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This year's holiday jewelry ads

Last night, A Diamond is Forever (De Beers’ U.S. marketing team) hosted a special screening of the cinema-specific holiday commercial for the Everlon Diamond Knot Collection, followed by a complimentary viewing of the latest A Christmas Carol, complete with free popcorn, candy and what I would call “pop,” but most people in this area of the country would reference as “soda.”  

Unfortunately, I couldn’t go but was able to view the theater-ready spot on my own.  

Remember when you used to go to the movies and see only previews before the show started? Now I feel like I’m seeing more ads for products than coming attractions.

In any case, cinema advertising is here to stay.

After all, you can’t command TiVo to skip the commercials in a movie theater, and it’s good that De Beers and other jewelers are taking advantage of this medium in an economy where it’s going to take all the convincing they can muster to get consumers to part with their money.  

After wrestling with my slow computer software for a good 30 minutes, I finally was able to download what turned out to be a slightly longer version of the same Everlon commercial I’d already seen.

I think the commercial is fine, and the product, while not the most amazing design ever, is thankfully not something heart shaped (more on that later). 

But I’m not the only one to say that, overall, I prefer the “Hands” commercial. The music is better—“Stand By Me” vs. “I’ve Got You Babe"—and the concept of “Hands”—growing old together—is one that speaks to almost everyone.

View “Hands” here and judge for yourself.

Of course, with the holiday season just around the corner, and eager retailers running sales well out in front of Black Friday, De Beers isn’t the only one advertising.

There’s this spot for Zale’s new heart-within-a-heart jewelry.

I don’t understand this industry’s obsession with heart jewelry—to me it’s overdone—but apparently the public likes it, or they’d have found a new design motif a long time ago.

As for the commercial itself, I find it touching.

One thing Zales’ ads have done well recently is to send a message that expressing love through the gift of jewelry doesn’t have to be something that just couples do, as is shown by the sweet exchange between mother and child in the Shared Heart commercial.

Another good example of this is Zales’ recent Mother’s Day ads. They have even more emotional appeal than the Shared Heart spot and are another example of positioning jewelry to transcend the typical man-gifts-to-woman treatment.

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Jane Seymour is back with a new commercial and fresh designs for the oh-so-popular “Open Hearts by Jane Seymour” line sold at Kay Jewelers.  

I think Sterling Jewelers (the owner and operator of Kay as well as Jared The Galleria Of Jewelers) struck marketing gold with Jane. What makes the Open Hearts so popular, I believe, is the unique design and compelling story that speaks to those facing adversity or loneliness, which probably applies to even more consumers this holiday season. That message: “If your heart is open, love will always find its way in.” 

Last, and possibly least, is this commercial for Kay’s “Love’s Embrace” collection. I wasn’t particularly enamored with this ad when I first saw it, though it took a couple of online replays to figure out why: I just don’t like the storyline of this grown woman being so afraid of the storm that she needs a man to protect her.

It’s quite the opposite of De Beers’ Everlon spot, which depicts men and women on a level playing field. Also, the thunderstorm doesn’t particularly scream “holiday season” to me.

But, as one expert pointed out, the winter wonderland portrayed in the Everlon commercial might seem like a foreign land to viewers in places such as Florida or Arizona.

Whatever the case may be, I’ll be keeping my eye out for fresh spots as the holiday season continues.

Michelle O.

A fancy for sleeveless dresses, A-lined hems and pearls has garnered Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, flattering comparisons to Jackie O.

In the 1960s and for decades thereafter, legendary first lady Jackie O. had flocks of women following in her fashionable footsteps. The nation is still five months shy of the 2008 presidential election and already Michelle O. is being watched and mimicked similarly by women who adore her modern and elegant sense of style.

A surge in sales of the dress Michelle recently wore on ABC's The View has sent its manufacturer White House/Black Market back into production.

Jackie O., who was reportedly fond of retailer Gap, wasn't a designer-labels-only woman either. As a matter of fact, biographer Carl Sferrazza Anthony wrote that Jackie O. became "a symbol of the liberation from the notion that America had to be bourgeois."

What reinforces that statement more than the $148 off-the-rack number Michelle wore on The View?

Without a doubt, this fashion diva knows how to rock top designers too. At a fund-raiser in her honor last week, she wore a black front-wrapped jersey tunic and palazzo pants from Isabel Toledo accessorized with a fashion necklace from Tom Binns.

Even Michelle's knowledge of jewelry—what to wear and when—demonstrates her fashion sense is on point. Jackie O. wasn't seen wearing jewelry every day either. According to Shelley Branch and Sue Callaway’s book What Would Jackie Do?, the icon only wore jewelry when the occasion called for it.

Another scam worth knowing about

This is another segment from The Real Hustle. I found it really interesting since it is based on a true scam that happened in London.

In this case, the scam artists relied on the jeweler to be impressed by their "wealth" and respectful of their "customs" to let his guard down. Watch and learn.

Would they fool you?

This is an interesting episode I saw on the show The Real Hustle. I was really surprised that this scam would fool anyone, but I guess people can get a bit taken off guard when someone comes in flashing a badge.

Jewelry storeowners (and employees) should be aware, though. You would hate for this to happen to you.

Stylists' jewelry picks tell the story

I support the Writer's Guild of America strike in my heart, but my mind is in need of fresh episodes of the series I have become so attached to. Not only did I become engrossed in the story lines, I took notice of the role fashion played in defining the characters.

One of my favorite shows that premiered in Fall '07 is Dirty Sexy Money. The focus of the new ABC series, the Darling family, live lavishly and scandalously on Manhattan's Upper East Side. With as many as 10 clothing changes per episode, they are often outfitted with the finest in high-end fashion, particularly jewelry.

In an article in the Daily News, Roberta Haze—costume designer for Dirty Sexy Money—said she has borrowed pieces from Van Cleef & Arpels and Verdura to "reflect the show's upper-class aesthetic." The artsy look Haze created for Letitia, the Darling matriarch, is inspired by socialite Nan Kempner and includes vintage Chanel clothing accessorized with ornate jeweled cuffs.

ABC's comedy Cashmere Mafia made it onto my TV-shows-to-schedule-my-life-around list after only two episodes. The wardrobes of the four female executives each seem to tell a different story.

For the pilot episode, acclaimed stylist Patricia Field—who transformed Sex & the City into must-see fashion TV—selected Suspended Earrings in gold from Lana Jewelry for the character of Caitlin, the commitment-phobic marketing executive (see photo). Lucy Liu's character Mia, who beat out her fiancée for the job of publisher at a large media group, is often styled in beautifully bold large hoops and dangling earrings that complete her flawless look.

I can't wait to see what NBC's series Lipstick Jungle, an adaptation of author Candace Bushnell's book of the same name, has in store for its fashion-focused viewers.

Best and worst Oscar jewelry

The biggest names in Hollywood played it safe stylewise at the Oscars for the most part, with diamond-laden bangles, cuffs and earrings appearing almost as often as strapless gowns and poker-straight hair. A few A-listers stood apart from the crowd, however, and earned themselves a spot on my list of who wore the best and worst jewelry.

The best:

Singer Celine Dion, (whose fashion choices I usually loathe, and whose performance bored me to tears) took a flattering but simple, vintage James Galanos gown and dressed it up with about 76 carats of well-placed diamonds, including hoop earrings, three brooches, four cuff bracelets, a right-hand ring and a diamond handbag, all by Lily et Cie. Though it sounds over-the-top, the look was completely elegant.

Actress Naomi Watts stood out as one of the few stars to don a necklace at the ceremony. Her triple-strand 85-carat diamond necklace and cushion-cut diamond earrings served as the perfect accessories to her yellow Escada gown.

While I must admit that I did not love Cameron Diaz's asymmetrical Valentino gown (or her orange tan), I thought her emerald and diamond drop earrings popped spectacularly against her dark hair and white ensemble. Diaz also wore a diamond ring, a diamond bracelet and a diamond watch by Cartier.

And the worst:

Presenter Anne Hathaway must not have picked up too many style tips while shooting The Devil Wears Prada. Her South Sea pearl and diamond drop earrings worked fine, but she piled three bold, mismatched diamond bracelets by Van Cleef & Arpels onto her wrist for a look that seemed to be trying too hard. And don't even get me started on her Valentino gown.

Presenter Rachel Weisz, normally a fashion icon, had the right idea when she strung a Cartier diamond brooch onto a chain and wore it as a necklace. But the piece hung too low and competed with the heavily jeweled neckline of her Vera Wang gown. She should have stuck with just the Cartier stud earrings and right-hand ring.

I know I'll get some flack for this one, but I have to put it out there: One would think that after being nominated for 14 Oscars, Meryl Streep would have the red carpet down pat. Her black Prada coat and skirt and green belt worked fine, but I really think the chunky red beads and metal medallion appeared so inappropriate for the event. Of course, when you've been nominated for 14 Oscars, it probably doesn't really matter what you wear to the Academy Awards.