If you are looking for a refined and luxurious look, then one of the options to consider is Murano glass jewelry. This artistic jewelry comes from the island of Murano in Venice, Italy and has led the way of fine jewelry for centuries.

For anyone that is interested in the art of fashion is the ability to highlight your look with Murano glass jewelry. The various types of jewelry available, as well as the unique looks that are a part of this provide you with some of the best options for making the most of any outfit. Whether you are building a casual and unique look or are interested in defining luxury with your accessories, you can find something for every occasion with Murano glass jewelry.

Kathleen Dughi’s work brings complexity and craftsmanship to the high-end jewelry design world. Her work is highly appreciated in the US, but her background and experience comes also from Italy and Switzerland. She refined her style and skills so as to win several important prizes like the Spectrum Award and two Honorable Mentions from De Beers Diamonds International Competition.

About her work Kathleen confessed: “I design for the woman with a strong sense of individual style – the woman who has refined taste and seeks out jewelry that reflects that.” Even if she is regrettably lost, her team of designers continues to design and create wonderful pieces under her name, vision and formation.

Photos courtesy of: www.kathleendughi.com

This week’s jewelry of the week is inspired by an older post, about McTeigue & McClelland designer jewelry. I must admit that it might take a while to having one of my own, but I cannot stop to dream of such splendors. They are absolutely amazing, take this for example: the Flora Lapis Bracelet with diamonds and 18 karat bloomed yellow gold and platinum. (I dare not ask the price ).

Photo is coutesy of McTeigue and McClelland.

The pink diamond is the world’s most rare and valuable diamond. The Argyle mine (the world’s foremost source of unrivalled intense pink diamonds)  is a diamond mine located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The Argyle mine is the largest diamond producer in the world by volume, although due to the low proportion of gem-quality diamonds, is not the leader by value producing 95% of the world’s supply.

1. The Darya-i-Nur Diamond

Daria Nour Diamond

2. Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond

Nur-Ul-Ain diamond

Diamond Carat Weigh: 60

Color: light pink

3.Steinmetz Pink diamond

Steinmetz Pink diamond

Diamond Carat Weigh: 59.60

Color: fancy vivid pink

4. Shah Jahaan  Diamond

Shah Jahan Diamond

Diamond Carat Weigh: 56.71

Color: light pink

5. Agra Diamond

Agra diamond

Diamond Carat Weigh: 32.34

Color: fancy light pink

6. Pink Sunrise Diamond

Pink Sunrise Diamond

Diamond Carat Weigh: 29.79

Color: light pink

7. Rose of Dubai Diamond

Rose of Dubai Diamond

Diamond Carat Weigh: 25.02

Color: light pink

8. The Mouawad Lilac Diamond

Mouawad Lilac Diamond

Diamond Carat Weigh: 24.44

Color: fancy purplish pink

9. The Williamson Diamond

Williamson Diamond

Diamond Carat Weigh: 23.56

Color: light pink

10. The Graff Pink Orchid Diamond

Graff Pink Orchid Diamond

Diamond Carat Weigh: 22.84

Color: fancy purplish pink

The Fabergé Eggs are today more than ever a symbol of rarity, luxury and tradition. The jewelry beaded precious metal eggs were created by Peter Carl Fabergé and his assistants. 69 eggs were created between 1885 and 1917, and their main purpose was to be offered as gifts to the great czars of Russia, as Easter Eggs.

There are some quite famous eggs with a whole story behind then like The Swan or the two undelivered eggs Constellation or Karelian Birch.

The first egg was created in 1885 for czarina Maria Feodorovna as an Easter surprise from her husband. On the outside it looked like a while gold enameled egg but inside having a golden yolk. Inside the yolk there was a golden hen and inside the hen a small golden crown with a ruby. The idea of this egg is the one of the traditional Russian matryoshka dolls (and also the one of Kinder [giggles]).

The Fabergé Imperial eggs are not only splendid and precious on the outside, but also on the inside, each usually containing a surprise. They are unique in appearance and also in theme, each one having a different significance.

Fabergé also created some pieces for his private clients but they were less original and expensive.

If you are looking for references in the glittery world of jewels then Graff should be on the list. The house of Graff is one of the most prestigious jewelry houses in the world. Present in the jewelry news and at the utmost high class auctions, Graff offers splendid jewels and not for any pocket, but I bet they are worth every cent.

The Lesotho diamond

Graff jewelry house is the impersonation of rarity, beauty, excellence, quality, craftsmanship and a girl’s best friend – diamonds. One of the leading diamond companies Graff, has more than 300 qualified staff cutting raw gems in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Laurence Graff, says about his passion for diamonds: “Diamonds excite me; diamonds are my life – I see inside the stone, look at the color and cut and assess its natural beauty and value – I was born to be amongst diamonds”.

With workshops around the world: Antwerp, London, Johannesburg, Mauritius and New York, Graff refines the best diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires and pearls. Graff is involved in all stages of making a jewel, from the mining, cutting and polishing of the diamond, the initial vision and design of the piece through to the final exquisite Graff jewelry.

Courtesy of Graff.

You might also be interested in Top 10 most expensive jewelry in the world, in which you can find one of Graff’s creations.

The Oscars 2009 – Everyone is still waiting for more photos, comments, gossip but from what we’ve soon so far, the Oscars are still glamorous and elegant. In what concerns jewelry, there was more to flaunt in the past years, but let’s not minimize their impact this year also.

The simple but spectacular green diamond earrings and ring of Angelina Jolie made a wonderful contrast with the simple black Elie Saab dress she was wearing. Quite stunning I may say. They are the creation of Lorraine Schwartz.

The lovely Kate WInslet, the winner of Best Actress Oscar had a truly perfect appearance. The lovely grey satin dress was accessorized with clear diamond accessories. Wonderful

Another great piece of jewelry was worn by Amy Adams. She wore a colorful and large Fred Leighton necklace, that seems perfect for that the striking red dress.

Clear white diamonds are also wore by Taraji Henson, to accessorize her wonderful ivory white dress. Not overly accessorized, Taraji brings just the right amount of bling to suit her complexion and outfit with her lovely starred diamond necklace.

Penelope Cruz stirred everyone’s attention with the lovely ’50 vintage dress. The simple but fitting diamond jewelry (stud earrings, necklace and bracelet) turned her into the princess of the ball. The seductive Spanish is the winner of the Best Supporting Actress.

Lovely and youthful Natalie Portman wore most of her sparkle on her strapless pink dress, but not only. The diamond studs and the diamond bracelets appear to be a “must-have” at any awards recently.

When it comes to bringing in the heavy stuff well, Heidi Klum just did it. The several bangle bracelets and huge earrings surprisingly fit her fiery red dress. I guess the more the better, isn’t it Heidi?

It is so fascinating to see what celebrities consider to be appropriate engagement rings. They are trend setters after all! No one can forget J. Lo’s radiant-cut pink diamond ring, which set a new trend in Hollywood, suggesting that bigger is better. Yet celebrity taste in jewelry differ so much…

10 famous engagement rings

1. Actress Elizabeth Taylor became more popular for the striking jewelry in her possession. She received a 30 carat emerald-cut diamond from Michael Todd, her third husband. She also received a Krupp diamond of 39 carats, the Taylor-Burton pear-shaped diamond of 69.42 carats, and the heart-shaped 17th century Taj Mahal diamond.

2. Priscilla Presley received a diamond engagement ring of 3.5 carats, circled by diamond chips and 21 small diamonds, from Elvis.

3. Sharon Stone was engaged to Phil Bronstein with three emerald-cut diamonds in a 3 1/2 carat ring.

4. The engagement to Catherine Zeta Jones was formalized by Michael Douglas with a beautiful antique marquise diamond of 10 carats with a horizontal set, worth $2 million.

5. Joan Collins received a heart-shaped diamond ring made in the 19th century from Percy Gibson, her husband.

6. Some celebrities settle for a three-stone engagement ring to represent past, present, and future. Famous pop star Madonna received a three-stone antique exquisite Edwardian diamond ring with a decorative platinum band from Guy Ritchie.

7. Paris Hilton, the famous diva, was engaged to billionaire Paris Latsis with two famous engagement rings: a canary diamond ring of 24 carats worth $5 million and a white emerald-cut diamond ring of 15 carats worth $2.1 million.

8. Britney Spears also has two engagement rings: a cushion-cut diamond ring of 4 carats worth $40,000 bought by herself before her wedding and another one presented by her husband Kevin Federline, nine months after their marriage.

9. Toni Braxton received a stunning and beautiful three-stone 4.5 carat diamond ring from Keri Lewis. It has two heart-shaped diamonds on each side and an oval-shaped stone center.

10. Jennifer Lopez was engaged to Ben Affleck with a radiant pink diamond ring of 6 carats, which quickly drew public attention and became very famous. The pink diamond ring, complete with three baguette white diamonds and a platinum band on each side, was purchased for $1.2 million. Inspiring and famous engagement rings Celebrity engagement rings only reflect the lifestyle acquired by an endless budget. The famous diamonds have created a huge demand for celebrity-inspired rings, which are available at affordable rates.

From Hubpages.com

The Napoleon pearl, also know as “La Regente Pearl” is the fifth largest natural pearl. Its splendor come from that fact that despite of the big size, it has a uniform shape. It is called the Napoleon pearl because it was the centerpiece of a pearl tiara he had made a present for his queen Marie Luise.

La Perle Regente or Napoleon

The Regente Pearl with its outstanding characteristics regarding shape, quality, brilliance and others, has become the most expensive single pearl, arriving at an amazing price of $2.5 million in 2005, at the Christie’s sale in Geneva.

The pearl sautoir with La Regente pearl

The shaped of the pearl is described to be that of a pigeon-egg, and has been fitted during history to several diverse mountings: centerpiece of a tiara, of a corsage, pendant to a pearl sautoir, hair ornament and pendant to more necklaces.

La Pelegrina and La Regente pearls

When it was first discovered the pearl weight 346.27 grains, but with time it became 302.68 grains. It still continues to be the biggest regular form pearl in the world, and the fifth from all.

The lastest piece of jewelry montage with La Regente

I have to admit that not so long ago I had no idea of who McTeigue & McClelland are and what they actually do. By accident I stumbled upon some of their jewelry designs and I was left completely speechless.

In my opinion they have this remarkable signature on their jewelry, I guess I would in most of the cases recognize their creations. The fact that I truly love is the fact that they are a little out of the ordinary and the details are so well taken care of.

The pieces are so imaginative and colorful; I particularly love the way they use certain gemstones. The colors are so visceral, they attract immediately. The unique floral design, the small golden leaves are the hard work of true craftsmen. My instant reaction was imagining them on me… I’m telling you something, they would look stunning.

They jewelry has an antique patina and yellow gold never seemed so attractive to me. Sophistication describes their vintage style jewelry, both impressive in craftsmanship and antique-cut gemstones.

“Distinguished by a painstaking use of offbeat settings, rare, old-fashioned diamond cuts and super-saturated colored stones, the pair’s jewelry employs techniques that haven’t been seen since the early days of the last century, when teams of master craftsmen worked at Tiffany and Co. and other society jewelers. Most of McTeigue and McClelland’s gold is bloomed, an old chemical process whereby the alloy is stripped from the surface of the gold to create a rich patina that has the silky, burnished look of a Victorian bauble.” says Victoria Gomelsky in an interview with the two artists.

“We’re anti-commercial jewelry,” says McClelland during a break from his atelier in Great Barrington, Mass., an upscale rural community in the Berkshires. “If I was a rapper, I would dis Tiffany because there isn’t a creative element in the least. It’s just become more and more commercial.”

Their creative and original style is what impressed me about their designs. Now I can only dream of one day finding one by accident as I walk on the street.

Feel free to visit their site : www.mc2jewels.com