Behind the scenes of Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele

The global brand Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele appointed to his current position in 2015, has taken the Gucci line to new heights. The line was stagnant for sometime, yet since Alessandro has brought his flair for costume design to the brand, we are seeing sexy with a twist of chic trendiness.  I personally love some of the new Le Marche' des Merveilles jewelry, which loosely translates to The Path of Wonders.  

He's an avid collector of many things, such as he has over 360 pairs of shoes in his closet, 35 different copies of the childhood story book Alice in Wonderland and collects miniature Meissen porcelain pugs. So, the whimsical style makes sense as his mother was in cinema and his fascination with Alice in Wonderland as well as his love for costume design.

In 2015 he was awarded the "International Designer of the Year" at the British awards held at the London Coliseum. The New York times called him, fashion's modern mastermind! Alessandro Michele a relatively unknown name in the design world before 2015. And, since on the scene has introduced "gender equality" by dress male models in an unconventional fashion. The 2016 Spring/Summer women's wear collection was largely appreciated and documented as "something more eccentric and bohemian". 

Now in 2019, such a short time for his success he is known as one of the top global influencers! Quit a cry from no one knowing who he was.... To see the newest eclectic, feline motif fine jewelry Gucci collection do come visit me at Provident Jewelry at 766 5th Avenue South, Naples, FL 34106 or call me at 239.784.2682. I look forward to working with you!

2018 jewelry collection from the runway

Le Merche' des Merveilles Collection

A photo of Alessandro Michele

Timeless treasures.....

Milan, Italy in 1967 Pino Rabolini, the heir of a goldsmith legacy, founded the jewelry line Pomellato. It was a time characterized with great creative visions and a more avant-garde way of living compared to today.

The line is known for it's sophisticated color palettes, peculiar shapes and innovative designs, making the jewelry distinctive in it's own right. The name Pomellato comes from the deep fascination Pino had for horses. Pomellato is an adjective referred to a dappled horse. Dappled meaning spotted or patches of color on the animal. As you view the color, that is exactly what you will see, spots as well as patches of beautiful and distinctive color.

The brand has become in international luxury must have because of it's modern, yet unconventional look. The designs are robust in gold weight with seamless lines and colors that make a bold statement. The eight different collections tells a story of it's own, with it's richness in history, luxurious appearance and timelessness of design.

Each and every design is a masterpiece of history, craftsmanship and innovation that any woman would love to wear.

Spring/Summer 2019 Colors

Straight from New York fashion week, the team from the Patone Color Institute creates an overview of the top catwalk colors we will be seeing for the next season. Here are some of the upcoming colors you will be seeing in fashion for the spring and summer 2019. Which leads me to my passion, the jewelry that will be needed to compliment the clothes you will be wearing. Just some of my tips and suggestions on how to utilize these colors in your wardrobe to be current!

Red Jasper - Rich in color and depth for the Urbanites. For this color, I have chosen to go with a monochromatic look making a bold statement with the red coral, pearls and diamonds ensemble.

Princess Blue - The majestic royal color for the next generation of royalty. This Baroque Pearl, Tanzanite and Diamond Pave necklace can be worn as one long strand or doubled making it a chunkier look. This necklace would look great with jeans and a white shirt or a fitted blue dress making the wearer look completely chic!

Pink Peacock - Bright and bold as the peacock. With this color I am going with the multi colored gemstone pre-owned necklace designed by Seaman Schepp. This necklace will add a pop of color, yet not compete with your color statement in clothing. Adding gold earrings and several gold bangles with this will complete your look.

Thank you for reading and love to hear what you think of these colors for your personal jewelry wardrobe! * Make it a pearl of a day.....

Green the Color of Life!

Since it is the month of August I figured I would touch on the birthstone peridot for my blog article. Peridot is olive green in color and can vary from yellow to brownish-green. Peridot is one of the few gemstones that only comes in one color.

Green is the color of life, renewal, nature, energy, safety and fertility. It is the color of healing and is understood as being the most restful and relaxing color for the eye to view. You will find three-carats and smaller in jewelry on the market today. A fine eight-carat stone is extremely rare and beyond eight carats would be collectors or museum pieces.

Below are some fabulous green including peridot gemstones by Jordan Alexander. Theresa Harper Bruno is the designer behind the brand, her style challenges the norm of classic jewelry and she brings something a little less ordinary to what are certain to be future heirlooms!

Please do not hesitate to contact me about this brand or finding the perfect peridot for your special someone born in the month of August.

From specimen to designer ring....

Just a quick blog article to show a specimen to a finished product. I am still amazed at what mother nature creates on her own, then we as designers create beautiful and interesting pieces of jewelry. Not sure if I have mentioned to you before, yet my design process is shopping for gemstones then design the piece of jewelry, normally it is done the other way around. Yet, those of you who know me, know that I never do anything exactly how everyone else is doing it!!!

Azurite Malachite is a combination of two very distinct gemstones;  Azurite is a deep and rich blue while Malachite is shades of green in botryoidal shapes. They crystallize together forming in masses, crusts and nodules. When Azurite mixes with Malachite a beautiful blue green swirl occurs. It is found in China, yet the best specimens come from the USA. It is found anywhere that copper is present.

I love designing with gemstones such as this one because of it's deep and inspiring color combination.

Azurite Malachite Nugget Specimen

Beautiful Example of Banding.....

Azurite Malachite 18k Yellow Gold Brushed Diamond Ring

 Designed by Maryann Scandiffio Jewelry Design

There is nothing better.....

One of the things I love about my job is that I often deal with people on a happy note. They are interested in getting engaged, upgrading her diamond because they have been together for 25+ years or she's having his first child and he wants to surprise her with a push gift. I hear so many stories of love and commitment that inspire me daily.

John and his now fiancé' Ashlea, came to me with his family heirloom, a round brilliant diamond that was his grandmother's given to his mother and now his mother is giving it to him. Diamonds such as this have significant sentiment, just like Princess Diana's two side stones that Prince Harry had mounted in the ring for Meghan Markle.

We did find the perfect setting for John's family heirloom and Ashlea is overjoyed with it and the history that goes with it. On behalf of myself and Provident Jewelry we wish them a lifetime of happiness!

Photos of their engagement that they have allowed me to share with you. Thank you John and Ashlea, it was a privilege to work with you!

Rare and beautiful, pink diamonds......

Pink diamonds are a type of diamond, which has all the same elements as a white diamond, except that they exhibit pink in color. Where the pink color comes from is the great debate in the gemological world, yet it is most commonly attributed to enormous additional pressure that these diamonds undergo during the formation process.

Pink diamonds are a subcategory of diamonds known as fancy colored diamonds, the generic term for all diamonds that exhibit any sort of color. Just like a white diamond, they range from flawless to included. The most well known is the Pink Star, which Sotheby's named the Pink Dream, originally found at 132.5 carats in the rough and when cut ended up as a 59.60 carat fancy vivid pink by GIA. This pink diamond was bid on at Sotheby's auction house in Geneva for $83 Million by New York diamond cutter Isaac Wolf.

GIA's color grading also known as scale is as follows; faint, very light, light, fancy light, fancy, fancy intense and fancy vivid. Faint being the least expensive and fancy vivid the most expensive. The richer and more saturated the color, the more expensive the diamond will be. Just as white diamonds, they also come in various shapes and sizes. Though, pink diamonds can be found in many mines around the world, yet often in very small quantities of just a few stones per year, and commonly in very small sizes. They are among the most sought after fancy colored diamonds in the world because of their romantic feel ing these diamonds stimulate in people.

In 2002 when Ben Affleck proposed to Jennifer Lopez it was with a 6.1 carat pink diamond. You don't have to be a celebrity to own one of these rare beauties, you just have to know the right place to shop! Provident Jewelry has a selection of pink diamond jewelry in all different categories, including rings, pins, necklaces and earrings with some examples shown below.