More Wedding Goodness

So - a few weeks back I showed you an amazing engagement ring and save-the-date card made with the couple's first initials, A and K. We recently received their wedding invitation, also using their new family crest, and I wanted to share a little peek - isn't it gorgeous?

They are going to use the A&K monogram through-out their wedding decor and I'm so excited to see what else they come up with. Congrats Allister & Kellam!!

Turn your gold into GOOD!

Hi there and Happy Sunday! We're very pleased to be co-sponsoring a great event on Tuesday 8/4. Come down to The Shed at Glenwood for yummy food, drinks and an opportunity to earn cash & support a great cause all at once!

Heart of Gold will be buying old or broken jewelry from 5-8pm, with half of all proceeds going to the event attendees and half going to the Atlanta Police Foundation. Learn more and RSVP here!

Our Homage to Ferrari

Recently, we had a small trunk show at Ferrari of Atlanta. The event was sponsored by The Atlantan and featured the premiere of the new Ferrari California hardtop - a magnificent machine!

One of the car enthusiasts we met asked for a set of custom cuff links featuring the familiar rearing horse logo and a set of roman numerals. We delivered the finished set this week and I think they are gorgeous! How about you?

Echo Goes Green!

Hello everyone - and Happy Monday! Tomorrow we'll be joining the rest of the Etsy Twitter Team for a unique summer shopping event. To quote our team blog, "From July 21st to July 27th, the authority on Twitter for all things handmade will be offering a summer feast of cool eco-friendly tips, suggestions, awesome handcrafted genius and a scavenger hunt with lots of 'green' prizes for the winners."

To celebrate, we're offering 20% off on ALL the jewelry in our Etsy store through Tuesday 7/27 - Just enter discount code "Go Green" in the comments section or your order and the discount will be refunded to you via PayPal within 24 hours.

And how does Echo go green? By using recycled metal in our jewelry, that's how! Recycling metal is of particular importance in our industry because 80% of the gold used each year goes into jewelry. Gold mining is an extremely dirty industry: it can displace communities, contaminate drinking water, and destroy pristine environments. Today, gold is primarily found in very low concentrations – less than 10 grams per ton. The only way to extract gold found in such small quantities is to create large open-pit mines and excavate huge amounts of ore. Once it’s extracted, the ore is crushed, piled into huge heaps and sprayed with cyanide, which causes the gold to leach out of the ore. Some mines use several tons of cyanide per day, while just a rice-grain sized dose can be fatal. The cyanide-contaminated waste ore is then usually just abandoned. To produce enough gold for just one ring, about 18 tons of waste ore are created. Amazing, huh?

The good news is that there is enough gold above ground (already mined) to satisfy the demands of the jewelry industry for the next 50 years. Buying recycled gold is one of the most ecologically and socially responsible choices a consumer can make. Join us - Go Green with Etsy and Echo this week!

Hello Summer!

Well, let me tell you - it is HOT here in Atlanta! Very, very hot! Even though the official start of summer is a couple days away, I'd say we're pretty much there.....

In honor of the heat, I have two very important - and HOT - events to share with you. Tomorrow night, 6/20, we'll have a trunk show of our jewelry at Ferrari of Atlanta from 7-10pm. They're unveiling the new Ferrari California - which is a very hot car! - with the first Ferrari retractable hard top. Jewelry and auto fans come out and see us!

We're also participating in the Georgia Etsy Street Team's summer sale and are offering 20% off all Etsy shop purchases through 6/28. Now is the time to get that piece you've been eyeing at a spectacular savings!

What's Happening?

Well, a lot, as it turns out! We'll be showing our line - including a sneak peek of our brand new Black Metal line for men - tonight at Mercedes Benz of Buckhead. There will be a men's fashion show by Sebastian's Closet and the incredible new McLaren 722S roadster (one of only 25 in the US!) will be on display. If you are in Atlanta, please come out and join us for an fab evening of fashion, cocktails and sexy autos!

Not in the ATL? No problem! We have an amazing online event happening right now as well. Etsy, the home of our online store, is having a huge YART Sale through 6/14/09. We're offering free shipping on all order plus a very special bonus. We're giving away - yes, for free! - a beautiful Chad Rullman design sterling silver heart pendant to the first customer of the sale. We're also going to select another sale customer at random to win an additional heart! You can see this lovely and delicate design below - a wonderful gift for yourself or someone you love. Visit our shop here.

That's all for now - we hope to meet you in person or the virtual world soon!

Jewelry Trends - What's Hot?

This week found the largest jewelry market show in the world happening in Las Vegas. The 17th annual JCK Las Vegas hosted jewelry retailers from 72 countries and a whopping 3,100 manufacturers and suppliers from more than 20 countries. So, what were the trends and topics most discussed?

Jewelry inspired by our new, and wonderfully fashionable, First Lady was a hot item. Her classic pearls and statement necklaces seem to be resonating with a lot of American women. "Green" jewelry and nature inspired themes were also very popular. Russell Simmons spoke to a large group about his initiative to stop the sale of African conflict diamonds, and recycled metal was also at the top of the social agenda. For those of you wondering, we here at Echo are huge supporters of socially conscious buying, and manufacturing processes. We use recycled metals and are happy to source conflict-free diamonds for any of our clients.

What else had people buzzing? Colored stones - especially black diamonds. We are about to launch a fabulous new men's line featuring these hot gems, so stay tuned!

What are you going to be looking for? Email me at alex@echodamour.com and let me know!

New Wedding stuff!

Check out our online store for new wedding ideas! I've noticed some Echo wedding clients using their new monogram designs in tons of creative ways. Here's a gorgeous engagement ring Chad recently designed using the letters A & K - bride and groom's first initials.

They then used their monogram on their save-the-date cards in a cute rubber stamp on the envelope. I love it - and I can't wait to see what else they come up with as their plans progress!

And on to the DIAMONDS!

Ok, so now that we've gotten our layout selected it's time to talk sparkle and bling - the diamonds! The most common design options are an all-over pave, or a cluster in the negative spaces of the monogram.

Here's an example of a pendant using the letters J, C, & M in white gold, using diamonds only as a cluster:

Here's the same design, but with all-over diamonds, and a center cluster:

And, of course, there are times when a metal-only design is requested. We can also use colored stones, and I should have an example using black diamonds to show you soon. The possibilities are virtually endless and the design process is really part of the fun. The client's input is an integral part of creating one-of-a-kind custom jewelry and we love hearing new ideas!

Let me tell you about our process...

Lately, I've been receiving a lot of questions about how we design custom monograms. So, I thought it might be fun to show you guys how we get from A to Z - no pun intended! We start, of course, with the letters to be included in the jewelry. We've utilized couples' initials, children's and grandchildren's names, even the names of pets!

Once the client selects the letters to be included, Chad goes to work. He creates several different layouts for the client to choose from and we prepare a design sheet like the ones below.

Pretty cool, huh? I'm always amazed at how different each design looks, even using the same letters. Once the client selects their layout, we begin discussing stone placement. I'll show you examples of that in my next post - stay tuned!

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!

Calling All Brides!

Come see us and enjoy some treats - We'll have our newest sterling silver necklaces on display, and all the best wedding professionals on hand to help make your day! It's the Bella Weddings Spring Soiree at Chocolate Pink Pastry Cafe - This Thursday, 2/26 from 6-10pm - Don't miss it!

Are you ready for Valentine's Day??

Well? Are you? If not, we can help! We have a couple of fabulous and affordable pieces left from Saturday's event (more on that below) that could be just the ticket!

First of all we have our new sterling silver single-letter Echos - Several letters are already made and any can be ordered - Only $190 each! Here are some lovely Rs:

We also have two gorgeous sterling silver hearts available - Valentine's Bargain ALERT - $90 each!!

We had a great time at the Catwalk Meets Canvas event Saturday evening - Thanks to everyone that came out to support the High Museum. A big shout-out to our new friends at Top Atlanta Luxury - we are thrilled to be one of your event faves! Much appreciation also goes out to Lamia Aouassi from O'Clair de Lune for being our impromptu model. Be sure to check her site out for the most gorgeous lingerie around - J'adore!

Our first event of 2009!

We're very pleased to be participating in Catwalks Meet Canvas - a very cool new event benefiting The High Museum.

Join us on January 31, 2009 for a relaxing evening in an elegant and luxurious environment, the spectacular town homes of Regents Park at Peachtree Battle. Three beautiful town homes will be open for a progressive evening featuring an art and fashion marketplace. Enjoy the sounds of a live DJ, while sipping cocktails and sampling food provided by renowned chef/restaurateur
Riccardo Ullio and U Restaurant Group. Local boutiques and designers will showcase the latest fashion trends.

We'll have lots of jewelry on display and will be taking custom orders for Valentine's Day! Ten percent of all sales will go to support Atlanta's fabulous High Museum of Art. We hope to see you there!

Happy New Year!!

Well - here we are - happy 2009 everybody! We have a brand new website to share, so be sure to visit our other online home and let us know what you think....on-line retail will be coming soon!

The highlight of our December was definitely the RED Performance & Customs Holiday Party! I am lusting after several of their amazing custom autos. A great time was had by all and some wonderful charities were supported. Here's a couple quick pics if you missed it:

The RED family with our favorite Bravo "Housewife" Sheree Whitfield

A party guest checks out the Phantom Diamond - a gorgeous champagne-colored stone raffled off to benefit Hosea Feed the Hungry

RED Director of Operations, the lovely Theo Tyson prepares to draw the Phantom Diamond winner - Congrats to Kenny Stewart of Atl.Style magazine!

Yours truly - either working on our display or sneaking up on the Patron Platinum - you decide!