Hollywood Jewels: The Heart of the Ocean

I feel terrible about being MIA for weeks, but my life has been out of control lately! Right before the holidays, I got into a car accident that left me car-less for a few weeks (and left me begging relying on my friends for rides to and from work), and as soon as I got my car back, I got the flu. Needless to say, it has not been fun, and I am so happy to be able to blog again!



Jewelry and movies are two of my very favorite things to talk about, so I am very excited about this post. While I am one of the few people in the universe America that does not absolutely love the movie Titanic, I think the "Heart of the Ocean" is a very iconic piece of jewelry... albeit a decidely henious one. Would anyone actually wear it? Anyone? (If you disagree with  me on this, or can think of an occasion that a massive blue heart necklace would be perfect for, leave a comment below!) If you haven't seen Titanic, or can't remember what the necklace looks like, here it is:

By Ben Sutherland [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I got the idea for this post - which may become a series - when a customer called the jewelry store that I work at and asked if we could custom design her a pendant like "that one from Titanic." She then proceeded to ask what kind of stone it centered, and while we all thought it was a blue diamond, my research for the piece revealed that it was not.

The original pendant was designed by London jewelers Asprey and Garrard, and was actually white gold set with a heart-shaped blue cubic zirconia. After the film's release, the necklace rapidly became iconic, and Asprey and Garrard were commissioned to create to create a "real" Heart of the Ocean, which was worth about 3.5 million dollars, and was set with a sapphire. Famed jeweler Harry Winston then decided to make his own variation of the necklace, which featured a 15 carat blue diamond and was reputedly worth 20 million dollars.  Clearly, no one does expensive jewelry quite like Harry Winston.

According to multiple sources, including the Washington Times and Scientific American, James Cameron's Heart of the Ocean was inspired by Kate Phillips, a young passenger on the Titanic. Kate left England in the company her married lover, who gave her a sapphire necklace shortly before the trip. Different sources have supplied vastly different endings for Kate, ranging from dying aboard the ship to carrying a child that was born roughly nine months after the sinking of the Titanic. Kate's sapphire necklace can be seen here.

What do you think happened to Kate Phillips? Which of the two necklaces do you prefer?

Personally, I like Kate Phillips'... but that could have something to do with my love of antique jewelry! ;)

Last Minute Gifts for the Man in Your Life

If you haven't bought all of your gifts yet, never fear. This gift guide is basically a list of everything that my boyfriend wishes he could afford to buy for himself (and a few things that he doesn't know he wants yet...but would absolutely love). I actually haven't finished my shopping yet, but that is because my boyfriend and I are not exchanging gifts until January... mainly since we are both going to be at our parents' homes for the next week or so.

Gift Guide for the Boyfriend Who Loves Adventure, Environmental Documentaries, and Reading:

Go Pro:

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The Go Pro HERO3 is a great video camera for the adventure lover, mainly because it can be used in all sorts of fast-paced activities, like skiing, white water rafting, zip-lining, surfing, and skydiving--but it still maintains fantastic video quality. If you have any adrenaline junkies to buy gifts for, this is the perfect gift for them. 

The Ginvent Calendar: 

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Master of Malt offers the manliest of advent calendars, like this gin-filled one (or its whiskey-filled cousin). The samples are a great way for him to try some new (and expensive) brands of his favorite alcohol. 

Kindle Paperwhite:

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If your man loves reading, the new kindle paperwhite will be his favorite gift this year. It features the e-ink that made the kindle famous, but also has a light for easier reading--even outside at the beach. 

Links of London Watch: 

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Links of London was the official jeweler of the Olympics this summer, and is a favorite of Kate Middleton, but that's not all! They also make great everyday watches for men, like this Driver Black Dial Watch. 

Garmin Forerunner:

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The Garmin Forerunner 910XT is the perfect training watch for anyone thinking about a triathlon, but is pretty expensive (at least for my budget). 

Sleeping Bag:

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This North Face sleeping bag is made from 100% recycled fabric, and can be used for camping in 3 seasons (and probably winter too, with really warm pajamas). 

If you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments... I still have a few gifts to buy!

Holiday Reflections

With Christmas just around the corner, it felt like everyone was starting finishing their holiday shopping today. There were even policemen directing traffic at the shopping center near my house. I was hoping to avoid the holiday madness, and finished my shopping about a week ago (or so I thought).

Unfortunately, when I woke up this morning, the water in my apartment had been shut off due to a water main break down the street. It was a huge bummer, resulting in me putting in my contacts and brushing my teeth at work this morning (which happened to be the jewelry store, not the museum). Since the water had not been turned back on when I got out of work, I went shopping to help pass the time, and ended up buying lots a few gifts that I definitely did not need to buy. 

Since it's beginning to snow here in Ohio, and I'm feeling the Christmas spirit today, I thought I would post about what's on my holiday wish list--and what's on my list of gifts to give! First, I'll talk about my own list, since it's out of my control. ;)

Gift Guide for the Jewelry, Shoe, and Art Enthusiast (otherwise known as my Christmas Wish List): 

Love Knot Ring:

I love this double love knot ring in rose gold by jayy2009 on Etsy. At $25.99, it's super affordable even with shipping! 

Riding Boots:

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These boots are by Chinese Laundry, and are a more dressed-up version of riding boots. They're also on sale right now, so if anyone wants to buy them for me... 

Nora Kogan Black Arcadia Ring: 

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I have wanted this ring for about 3 years now, but I always feel like it's too expensive to ask for. Nora Kogan, if you're reading this, I love your Black Arcadia ring... Just sayin'! 

Nikon 1 J1:

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This is a good point-and-shoot... I really want a DSLR, but this would work too. 

Shaill Bird Necklace: 

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I usually don't like yellow gold, but I really like this bird necklace. It's definitely out of my price range though--and my boyfriend's! 

Victoria's Secret PJ's: 

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These look really soft, and would be warm enough to wear all winter. Plus, it's really hard to find cute, comfy pajamas that match. 

Sweater Dress:

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I would wear this sweater dress with boots and tights, AND I really love gray for this winter. 

Check back tomorrow for my boyfriend gift guide and be sure to leave your own wish list in the comments. 

Vintage Inspiration

One of my favorite things is collecting antique jewelry, but it can be hard to find authentic pieces for a good price. Jewelry auctions are a perfect way to find affordable pieces, but it can be time consuming to register and bid on the items, so many people prefer to shop online. Since it can be difficult to find reputable online jewelry sites, I have some suggestions! If you are looking for an engagement ring, two of the best websites are Erstwhile Jewelry and Single Stone.

For a unique selection of antique jewelry, Erie Basin, an online store run by Russell Whitmore, is the way to go. Another up-and-coming online antique jewelry vendor is Arrow and Anchor Antiques, but they don't have  a website yet. You can visit them on Instagram to to see some of their brand-new inventory.

Here is one of the newest additions to my antique jewelry collection, which I got from my mom for graduation, and am loving:

If you know of any great places to find antique jewelry, leave me a comment, because I love finding new places to shop!

Happy Weekend!

"Ecce Home, Before, After, and After the After" by Cea, Creative Commons License 2.0, via Flickr

It's finally Friday!

After 11 hours at work, I am ready to relax and do absolutely nothing this weekend. My roommate is heading to New York for a baby shower, so I will have the apartment to myself to bake Christmas cookies do something interesting.

In case you are in need of some entertainment*, here are some things that never fail to make me smile:

• The Teachers web series: hilarious shorts written and produced by the Katydids, and directed by Matt Miller. It's available on YouTube, which is great because you don't have to wait for Netflix or Hulu to load.

• The Smitten: a mitten that couples can use to hold hands when it is cold outside. Bonus points if you give this gift as a joke and the couple actually wears it. Please take a picture and send it to me immediately. 

• The Ecce Homo SNL episode, which might be my favorite this year. See the photo above to see the "transformation."

Top 5 Uses For Your New Diploma

In eight days, I will be graduating from college. About six weeks after that, I will receive the latest addition to my growing collection of useless scholarly memorabilia: my diploma. When I was young (i.e. last year), I used to think that getting my Bachelor's degree would be the end-all of my educational career, but my over-stuffed binder of graduate school applications begs to differ.

I'm fairly certain that many recent college graduates share my current disillusionment with higher education. Many of us will have to set our fancy new degrees aside in order to accept jobs that allow us to live only slightly below the poverty line--if only because we hope that it will look good on the C.V. that we just wrote for graduate school. (Although most people, myself included, have no idea what a C.V. is before they sit down to write one.)

If any of the above applies to you, never fear--here is a list of things that you can do with your diploma:

5. Target Practice: for the nerf wars that you still enjoy with your college roommates or younger siblings. We know you don't have money to live on your own.

4. Christmas Gift: for your parents to hang in their living room. Hopefully your degree is something that sounds fancy, so that your parents will be able to brag about the fact that you majored in the same subject as Kate Middleton without also having to say that you make less than they will on social security.

3. Conversation Starter: for those swanky cocktail parties that you wish you were fancy successful enough to get invited to. Or for sitting around the cash bar at your significant other's Christmas party--because that's the same, right? Now if only your purse was big enough to stuff that diploma into....

2. Bathroom Art: because where else are you going to get people to read it? This is especially good if it says something fancy on it, like "with honors" or "summa cum laude."

1. Tissue: let's be honest--this is really what you need most right now, since you'll be doing a lot of crying over it when your student loan deferral falls through!

In all seriousness, I'm not that cynical about my degree... yet. Talk to me after my graduate school acceptance/rejection letters swarm in, and then I'll reevaluate.

If you have a sad/funny/practical suggestion for diploma use, leave a comment! In the meantime, I will leave you with my favorite blogs of the week:

This amazing jewelry blog, since jewels are one of my favorite things, and this heartwarming blog about a NYC woman's daily life!