Drop Dead Gorgeous Gifts for Christmas, the Ice You Want and Desire & Swatch Grows Up.

By Laura Medina

 

 Emily Rossum wearing Tiffany's Atlas Necklace.

There are two hot or "haute" trends in the jewelry business, thanks to Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby."

The party-harty atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties and the Swinging Flapper and the Industrial Growth of the United States.

When Manhattan and American found their footings, so did Tiffany & Co.'s came of age at the same time.  They celebrated their success by installing a lean, mean, Industrial Age/Art Deco statue of Atlas at the entrance of their main headquarters.

Aptly named after their statue at the main entrance, Tiffany & Co.'s "Atlas" Collection may be spartan but no less opulent.

With strategic gem placement, not all over the place bling, Tiffany & Co.'s "Atlas" Collection is Young Hollywood's current choice of good taste, discreet approach of lean and mean luxury, more about the material than over-board decorating.

The Atlas® Collection

Bold, clean designs distinguish the Atlas® collection and capture the essence of Tiffany chic. Sleek, elongated Roman numerals are incorporated into each graphic piece for jewelry that is at once modern and timeless, representing the Art Deco of the Machine Age. 

Another "haute" trend running through Tiffany is actually visiting their own archives, "Jazz Age Glamour," under the Ziegfeld Collection.  Conducting research, Baz Luhrmann's wife, Catherine Martin mined Tiffany's vaults to accurately get the proper jewelry that "The Great Gatsby" characters would had actually buy and wear.  Men such as Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby would had shop and bought jewelry for Daisy at Tiffany at that time when the Art Deco jewelry was seen as fresh, new, and innovative, not antique and retro as we see now.

BRACELET WITH A UAMARINES, DIAMONDS AND BLACK ONYX

Black Oynx and pearls were popular at that time and reappears again for this holidays.

 Tiffany interprets a design inspired by the blue of pristine pools surrounded by
sparkling moonlight. Seven color-saturated aquamarines are evenly spaced in linear formation, with round brilliant diamonds. The stones are individually set on a level plane, creating a smooth transition from the emerald-cut aquamarines to the brilliant-cut diamonds. Borders of black onyx are set with equal precision, suggesting the crisp contrast of velvet ribbons.  Bracelet in platinum. From Ti any & Co. New Collections 2013.

DIAMOND DROP EARRINGS

 
Because of the dance, "The Charleston," the tassel chain necklaces and dangling drop earrings move with the dance.

Tiers of round and pear-shaped diamonds fi nish with elegant lengths of
perfectly matched and beautifully articulated stones. The fluid strands refl ect the delicate strokes rendered in the designer’s sketch.  Ti any jewelers carefully integrate the exquisitely faceted stones, accenting the strands with marquise diamonds that shimmer with every
turn of the head. From Tiffany & Co. New Collections 2013.

 The swinging tassel construction will strut into next Spring/Summer in turquoise, Tiffany's

SCHLUMBERGER TASSELS NECKLACE. Following designer Jean Schlumberger’s original sketch, Tiffany artisans arrange lustrous turquoise stones in a linear pattern to highlight shades that evoke the tranquil sea surrounding his Caribbean retreat. With every
movement, 661 platinum-set diamonds—linking the rows of turquoise and forming
tassels lashed with 18 karat gold ‘ropes’—intensify their sparkle, refl ecting
the beauty and fl exibility of Schlumberger’s exquisite jewels.

 http://store.swatch.com/collections/les-annees-folles/launch-year/2013/show/all.html

 If the cost and price of a Tiffany makes you break out in a cold sweat, don't fret.

Swatch has grown up with it's initial core demographic, from junior high to Young Professional.

They want functional and fashion-forward.  Plus, these generation is in a market for decent watches that double as jewelry, bracelet as watch bands, something that coordinates with the surrounding accessories and the outfit. 

Swatch's Annes Follies 2013 Collection is just as Jazz Age elegant but still at affordable junior high prices.  At prices under $100, you can wear these mature Swatch watches as functional bangles. 

This scribe's favorite is the aptly named, "Prohibition," a Swatch watch on a strand of white pearls on a stretch band to easy pulling on and off at a moment's notice.

 http://store.swatch.com/watches/originals/lady/lk336-prohibition.html

Swatch's "Prohibition" is a timeless but limited edition classic, a ladylike watch for the modern woman.

For your last-ditch shopping for Christmas, you have your options.  The high-end family heirloom of Tiffany and/or the soon-to-be vintage grown-up Swatch.