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Bye-bye Bling, Time to Get Rough
When it comes to diamonds, you had
better put away the in-your-face, blinding dazzle of bling. That was soooo five
minutes ago.
Everybody likes to talk about
diamonds, especially concerning the glittering good fortune of Jennifer Lopez,
who snagged a 6-carat pink diamond from Ben Affleck, and moved on to bigger and
better things with a 14.5-carat blue diamond from Marc Antony.
Buying diamonds is sometimes not
only about making the wearer shine, but also their bag. A client of Hermes
ordered a diamond-encrusted Birkin bag, but Hermes was considered to have used
jewels that were too small for her taste. Yet more proof that sense and
sensibility is often in short supply among some of us.
But maybe it’s such go-it-alone
folk who set the trends for the rest of us. That is what came to mind when I
read that New York department store Bergdorf Goodman’s Christmas catalog
featured an 89-carat cocktail ring. But it was already sold to a wealthy woman
with US$100,000 at her disposal when the catalog rolled off the press.
Apart from its size, what set the
gem apart was that it had been neither cut nor polished. “We didn’t touch the
diamond at all, except for cleaning off the dirty,” Anjanette Clisura, president
of New York-based company Diamond in the Rough, told The International Herald
Tribune.
According to the trend-watchers,
the glow is gone. “Bling has officially expired,” said Britt Bivens, director of
4.5 Production in New York, a trend consulting agency.
Uncut diamonds were first valued
by Indian maharajas, who coveted the gems from the mystical mines of Golconda
hundreds of years ago. Europe became enamored of the diamonds in the 17th
century, and that fascination has remained.
Maybe losing some of our senses is
needed in this country. Not to commit corruption or videotape bedroom frolics,
but to be brave enough to become a pioneer instead of simply following the rest.
So if everybody else is wearing shining jewels at an event, dare to be different
with unpolished diamonds. At least you will not be another one of the style
imitators, even if the fuddy-duddies think you have taken leave of your senses.
With or without diamonds, you will have displayed the real you, without becoming
a walking billboard proclaiming “Look at me, I’m rich!”
+ Samuel Mulia
Shining Through
Don’t be afraid if you wish to shine out from the rest, but your cash
flow is not bright enough to qualify for a platinum card. Jeweler Asprey
understands, and has created a collection that makes sense for you. Instead of
diamonds, its earrings are crafted with citrine, blue topaz and amethyst. The
price is almost $1,000 – the same price as the in Chanel plastic handbag – but
it’s small change compared to what you would pay for real gems. And you can take
pride in wearing the creations of jewelers who have been serving English royalty
since Queen Victoria in the 19th century.
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