I have a bad habit of tossing my jewelry on top of my dresser at night and as a result I often forget what pieces I have because they're all jumbled up and hard to find. What I should do is invest in some decorative jewelry stands like these from Polli. Available in cheerful bright colors, there are both standing and hanging versions in patterns inspired by coral branches, gum trees, and bamboo. Laser cut out of acrylic, these stands can be used to hold and display jewelry or act as a decoration all on their own. AU$140

Via Design Mind

If you've ever thought you might want to do the stereotypical baseball stadium proposal, here's your chance to do it without having to spring for the rock, provided that you are a Yankees fan. Jewelry retailer Michael C. Fina, Hearts On Fire diamonds and N.Y. Yankees All-Star pitcher Mariano Rivera are offering a contest called The Final Engagement. Fans who write a short essay (250 words or less) describing why they should be chosen will be entered into the contest to win a 1.5-carat Hearts On Fire diamond engagement ring valued up to $40,000, plus four tickets to the Sept. 18 game and to propose live via the Diamond Vision screen. Winners will be chosen based on love of the Yankees as well as a creative and persuasive essay. For each entry, Michael C. Fina and Hearts On Fire will donate $1 to the Mariano Rivera Foundation, a nonprofit that benefits underprivileged children. The contest ends August 31.

[via National Jeweler]

While many musicians love their jewelry some can forget to pay for it. Last month I wrote about Wyclef Jean facing a lawsuit over unpaid-for jewels, this week it's Lil Wayne. The rapper whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. has been ordered by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge to pay a New Orleans jeweler $146,000 for a diamond ring and necklace. Lil Wayne had made arrangements with jeweler Jack Sutton to pay for the pieces in monthly installments in 2006. Sutton took Carter to court because Carter had made only one $24,000 payment over the last two years.

Carter may return the $138,000 ring instead of paying in cash. The Miami Herald also reports that according to a May 6 notice of federal tax lien filed with Miami-Dade County, Carter owes nearly a million dollars ($977,840.81) to the IRS in income tax.

As it turns out, Saudi Arabia may have not one of the world's most lucrative resources (duh, oil) but two. Recent prospectors have set their sights on Saudi Arabian sands to dig for gold in addition to other precious metals. The first commercial prospector allowed to set up mines in Saudi Arabia is Ma'aden, which has already invested $5.5 billion in equipment and development costs. When it comes to digging for financial rewards, who knew sand could be so fertile?

[via Fortune]

Italian jewelry brand Rebecca which has been popular in Italy for years is now making major forays into the States with distribution details in department stores such as Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom and a Beverly Hills boutique. The brand is a subsidiary of the Testi organization in Empoli, Italy, and produces jewelry in stainless steel, bronze and semi-precious stones. The designs are colorful and attractive although the branding of the Rebecca name on the pieces seems a bit obvious in some places. The pieces also use big gemstones and circles printed with the brand name in a style that reminds me a bit of Bulgari but at a lower price point. The Rebecca pieces vary from chunky cocktail rings to long chain necklaces, dangling earrings and even a Rebecca watch. Check out the line in the extended gallery below.

Brazilian designer Manoel Bernardes creates beautiful pieces using the gemstones mined in his homeland. His pieces are bold styles that reflect the Brazilian spirit. Manoel Bernardes jewelry uses stones such as amethyst, citrine, rutilated quartz, and topaz in pieces that are colorful and oversized and often highlighted with small diamonds. His Photon series has a spacey, futuristic look while the Romance series uses stones in a heart shape like the earrings above. Some of his most dramatic styles are the Lace pieces use gemstones combined with large loops of gold. These and other designs are in the gallery below.

There's the Swarovski-fied iPhone pouch that Mercedes intro'd during Berlin Fashion Week. Then the "I Am Rich" app came along, soon to be removed by Apple but not before eight eager customers added the illuminating ruby application to their cells. Now, in an attempt to outdo the most luxurious (or at least ostentatious) iPhone accessories, Noreve brings us its hand-crafted leather case adorned with 272 diamonds. That's a whopping 6.8 carats of bling for your 3G. The French company based in St. Tropez has crafted glittering iPhone cases in colors ranging from black to red to a vintage shade of sand.

Available through the Noreve North America website, the case retails for $14,990.

The gloomy trend that is plaguing some designer jewelers has also hit Blue Nile, the company that rode the trend for buying diamond engagement rings online into huge stock prices. Now as the Seattle Times reports, the stock in Blue Nile have fallen by half and in a conference call with analysts Tuesday, Blue Nile execs reported that their customers are trading down to less expensive jewelry. Like other jewelry sellers, Blue Nile has taken it on the chin in the mid-range of jewelry purchases. The $5,000-$50,000 sales, mainly of engagement rings, that are their bread and butter have weakened with customers buying smaller stones than a year ago. Sales over $50,000 are still steady but there are only so many of those to go around.

Sales for the three months that ended June 29 actually increased to $73.7 million from $72.1 million a year ago due to the fact that Blue Nile now ships to nearly 30 countries (versus just four last year) but the company reported a second-quarter profit of $3.2 million, or 20 cents a share, down from $3.8 million, or 23 cents a share, a year ago. And the company doesn't see a bright feature, they've predicted a year-over-year percentage growth in the mid-single digits, down from a previous estimate of 10 percent. Meanwhile the prices of wholesale diamonds have continued to rise, taking a big jump last May. Unfortunately jewelry sellers like Blue Nile which depended on low prices and ease of use are finding themselves in an unfortunate squeeze between high wholesale prices and consumers willing to pay less.

Remember the necklace shown above? Well now it can be yours along with a number of other items of mega-bling from the hip hop world.On October 1, Phillips de Pury & Co. is holding the Hip Hop's Crown Jewels auction which will feature around 50 iconic pieces worn by hip hop luminaries such as 50 Cent, Biz Markie, MC Lyte, Kanye West and the late Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur. Major pieces include Missy Elliot's diamond, black diamond and gold turntable ring, Biz Markie's black and white diamond headphones pendant, Sean "Diddy" Combs diamond and platinum bracelet, Pharrell Williams' pave diamond Gucci link necklace, Slick Rick's multicolor diamond-set eye patch and of course Lil' Jon's famous diamond and yellow diamond "Crunk Ain't Dead" pendant which weighs nearly 12 pounds and boasts 3,756 round-cut white diamonds total set in 18K yellow and white gold. A portion of proceeds from the sale will benefit Russell Simmons' Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, the Hip Hop Summit Action Network and the Diamond Empowerment Fund.

[via Fashion Week Daily]

Back in February I mentioned that Graff Diamonds had cut the the 603-carat Lesotho Promise diamond into 26 smaller diamonds varying in size from .52 carats to 76.41 carats each with a D Flawless grade (a total of 223.25 carats). Graff is in the process of turning the story of the 18 months of cutting and polishing the stones into a book and documentary. Now they have turned these those stones into one spectacular necklace, The Lesotho Promise Necklace.

The Lesotho Promise, mined at the Letseng mine in Lesotho, is the 15th largest rough diamond ever recovered and was sold to Graff and its partner polishing company Safdico for $12.36 million in October last year. The necklace is part of the company's display of magnificent jewels in Monte-Carlo and is available for viewing until August 10 at the Salle Empire, Hotel De Paris in Monte-Carlo along with rare gems from Graff's collection including The Flame, a 100-carat pear-shaped D-flawless diamond.

The stones are valued at $50 million but a value hasn't been given for the finished piece. Laurence Graff has vowed not to split up the set of diamonds and so this necklace has a small set of potential buyers, people in the world with the wherewithal to afford it. Monte Carlo seems the perfect place to display it to the wealthy.

Last week marked the annual JA NY Summer Jewelry Show in New York and the news for most jewelers isn't good. While the upper end of the market (pieces over $20,000 continues to stay afloat) the middle o the market has eroded. Like we have seen with handbags, clothing and other luxury goods, the sharp spending decrease by the "aspirational" customer who generally spends $1,000 to $10,000, is having a huge impact on the market.

This particularly effects some of the big branded designer jewelry. An article in WWD notes that retailers have reported that customers are back to being concerned about what the piece is made of (which stones and metals) rather than being focused on a brand name. Many are seeking what they believe is a safe investment such as gold or diamonds.

Some brands are increasing their upscale lines as a way of staying afloat. One brand, Faraone Mennella whose gold earrings shown at right sell for $1,420 at Neiman Marcus, is now aiming higher with items like a $110,000 diamond cuff to be featured in Saks Fifth Avenue's holiday catalog. Other jewelers are taking the opposite approach such as Daniel K., which has until now sold exclusively diamonds and platinum but recently launched their lower priced Prêt-á-Porter line that features pavé diamonds and other gemstones set in gold (see our gallery of their pieces below).

One of the biggest trends in the last few years, the self purchase of jewelry by women, seems also to be shifting. The WWD article quotes Katey Brunini, founder of K. Brunini who says that the self-purchase has pretty much dropped out and many of her sales are now gifts. The gifts may be what continues to keep the market afloat in the U.S. because although the market is changing there will always be gift occasions that call for jewelry.

Jacob the Jeweler, who was sentenced to jail last month for money laundering, seems to have no problem heading back to court. His company, Jacob & Co. has sued musician Wyclef Jean for unpaid bills. Court papers filed in Manhattan indicate bought $765,100 worth of watches and jewelry between March 2002 and January 2006 and still owes $319,680 dollars. The company says they have tried many times to get Jean to come forth with payment. His reps had no comment.

The U.S. ban against the importation of rubies and jade from Mynanmar is now official. President Bush signed legislation Tuesday hoping to send a strong message to Myanmar's brutal ruling regime. While many jewelry companies including Tiffany & Co., Cartier and Bulgari already have had bans in place for a while, this bill makes it official. The U.S. government was particularly motivated to move after military junta's reaction to the cyclone that hit the country in May. The regime was slow to accept help and and the country is still in recovery from that devastating event. First lady Laura Bush has spoken out on the issue of a ban against rubies from Myanmar before and she accompanied her husband in the Oval Office as he signed the bills, which extend and harden sanctions Congress first passed in 2003.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, produces some of the world's most beautiful rubies. The rubies from the Mogok region have a deep translucent color often described as pigeon's blood. As the AP article notes, many stones are currently being laundered through nearby countries such as Thailand to get around sanctions. Myanmar also does a brisk business in jade and jadeite which is continuing to be bought merchants coming from China and Hong Kong who purchase the stones in state-run auctions held periodically.

When I was a kid and I used to help my stepfather on home improvement projects I often ended up trying on copper tubing and six-sixded nuts on as rings. Azature, a young and brooding jewelry designer, has taken that six-sided design and turned it into a fabulous piece of jewelry. The Hollywood-based designer has an abiding love for black, using black diamonds and a sterling-platinum alloy to craft high-end bangles, necklaces and rings for both men and women. Many of his designs have an industrial rough-edged look without being hopelessly gimmicky. They are powerful.

The piece shown above features five carats of Russian black diamonds and sells for $12,900.

Jewelry sales often flounder in the face of a rough economy but so far that hasn't hit De Beers. The company recently reported that total sales increased 10 percent in the first half of the year. The company's retail division which been expanding their amount of stores over the past couple of years had double-digit growth over 2007 pushed by the sales of high-end pieces like the Dragonfly necklace shown above and bridal jewelry. Still the company has expressed concerns over the second half of the year because of the struggling U.S. economy which has already impacted mass-market retail sales. De Beers, like many other companies that do businesses on the global playing field, is looking to Russia, China and the Middle East to help make up some of the shortfall from any potential purchasing dips in the U.S.