Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably already know that Kim Kardashian married her beau, professional basketball player Kris Humphries, after nine months of being in a relationship together. The wedding was held in a lavish estate at Montecito, California on August 20th and was attended by 450 (or so) close friends of the couple.
Details of the wedding haven’t been incredibly forthcoming, but the E! special on the event entitled “Kim’s Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event”, airing in October, should give the clamoring public all the specifics they’ll ever need on the reality star’s star-studded event.
For those who can’t wait that long, we at Brilliance have scoured the internet for the lowdown: so far, it has been revealed that the beautiful bride wore not one, not two, but three Vera Wang dresses for her nuptials – one for the traditional Christian ceremony presided over by family pastor Joel Johnson, and two for her reception, where guests were treated to food by acclaimed chef Wolfgang Puck and a six-foot tall black and white wedding cake by Hansen Cakes in Los Angeles. It was reported that the couple wanted it to resemble the cake from the Royal Wedding earlier this year, and it alone cost – get this – $15,000!
Among the celebrities who attended were Demi Lovato, Babyface, Mario Lopez, Ryan Seacrest and Lindsay Lohan.
If you missed the buzz about Kim’s jewelry – really, how can anyone miss it? Her engagement ring is a huge sparkler: an emerald-cut 20.5 carat diamond ring set in platinum valued at a cool 2 million dollars –now paired with a diamond eternity band, also set in platinum, estimated to be worth $60,000. During the ceremony, Kim wore a 65-carat diamond headpiece inspired by Audrey Hepburn worth another $2.5 million, and 28-carat diamond earrings worth $5 million. Altogether, Kim wore close to $15 million in blinding bling – all by jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz.
The over-the-top ceremony reportedly cost something along the lines of 6 to10 million dollars, as no expense was spared for arguably the most popular Kardashian sister. Among the items included in the swag bag given to guests was a pair of flip-flops emblazoned with the couple’s names, a personalized nail polish set by Nicole from OPI, a bottle of Kim’s new fragrance, a scented Voluspa candle, and a gift certificate to a shoe website that Kim co-founded.
See an idea that you want to snag for your own wedding? Don’t forget to check out Brilliance.com for all of your engagement and wedding jewelry needs! We features a wide array of beautiful diamond jewelry, as well as wholesale loose diamonds you can use to create your own pieces. You don’t have to spend millions of dollars to be brilliant – just visit Brilliance.com.
Brilliance has recently joined the growing number of jewelers and retailers who support the Golden Rules; a set of social, environmental and human rights criteria pushing for more responsible mining of gold and other precious metals. The Golden Rules by Earthworks focuses on the protection of the environment from the impacts of irresponsible mineral and energy development.
Gold-mining, while a lucrative industry, poses a great risk to the environment and may create serious human rights issues, especially in third-world countries where they are abundant. The ecosystem where a mine is located can be severely disrupted by its presence; gold is also traditionally a very dirty metal to mine and process. In addition toxic chemicals are used to extract gold from the earth, which are often dumped into pits and waterways, poisoning the ground and water supply. Ultimately, gold mining damages the quality of life for organisms around the mine, and the damage is often left behind for the host country’s government to clean up after a mine closes.
In Third World countries mining is often coupled with human rights issues. Gold can be mined in very dangerous conditions by workers who have few protections and rights. Moreover, the land in which a mine is situated in is often seized from the indigenous peoples that reside in them, leaving them homeless, with nowhere to go once their native lands are taken from them.
“We’re really glad to be a part of the No Dirty Gold (campaign)”, says Jonathon Ohayon from Brilliance. “We’re always looking for new ways to contribute to society and it’s the right thing to do. A diamond engagement ring symbolizes a future couples’ hopes and dreams. It’s something you build a relationship on and not something that they should feel guilty about.”
“We would like to encourage other diamond and jewelry retailers to join the (No Dirty Gold) campaign as soon as possible,” added Jonathon. “Consumers can also show their support by patronizing businesses which sell ethical and environmentally-conscious jewelry.”
A product of the combined efforts of two organizations, the Mineral Policy Center and the Oil & Gas Accountability Project, the Earthworks organization also seeks to reform government policies, improve corporate practices, influence investment decisions and encourage responsible materials sourcing and consumption through nationwide campaigns such as No Dirty Energy, Recycle My Cell Phone, Save Bristol Bay and Mining Reform Campaign. Click here to visit the Earthworks official website.
At Brilliance halo diamond engagement rings have been our most popular and best selling settings this year. Halo, which means a ring or a crown, is an engagement ring style in which diamonds or gems encircle a center loose diamond. Many attribute the halo shape or design to infinite and everlasting love. Halo engagement rings come in many varieties. A popular type of halo setting is where the center stone prongs are raised slightly above the encircled diamonds, which has a more prominent association. Another variation is the bezel-style halo ring setting, where there is no gap between the encrusted diamonds and the center stone. The bezel halo diamond ring is also very popular and elegant.
What draws customers to the halo diamond setting is that it accents your center stone of choice making it appear larger and adds an overall sparkle and fire to the ring. In today’s economy, not many can afford large loose diamonds but with the halo setting you can own a ring that adds the appearance of a large loose diamond without paying thousands of dollars for a larger stone. Another advantage of halo engagement rings is that the diamond’s pavilion, bottom part of the diamond that bridges the girdle to the culet, is visible when viewed from the side. The pavilion is essential to the light performance of the diamond.
Brilliance carries a variety of halo set engagement rings in all types of metals to fit every budget. In addition, we can create any number of settings that feature diamonds or gemstones surrounding the center stone. Round and square are the most popular halo shapes encircling center diamonds, however we can create a Halo engagement ring with any diamond shape. Lastly we can create custom halo engagement rings for those who desire a ring that isn’t found on our website.
Victoria Secret’s lingerie model, Adriana Lima, was seen walking down the runway wearing a $2 million dollar bra in New York City this month as part of the Victoria Secret’s “Christmas Dreams and Fantasies” collection. The $2 million dollar “Bombshell Fantasy Bra” was designed by Damiani exclusively for Victoria Secret’s. The 18k white gold bra contains: 3,000 brilliant cut loose diamonds, light blue sapphires and oval shaped topazes.
This bra boasts 60 carats of diamonds and 82 carats of sapphires and topazes respectively. The swirling stars and constellation design was Damiani’s inspiration behind the bra. Damiani along with six others spent 1500 hours setting the diamonds in the bra by hand. The bra is featured in the 2010 Victoria’s Secret Christmas Dreams and Fantasies Catalogue along with the limited-edition “Miraculous Push-up Bra” and matching “V-string”, which contains pink Swarovski crystals for a whopping $250.
Celebrities and consumers alike are opting for pave and bead set diamond rings this season. Pave or micro-pave, the French word for paved, is a technique in which small loose diamonds are set very closely together. Tiny beads or prongs are used to hold each diamond in place, which creates the illusion that the diamonds appear free-standing with no metal visible. White gold or platinum is often used to minimize the appearance of the metal so that all you see are diamonds, however yellow gold can also add an elegant and chic look to a custom ring or an engagement ring.
Pave ring settings can feature a single row of diamonds while others contain multiple rows of diamonds leading up to the center certified diamond. Pave settings come in either half-pave, where the diamonds only go half way around the band, or full pave, where the diamonds go completely around the band (many opt for half-pave since the diamonds are less likely to rub against the other fingers than full-pave). The center stone in the ring is typically set above the encrusted diamonds and gives the illusion of size against the smaller pave set stones in the band.
Brilliance offers a large variety of pave set engagement rings and wedding bands to fit any style or budget. Round and princess cut diamonds are the most commonly used as center stones in a pave ring setting yet any diamond shape can be used. Our Brilliance Personal Shoppers, with their extensive diamond and jewelry knowledge and information on the latest fashions trends are available to help you create your very own pave engagement ring. Call us at 1-866-737-0754 to get started.
Ever wonder if you could own a gorgeous Harry Winston, Tiffany or Tacori engagement ring without paying a fortune at a retail store? Well now you can. Brilliance can make a replica of any designer inspired ring at a fraction of the price. We also can create a unique one of a kind ring from scratch that meets your exact specifications. Our custom engagement rings are created by our very own jewelry designer through a three step process. First, drawings, sketches and/or pictures that you’ve submitted are sent to our designers. Next, illusion renderings are submitted for you to approve. Once the design has been fully approved, the jewelry is cast, polished and completed. It’s that simple! Contact us to today at 866-737-0754 to create the look of your dreams at a fraction of the price.
Thirty nine round cut diamonds are pave set in this white gold diamond engagement ring setting, accenting your choice of center diamond. 3/8 carat total diamond weight.
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