Handbags

The Frisky’s Top 12 eBay Finds Of The Week

From delicate wall clocks to eye-catching photo prints, here’s a look at the week’s must-have finds.

1. Roost Silver Flower Clock: Design blogs have been highlighting not-so-traditional takes on the ever-popular wall clock, which are popping up everywhere. We love Roost’s laser cut peony; it comes in a decorative shadowbox for tabletop display and can be removed and placed directly on the wall. (eBay search keywords: Roost wall clock)

2. Rope Doorstop: We’re spotting rope-covered furnishings everywhere these days: Pottery Barn, the fields of Brimfield Antique Market and homes designed by Thom Filicia. We’ve always been fans of its nautical look, which really play-up the material’s natural texture. (eBay search keywords: Rope doorstop)

3. Sonia Delaunay Print: Nicolas Ghesquiere, Cynthia Rowley, Tory Burch Sale and Emanuel Ungaro have all rediscovered the graphic color play of Russian-born, French artist Sonia Delaunay (1885-1979)—each has designed pieces inspired by the late painter in recent collections. One of the founders of the Orphism movement, Delaunay’s is lauded for her boldness and use of color to infer movement. There are a number of her signed works on eBay, which fetch thousands of dollars, as well as more pocket-friendly inspirations, like books and prints. (eBay search keywords: Sonia Delaunay)

4. Diana F+ Kirameki Lomography Camera: Based on the popular Diana film camera from the early ’60s, the new Diana F+ series creates the same dreamy, lo-fi images that made it a cult classic all those years ago, but is built to accommodate a whole slew of modern features, like pinhole photo capabilities and multiple shutter speeds. Plus, we just love the actual look of the camera itself. (eBay search keywords: Diana F+)

5. Cabochon Bracelet: Admired for its smooth, polished stones in vibrant, seemingly unnatural colors, cabochon jewelry is enjoying a major resurgence this summer. (eBay search keywords: cabochon jewelry)

6. Mara Hoffman Photo Print Maillot: Fashion designer Mara Hoffman’s summer collection features bold, graphic prints that have a larger-than-life effect. We especially love how they look on smaller pieces, like this swimsuit, created via a collaboration with Anthropologie. (eBay search keywords: Mara Hoffman)

7. Set of Two Vintage Retro Lawn Chairs: The always-ahead-of-the-trend-curve bloggers over at Design*Sponge recently devoted a whole feature to lawn furniture cool enough to leave indoors. We love the idea of something as happy and bright as these chairs in a kitchen. (eBay search keywords: lawn furniture)

8. Current/Elliot Denim Jumpsuit: The latest denim incarnation to sweep the fashion scene is the tried-and-true workman’s jumpsuit. And though designer’s like Isabel Marant and Stella McCartney—even Madewell—are sticking with a close replica of the original, we prefer Current/Elliot’s more streamlined and feminine take. (eBay search keywords: denim jumpsuit)

9. Alexander Wang Duffel Bag: Congratulations, Alexander Wang! The NYC-based design darling recently picked up the CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year Award—which means his highly coveted bags and shoes, like this box purse, are about to get a whole lot harder to get your hands on. If you missed the exclusive sale of his new line of small leather goods on sale on eBay’s Fashion Vault last week, perhaps this leather box bag will do the trick. (eBay search keywords: Alexander Wang accessories)

10. Country Floral Sundress: Our TiVo’s are already set for June 26th at 9PM for the season 4 premiere of HBO’s hit series “True Blood”. We’re as addicted to the vampire-fueled drama as we are to Sookie’s seemingly endless array of country-perfect sundresses. (eBay search keywords: floral sundress)

11. Chartreuse Wrap Dress: It’s a mix of sunshine yellow and lime green that was popular back in the ’60s—and everyone from Jason Wu to the boys of Proenza Schouler is backing its return for summer. (eBay search keyword: chartreuse)

12. Happy Birthday Carly Simon: The musical muse turns 66-years-old on June 25th. Her second album, Anticipation, is still a permanent part of our musical repertoire, almost 40 years after its original release. (eBay search keywords: Carly Simon)

About the Author

Lucy Hale Inspired Outfit of the Day

Sophie Conran by Portmeirion 4-Piece Celadon Dinnerware Place Setting, Service for 1 $39.99 4 Pc Place Setting(s) Celadon – Beautiful, Tactile And Practical, All The Pieces In This Collection Have Been Tried And Tested By Sophie And By Us. Whilst Delicate To The Touch And Beautiful To The Eye, Each And Every Porcelain Piec – Made In China…

I Like You $3.38 “Here is the book that Romeo would have given Juliet; Charlie Brown would have given Snoopy; and you can give to some very special friend” proclaims the back cover of this small, whimsical book. Written in 1965 by Sandol Stoddard Warburg, it still makes the perfect present for your best friend. Not just any run-of-the-mill best friend, though. This book is for the kind of friend who yells for…

The Art and Power of Being a Lady $6.74 “Lady.” Let’s face it: the word brings to mind a host of associations‚ many of which call to mind costume dramas or tea-sipping debutantes. That is, until The Art and Power of Being a Lady‚ the book that brushes the cobwebs off and makes “lady” relevant to every girl and woman — whether her role model is Audrey Hepburn, Oprah Winfrey, Madeleine Albright, Lauryn Hill, or Mia Hamm. In an era w…

Food for Friends: Simply Delicious Menus for Easy Entertaining $3.50 Book annotation not available for this title.Title: Food For FriendsAuthor: Warde, Fran/ Treloar, Debi (PHT)Publisher: Ryland Peters & SmallPublication Date: 2005/05/01Number of Pages: 159Binding Type: PAPERBACKLibrary of Congress: …

What to Look for When Buying Fine Jewelry

For centuries, fine jewelry has been one of the most popular gifts that people buy for all kinds of special occasions. While buying fine jewelry and fine gemstone jewelry is enjoyable for many, a lot of people can find the task rather daunting. Why, you ask? Well, there are a couple reasons.

First off, the decision to buy fine jewelry, including designer jewelry and handcrafted designer jewelry, is a quite expensive one and one that should not be taken lightly. Even if you have all the money in the world, it still helps to be educated on fine jewelry, and all of the terms used in the industry.

Secondly, with all of the fine jewelry and designer jewelry collections available out there, one can literally spend hours figuring out what type of jewelry to buy. Necklace or ring? One carat or two? Yellow gold or white gold? Designer jewelry or designer inspired jewelry?

In order to make your next fine jewelry venture a great one, here is some information that will aid you in getting the best quality jewelry for your money, whether shopping in a traditional fine jewelry store or online.

Gold Jewelry

Dense, shiny and the most malleable and ductile of the known metals, gold is one of the most popular choices for fine jewelry. When used by itself, the word gold means all gold or 24 karat gold. Because it is soft, 24 karat gold is commonly mixed with other metals by jewelry designers to increase its hardness and durability.

One can learn about what proportion of gold is mixed with other metals based on its karat quality. For instance, fourteen karat jewelry contains 14 parts of gold, mixed in throughout with 10 parts of base metal. Hence, the higher the karat rating, the higher the proportion of gold is in the piece of fine jewelry.

Although karat marking is not required by law, most reputable designer jewelry and other fine jewelry are marked with its karat quality. Next to the mark should be the trademark of the company that stands behind the mark. A quality piece of fine jewelry will always have the trademark name, symbol, or initials. The term ‘solid gold’ refers to an item made of any karat gold, if the inside of the item is not hollow.

Platinum, Silver & More

Platinum is one of the most expensive precious metals used to make fine jewelry. It is preferred by jewelry designer Peretti, as well as several other fine jewelry designers. More expensive than gold, platinum is typically mixed with other similar metals that are known as the platinum group metals: iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, and osmium.

As compared with gold fine jewelry, different markings are used on platinum modern designer jewelry as well. Quality markings for platinum are based on parts per thousand. For instance, the marking 900 Platinum refers to the fact that 900 parts out of 1000 are pure platinum. This can also be shown as 90% platinum and 10% other metals. When making fine jewelry, designer jewelry, or designer inspired jewelry, the abbreviations for platinum used are Plat. or Pt. Any fine jewelry items that consist of at least 950 parts per thousand pure platinum are allowed to be marked as platinum.

Silver or sterling silver refer to fine jewelry that contains at least 92.5% silver. Oftentimes, silver products such as handcrafted designer jewelry are marked “925,” which means that 925 parts per thousand are pure silver. All quality-marked silver is required by law to bear the name or a U.S. registered trademark of the company or jewelry designer that will stand behind the mark.

Fine gemstone jewelry pertains to both natural gemstones and laboratory-created stones.

Fine jewelry made with real or natural pearls are very rare. They are made by oysters and other mollusks. Because they are so rare, most pearls used in fine jewelry are either cultured or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls refer to those grown by mollusks, but with human intervention. Imitation pearls are man-made, typically with glass, plastic, or organic materials.

Diamonds

And last but not least in the fine jewelry arena are diamonds – perhaps the biggest seller of all for all types of designer jewelry and replica designer jewelry. The value of a diamond is based on the widely known “4 C’s,” which stand for color, cut, clarity, and carat. The clarity and color of diamonds are typically graded using a number of different systems. Diamond weight is typically stated in carats, and can be described in decimal or fractional parts of a carat.

Many designer inspired jewelry and replica designer jewelry use imitation diamonds, which are know as cubic zirconia in their fine jewelry. They largely resemble diamonds but are much less costly and far less valuable.

About the Author

Stephanie Martin is a veteran insider of both the Los Angeles entertainment scene and the New York City fashion industry. Stephanie’s unique background and her love of luxury jewelry have enabled her to identify and bring to Esteffe.com a collection of fine jewelry from many of the industry’s most talented designers including Kenneth Jay Lane, CC Skye, Ted Rossi, Vilaiwan, and R.J. Graziano.

Jonah Peretti & Tim Hwang at RTI 2010 (part 1)

Piercing the Darkness (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) $20.95 Leaders in the realm of darkness have mounted a new attack that will create chaos and cause defeat in the human beings who claim unity with their enemy, Christ. Readers will find themselves rooting for a most unlikely hero as her quest for inner peace exposes the most frightening war of all, the battle for the human soul. Be captivated anew as you enter the world of battling angels and demons that…

This Present Darkness (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) $24.95 This Present Darkness, by Frank Peretti, is among the classic novels of the Christian thriller genre. First published in 1986, Peretti’s book set a suspenseful standard in spiritual warfare story-telling that has rarely been met by his contemporaries. Set in the apparently innocent small town of Ashton, This Present Darkness follows an intrepid born-again Christian preacher and newspaper rep…

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