Jewelry Trend Alert: The 'Eyes' Have It!

Does it get any more extreme than Kanye West replacing his entire bottom row of teeth with real diamonds? Yes, jewelry hounds. Yes, it does.

A new trend has emerged that has diamond divas putting real platinum gems - on their eyeballs.

(And you thought vajazzling was the final frontier.)

According to Trendhunter, eye surgeons at the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery have been implanting tiny pieces of jewelry called “JewelEye” under the surfaces of eyes as far back as 2004.

The procedure involves inserting a 3.5 mm (0.13 inch) wide piece of specially developed jewelry (the range includes a glittering half-moon or heart) into the sclera - or the white part of the eye. And here's the heart-warming video to prove it.

But there is plenty of other 'eye candy' available that doesn't involve the pleasantries of peeper piercing.

Dutch designer Eric Klarenbeek has an eye catching line of bejeweled contact lenses. And I mean 'eye catching' literally.

And D-lister divas, Lisa and Brittny Gastineau, have a popular jewelry line with the Hollywood set that features the eye shape throughout.

Or you can eyeball these little ditties for your next night at the asylum...um, I mean...on the town.

 

So. What do you guys think of the eye candy trend? Edgy or 'Ay, yay, yay'?

Bathroom Bling Breaks Price Records

Care to powder your nose with pure platinum? Or visit 'the throne' in real 24 karat gold? Now the precious metals that are fixtures in our jewelry boxes are literal fixtures in our, ahem, little girls rooms.

Luxist reports some of the most expensive bathroom tiles on the market today can be yours for a mere $615 per 2' x 2' square. The pieces are a reproduction of Gustav Klimt's famous work "The Kiss" and use pure 24 kt gold and platinum as well as colored ceramic to bring the romantic piece to a bathroom near you. Pure gold and platinum tile fittings are also available for borders and space fillers.

Imagine what they could do with 'The Scream".

The craftsmanship involved in creating the tiles involved a three-year planning process that culminated with 17 separate firings in the kiln according to Luxist. The limited edition pieces are available through British tile experts, Original Style.

Would you put precious metals in the 'WC" if you could afford it? Or is the bling best left to rooms with more, um, aspirational undertones?

Platinum Jewelry for Mere Mortals

Let's face it. In the hierarchy of jewelry metals, we can all agree there’s silver, there's gold but there's really no topping platinum in terms of quality, right?

According to the Platinum Guild, it’s the most pure of all the precious metals - 95% pure, compared to 18K (75%) and 14K (58.5%) gold. And its 30 times more rare than gold. Fancy that.


Whenever I cover a celebrity engagement ring or a red carpet event, it's safe to assume most of the styles are set in platinum, including Ivanka Trump’s and Carrie Underwood’s diamond rock and Julianne Moore’s jaw-dropping Bulgari emerald earrings.

But despite the luxury allure, it’s wrong to assume that platinum jewelry is out of reach for the average consumer, like us. The good news is: platinum designers have become quite creative with their manufacturing processes, making lighter weight, airy styles that cut down on metal and end cost. This goes for fashion pieces and – yes – the coveted engagement ring styles you see in Us Magazine every week.

For example:
This vintage right hand ring from JCPenney is platinum over sterling silver – a creative way to bring costs down without sacrificing style. And with a price of only $79.99 it’s a surefire way to get platinum in your jewelry box without breaking the bank.

Speaking of vintage, this pure platinum engagement ring at approx. $1,000 - $2,000 costs well below the usual platinum price point with unique sapphire side stones and hand-engraved details. Check out www.preciousplatinum.com for more on this piece and many other styles where you can choose your starting price point and they, well, point you in the right direction.

So in other words, the next time you're considering a jewelry purchase, don’t automatically figure platinum is out of the picture. In this economy, everyone is getting creative - luxury is still well within reach.

And for those of you who still love to look at luxury well beyond your reach (yours truly most definitely included) - to that end, I give you this historic platinum and diamond ring on the auction block at Christie's next month that could clock in at around 1.5 to 2 million!

No harm in just looking, right?

Lil' Wayne's Diamond Delay

So no one wants to go to prison - particularly if you're a gazillionaire rapper. But Lil' Wayne apparently has luck and bad dental hygiene on his side these days as the sentencing hearing for his gun possesion charge dating back to 2007 has been postponed twice - and for two bizarre reasons.

The first was emergency dental work - a whopping 8 root canals - scheduled due to decay caused by his signature blinged out grill - a diamond, gold and platinum masterpiece worth a reported $150,000! Weezy - get the floss out dude!

No word yet on whether LW will get to bring his bling in the big house (Riker's no less), as there are rules about bringing in valuables that can later be traded for cigarettes and the like.

So March 2nd was the re-scheduled sentencing date post oral surgery, but in a bizarre turn the courthouse caught on fire that morning causing yet another delay. According to Rolling Stone, it remains unclear whether Lil Wayne’s next hearing will be moved to another venue or postponed until a later date.