold don’t pack well, but a few baubles in a secret sack can really take you places.
The Yale University Art Gallery’s current exhibition “Baubles, Bangles, and Beads,” tries to go a little beyond bling to a deeper meaning behind jewelry. Unfortunately, the exhibit lacks the searing insight the art gallery has given to other exhibits of jewelry, notably its captivating “Love and Loss” exhibit a few years ago. That exhibit examined the role of mourning jewelry in public life and was as intellectually satisfying as it was personally poignant.
The current exhibit might have been saved by a little more of a “Wow” factor, but as it is, Yale does not have much in the “zowie” department when it comes to jewels. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth a peek, it just means if you’re looking for dazzle, you might try the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.
The small exhibit is divided into three sections: Personal Adornment, which is the reason most of us wear jewelry; mourning and remembrance, which looks at jewelry worn to remember loved ones; and cultural and social organizations, the icon-heavy regalia that such organizations employ to give their club gravitas.
Erin E. Eisenbarth, acting assistant curator of American decorative arts, has assembled something of a survey of American art, the best of which are the archaic baubles from the Victorian era that merged form and function.
The chatelaine, for instance, a tiny little bag that hung from the waist, was big enough to hold a hankie (or a dose of laudenum) but far too small to hold anything bigger than a key. When the key went out as a status symbol (Keys, after all, conveyed that you had something valuable enough to lock), so did the chatelaine. The gorgeous Train Holder, from 1907, is a stunning gold-plated ring attached by a series of links to a clamshell-shaped clip. The wearer would place the ring on her finger and use the clasp to lift her train. The charming object went out of fashion with long dresses, which became passe as American women entered the workforce in World War I.
Similarly, an obelisk-like Tiffany & Co. needle-case (circa 1900-1930) is lovely to look at but as obsolete as a match safe. Ingenuity has always played a part in American manufacturing, and that included jewelry making. What’s stunning in the exhibit is how zealously Americans embraced the fakery of costume and machine-made jewelry after the Industrial Revolution.
Most of the colonial-era jewelry here either came over with the early settlers or was made in Europe and shipped here. American jewelry makers simply didn’t have the extravagant tools that made European jewelry so coveted. The economics of jewelry-making simply didn’t support such opulence, said Eisenbarth. Silversmiths and Goldsmiths like Paul Revere or Myer Myers were much better off making spoons and tea services — something their customers could use.
But Americans quickly learned that a simple piece of jewelry — dress clips, for instance, or hair combs, could change the look of an outfit completely, giving an old dress new life. That became particularly important during the Depression, when anything that could give a woman a lift was embraced with enthusiasm. Some of the exhibit’s stranger items — a copper poodle pin, aquamarine fake pearls — were produced in this era.
A good portion of the exhibit is made up of costume jewelry — some of it bizarre, like the old “poppet” necklaces from the late 1950s, and some of it quite lovely, like Pauline Trigere’s Gold Peanut Bib and Choker, a halter-shaped series of gold links that suggests chain-mail.
The final and most haunting part of the exhibit focuses on mourning jewelry.
Cufflinks that feature the faces of dead parents or a locket that features the cherubic face of a toe-haired child, dead too soon, are a disquieting reminder of the high mortality rates of the 18th and 19th century.
February 22nd, 2006
JulRe Designsâ„¢ Jewelry to be Featured in ‘Night of 100 Stars’ Oscar Gala Celebrity Gift Bags
[Press Release] PR Web via Yahoo! News
(PRWEB) - New York, NY (PRWEB) February 21, 2006 — JulRe Designsâ„¢, the fashion jewelry design house that is quickly gaining attention of celebrities and the press alike, today announced that its unique necklaces from the new Ombre Crystal Collection will be included in the gift bags given to celebrities attending this year’s “Night of 100 Stars†Oscar Gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel on March 5, 2006. JulRe Designs was selected to participate in this popular event by Hollywood Connection, a leader in film, television, and music event promotion services.
Each sparkling, vibrant necklace consisting of over 250 genuine Swarovski® crystals is a dazzling color palette with precious metal accents. The 48 inch long pieces are extremely versatile and can be worn long and trendy, casually doubled, tripled for an elegant choker effect or wrapped around the wrist as a funky multi-strand bracelet. “They’re a piece of Exquisite Wearable Art for the celebrity who appreciates the distinctiveness of handcrafted, one-of-a-kind jewelry. It’s all about discovering your own style and making a colorful statement,†says Juliet Renee Williams, President and Creative Director of JulRe Designs.
Celebrities including Nicolette Sheridan, Faye Dunaway, Marg Helgenberger and Vivica A. Fox have attended this red carpet event. This year, the Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 6, 2006 and will be aired on ABC-TV at 8 PM ET.
About JulRe Designsâ„¢
JulRe Designs Exquisite Wearable Art is the passion of former Fashion and Personal Image Consultant, Juliet Renee Williams. She designs several major jewelry Collections each year using high quality Semi-Precious and Precious gemstones and metals. Her creations are available exclusively at the JulRe Designs NYC Showroom and NJ Design Studio by appointment only, at Trunk Shows in major cities and can be viewed online at www.JulReDesigns.com.
JulRe Designs is a trademark and division of Image Management Systems, LLC
February 22nd, 2006
Capone’s Fine Jewelry makes a lasting impression
February 22nd, 2006
Collegiate Times
By Rachel Teitelbaum, Associate Features Editor
At the corner of North Main Street resides Capone’s Fine Jewelry, an elegant two-tiered store that from the outside looks like any shop in downtown Blacksburg. But on the inside, it’s a veritable Willy Wonka factory of jewelry. The beautiful craftsmanship of Faith Capone, storeowner, makes onlookers’ eyes water in jeweled delight as they lay their eyes on her unique and signature handmade fine jewelry.
Walking into the shop, a feeling of serene elegance surrounds shoppers. To the left, a glowing showcase of Citizen watches, and, to the right, a display of other fine jewelry. Classical piano hums in the background. The lighting of the store, thanks to Truman Capone, Faith’s husband and the department head of Virginia Tech’s art and art history program, makes it feel like a grandmother’s arms, warm and welcoming and with the power to make even the dullest eyes twinkle.
Walking up the soft sinking carpeted steps to the second floor, another room full of jewelry comes into sight, but this time it’s all the sole craftsmanship of Capone. Talking to a couple concerned about using their family’s gold wedding bands or purchasing new ones, Capone graciously answers their questions with completely honest remarks. She stands looking at the rings with her jeweler’s magnifying glasses on her head, the kind that magnifies the eyes to a ridiculous and silly looking size. The man, apprehensive about wearing jewelry because he had never done so in the past, expressed feeling of discomfort when wearing the ring. Capone, empathetic to his feelings but providing a brighter spin on the situation, said, “A piece of jewelry reflects your personality.â€
The store was first established in 1986, as displayed on its outside sign. Capone graduated from Edinborough University with a background in art and metal-smithing, and originally had intentions of teaching. Capone admitted though, she would come home from a day of teaching and find herself making jewelry at night. When she first started crafting her own jewelry, Capone admits she made mostly necklaces and rings, but didn’t limit the way in which she created them.
“There are so many methods, there are so many different techniques to making things,†she said. Finally succumbing to her trade and doing what she absolutely loves, Capone gave up teaching and worked for a jewelry store in Roanoke for five years while living in Blacksburg. Capone said she mastered the creative side of the industry but needed to be more knowledgeable in the other aspects.
“I was the arty side of the craft. I knew the art, metal-smithing and jewels, but I needed to know the commercial venue and what was practical,†she said.
After commuting to Roanoke for five years, husband Truman Capone told her enough was enough; she needed to open her own store here in Blacksburg.
Her newest collection, “Signature Collectione,†takes her handmade jewelry to an even more distinctive level. The collection is a display of uniquely crafted necklaces with jewels and stones hanging at different levels. She mainly works with gold and platinum, but sells other jewelry made of different materials.
Capone’s popularity has spread over the years and she receives calls and requests frequently from out-of-state customers who either once lived in Blacksburg or found out about her through word of mouth. Her distinctive style has become a major success. She enjoys being her own boss and relishing in the freedom of making whatever she wants. She loves her job and loves the creativity that comes along with it. “I get to be creative with the most fabulous things you can think of,†she said.
Within the next few weeks, Capone will be planning a special for the 20th anniversary of the store. She often has specials around the holidays and graduation and enjoys answering any questions customers might have. She prides herself on the relationships she maintains with her customers, always offering complete honesty and keeping the customer’s best interest in mind. She brings up a point that appeals to any couple.
“A boyfriend can take his girlfriend out to dinner for a certain price, yet he can spend that same amount on a nice piece of jewelry that she will remember forever,†Capone said.
“Distinctive jewelry carries a long-lasting impression on taste and style,†Capone said. “A piece of jewelry can make you feel good.â€
February 22nd, 2006
