Katy Perry: Smurfette in Sapphires

Katy Perry's dress at the Smurfs movie premiere in New York on July 24Th almost stole the show from the little blue guys themselves!

Sporting a bedazzled Smurfette corsette designed by The Blondes, a smurf manicure and blue Louboutins - what else does the voice of the world's most famous female smurf need?

How about sapphires? Seems the like the smurfiest choice, right?

Looks like Ms. Perry took the blue bling to heart, wearing a pair of sapphire button earrings and what looks like a sapphire, diamond and gold bangle bracelet (still looking for designer credits...anyone know?)

The other jewelry highlight of the night was violet vixen, Sofia Vergara, in a a gorgeous Missoni gown, turquoise earrings and elbow-deep bangles in every shade of purple - all by Lorraine Schwartz!

Papa Smurf? Eat your heart out!!!

Courtesy of Jewelry insider.

Sources Say Marc Anthony Controlled J.Lo

In a totally expected twist of fate, serial wife, Jennifer Lopez, is getting a divorce from her husband of seven years, Latin singer, Marc Anthony. Will she give him back her engagement ring?

The Associated Foreign Press reports:

"This was a very difficult decision. We have come to an amicable conclusion on all matters...It is a painful time for all involved, and we appreciate the respect of our privacy at this time," said the celebrity couple.

Rumors are flying that Anthony was a controlling husband who hated J.Lo's sexy public image. Apparently, he took issue with her wardrobe and vetoed many outfits that the Selena star loved very much.

Lopez evidently felt suffocated by Anthony's behavior and believed that the marriage had run its course and it was time to separate.

A mole reported to E! that:

"He would micromanage their lives together. He was all over her all the time and I know she tried very hard, and for a long time, to act like it didn't bother her, but I know it did. A lot. He would hover over her, and it was almost antagonizing. She couldn't breathe."

A few days after announcing the divorce, Lopez was paid 1 million dollars to sing at a wedding in Ukraine.

Lopez will remain in custody of their children as the details of the divorce are hashed out.

Barbie with diamond choker sells for record price

The one-off Barbie, created by Stefano Canturi, wears a black strapless evening dress with a choker featuring a one-carat square-cut pink diamond.

A Barbie doll wearing a diamond necklace has sold at an auction in New York for a record amount.

It went for $302,500 (£191,500) to an anonymous bidder.

The figure is at the lower end of the estimate that the auction house had given but it is still the most ever paid for a Barbie.

The previous world auction record for a Barbie was $17,091, set in 2006.

Barbie was first created in 1959 and she has undergone many transformations since then.

Canturi, an Australian jewellery designer, said he wanted to pay homage to Barbie's "modern yet timeless style".

The BBC's Laura Trevelyan, who was at the auction, says the doll is also an investment in uncertain economic times - because of the diamonds.


Canturi says: "People are finding things other than the normal channels for investing and what's happening is going back to the basics like going back to beautiful gold, gems, something they can actually hold on to."

The prices of diamonds and coloured jewels have gone up by more than 20% over the past year, according to the auction house, Christie's.

The proceeds of the sale of the bejewelled Barbie will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Gold Passes $1,600 as Concern over Europe and the U.S. Persist

A mixture of speculation and economic woes in the U.S. and Europe propelled the price of gold past a historic $1,600 per ounce. Debt concerns in the financial markets are driving demand for the safe-haven commodity.

“The current worldwide macro-economic scenario of competing inflationary and deflationary forces combined with sovereign debt contagion in Europe and the federal debt ceiling impasse in the US continues to be a positive one for gold,” according to Marcus Grubb, Managing Director, Investment at the World Gold Council.

“In Europe, sovereign debt contagion is once again being priced into bond markets with Italian and Spanish spreads over Bunds rising to multi-year highs.  In the U.S., weak labor and housing markets, high energy costs and the prospect of weak growth are adding to market uncertainty,” Grubb added. 

The price of gold has climbed by more than 38% in the past year and silver is up more than 130% despite a sharp drop in May. The price of platinum, the third precious metal commodity, has increased by just 16.8% in the past year.

The price of diamonds keeps breaking records too. On Tuesday, the IDEX Online Polished Price Index was just shy of 147, after three days of holding above 147.5.

Courtesy of IDEX

July Birthstone - Ruby

The gemstone ruby is the red variety of the mineral Corundum , the second hardest natural mineral known to mankind. Ruby is the July birthstone, and the Capricorn Zodiac stone. Ruby has been associated with the values of love, success, integrity, passion, and promise.

All colors of corundum other than red or white are called Sapphire The red color in ruby is caused by trace amounts of the element chromium. The best shade of red for ruby is often given the name "pigeon blood red", but ruby can be any shade of red up to almost pink.



Oriented rutile crystal inclusions cause a six-rayed-star light effect (called asterism) to form the popular Star Ruby.Rubies come from all over the world but good gemstones are found at Thailand, India, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, North Carolina in the U.S., Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, 
Tanzania, Kampuchea, and perhaps most notably, Burma.

Like most gemstones from the antiquities, Ruby is one of the Biblestones. In Exodus, the Breastplate of Aaron is described as containing a "sardius", the ancient name for ruby.
Rubies have a famous place in science - the first lasers were made from artificial ruby crystals.  They still are used for this purpose although other materials offer improved efficiency.  Some natural ruby crystals show the fluorescence (actually very short term phosphorescence) that makes a laser possible.

Solitaire Engagement Ring Set With Round Brilliant Diamond - Classified Ad

Solitaire Engagement Ring Set With Round Brilliant Diamond - Classified Ad