Fall 2009 Accessory Preview

Vogue's report on all things chic in accessory-land is now online here for those interested. I, for one, will be updating my wardrobe primarily with jewelry, shoes and bags this year - It's a recession-friendly way to stay fashionable without too much investment.

So, what does Vogue love? Major jewelry, freaky shoes and embellished bags - oh my! My favorite piece shown was this magnificent dragon bracelet by Dior Fine Jewelry:

Unfortunately, my grandmother passed her totally irrational superstition that it is unlucky to wear opals, on to me. So, you won't see this as my arm candy - but I'm sure I'll find something else to drool over! Happy shopping, all!

How could I have missed this?

Unbeknownst to me, last week was The National Jewelry Institute's "Sparkle Week"! Oh no - I missed it - and I love, love, LOVE things that sparkle!! Next year I promise to be much more on top of this....

SALE! SALE! SALE!

Yes, it's true! We're having a sale! Woo hoo!!

All single-letter Echo necklaces are 35% off until Mother's Day, May 10th. These are wonderful gifts for Mom, or any spring birthdays that might be on your list. Sterling necklaces are also an affordable, yet personalized and special choice for bridal parties - and you know Echo loves weddings!

Just visit our online shop , or email me at alex@echodamour.com to order.

Bella Brides Spring Soiree - Party Pics!

Did you make it to the fabulous Bella Weddings Spring Soiree at Chocolate Pink Cafe last month? I hope so! See if you're in the party pics, or see what you missed - check out this great slide show from photographer Nancy Jo McDaniel - it is amazing!

We also had the pleasure of meeting Kathy Grate of Divine Occasions, who was sweet enough to put us in her blog. Brides, be sure to check out her postings as she has lots of great finds!

As we head full-force into wedding season, we'll have much more to share and more opportunities to meet in person - Stay tuned!

Jewelry for your floor?

Well, why not? If I had $5,458,500 lying around, I might buy one too!

Last week Sotheby's sold an amazing jewel-studded carpet made entirely of diamonds, pearls, rubies and emeralds for just that amount. Crafted in the 1860s as a gift for the tomb of the Prophet Mohammad in Medina, Saudi Arabia, the carpet was created under the auspices of Gaekwar Kande Rao, the maharajah of Baroda, a former kingdom in northwest India.

The carpet is approximately 5x8' in size, and took hundreds of craftsmen over five years to complete. It contains one and a half million of the fabled 'Basra' pearls, which were harvested in the southern Gulf region and along the coasts of Qatar and Bahrain. Instantly legendary, the Pearl Carpet of Baroda is mentioned by foreign travellers as early as 1880.

Not a bad piece of house-bling, huh?

We now have an online shop!

Hello there - and Happy Last Day of Winter to you! Spring is in the air and we're excited about our own "new growth" - our Etsy shop! You can visit us and shop online at here. We'll also have a little sampling of our inventory here on the blog - over there to the right, yep, right there!

If you haven't shopped Etsy before, it is FABULOUS! All hand-made items, with something for every taste and budget. Come by and visit us, and let us know what you think!

Springing forward...

Hello there! Did everyone remember to turn their clocks ahead one hour last night? Yes, we have officially sprung forward! While I am not a big fan of losing an hour of sleep, I do have to admit I am excited about the coming of spring...Atlanta is sooooo gorgeous when things start blooming, that it is completely worth all the allergy medication I will soon have to consume! And I love that the weather is warming up too....Yay for our town having nearly endless outdoor eating spots. Not much beats kicking back on a patio and enjoying the view.

I started thinking about our next holiday - St. Patrick's Day - and thought it might be fun to "go green" for this post and talk emeralds. Let's take a peek at some of the world's most famous green stones:

The stunning Mackay Emerald was mined in Muzo, Colombia and is the largest cut emerald in the National Gem Collection of the Smithsonian. The art deco style necklace was a wedding gift in 1931 from Clarence Mackay to his wife Anna Case Mackay. The emerald weighs 167.97 carats and is set in platinum with 35 emeralds and 2,191 colorless brilliant and step cut diamonds.

The Topkapi Emerald Dagger, on display at the Treasury of Topkapi Palace in Istanbul Turkey, is 35 centimeters long. It given as a gift from the Shah Nadir to the Sultan Mahmud I. The three large emeralds are described as pigeon-egg sized - I'm not exactly sure how big that is, but it sounds pretty big!

The Hooker Emerald, on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, consists of a superb 75.47carat Colombian emerald. Once the property of Abdul Hamid II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1876-1909). Tiffany & Co. acquired the emerald and mounted it in the current brooch setting in 1950. Mrs. Janet Annenberg Hooker purchased the brooch from Tiffany in 1955, and in 1977 she donated it to the Smithsonian Institution.

The Maximilian Emerald is a 21.04-carat, emerald-cut, deep grass-green stone, believed to have belonged to Cuauhtemoc, the last king of the Aztec Empire, who was martyred trying to defend his homeland from the Spanish in the 1525. The ring gets its name from its one time owner, Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, the archduke of Austria and the younger brother of Emperor Francis Joseph (1848-1916), who was installed as the Emperor of Mexico in 1864 by Napoleon III.

The Mughal emerald is a magnificent historic carved emerald, belonging to the period of the last of the four great Mughal Emperors of India who reigned between 1658 and 1707. The emerald, which undoubtedly is of Colombian origin, weighs 217.80 carats. It is carved with intricate floral designs on one side and beautiful Arabic calligraphy in the Naksh script on the other. The dimensions of the emerald are 52 x 40 x 12 mm, and the mid-point of each of the four sides of the rectangle has been drilled for attachments, so that the gemstone could be mounted and worn as a talisman, with the Arabic inscriptions facing outwards.

Hope you enjoyed that - think green and spring!