Hermes Paris has just posted a 12.8% increase in sales for the first half of the year and also announces plans to unveil 15 new or improved retail posts in the coming months. Further proof that what doesn't go out of style is worth investing in, the brisk sales at Hermes are mirrored in the vintage market, as well -- fashionistas hungry for rare silk scarves and enamel bracelets are in constant bidding wars on eBay. (Don't get me started on my recent loss of a safari-themed bangle from the early '80s. Damn you, iris1680!) A nice point of entree to the luxury brand? Perfect-for-summer scent "Un Jardin en Mediterranee," the eau de toilette equivalent of a stroll through Mediterranean gardens. At least until you justify that new Birkin.

Legendary actress Shirley MacLaine now has her own line of jewelry. MacLaine says that playing fashion designer Coco Chanel in a TV movie inspired her line of jewelry. The Chakra Sky Jewelry marries her interest in gemstones with her love of the metaphysical. The rings, pendants and earrings have names like Spirit Steering and Safe Landing and are made of eco-friendly sterling silver and gemstones such as amethyst, fire opal and lapis. The pieces are priced a bit higher than similar pieces I have seen but the actress's name may contribute to the pricing. The Chakra Sky rings shown above are worn at the top of the finger rather than at the base and sell for $328.

[via Female First]

We have always been of the opinion that jeweler David Yurman's designs don't quite live up to his gorgeous advertising campaigns. It's almost as though his own creative team senses this, as the ads seem designed to downplay the ostentatiousness of most of the jewelry, with its two-tone metals, gauche gemstones and clunky styling.

The pictures by contrast are simple, elegant and stunning: some of the world's most beautiful women shot in classic black-and-white by famed photographer Peter Lindbergh. Kate Moss has appeared more than once, and is back for the glamorous new fall campaign, pictured here. Other subjects have included Daria Werbowy, Naomi Watts, Amber Valletta and Natalia Vodianova. No-one could make the baubles look better than that all-star lineup.

Inspired at a young age by her family and surroundings, Pippa Small pieces together unique jewelry creations that tug at heartstrings, evoke memories and speak to the soul. Her eclectic style combines stones, metals, seeds and flora with an earthen and mystic quality that seems timeless. Although she currently only has one store in London her wares are thankfully also available through an online shop with prices ranging from £300 for a pair of earrings to £7,670 for a charm bracelet. I think her jewelry is fantastic with her rare combinations and cultural undertones.

Put two of my favorite loves together, fine jewelry and fine wine, together and you get this beauty. Chopard's artistic director Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele has created a parure of a necklace and earrings with a grapevine motif to celebrate the Festival del Sole in Napa Valley. Fashion Week Daily reports that the pieces are set in 18K rose gold and feature white and colored diamonds as well as gemstones that mimic the colors and shapes of grapes, vines, and leaves.

The ten-day festival is a luxury affair currently underway through July 20. It features concerts and presentations as well as gourmet meals and wine events throughout Napa Valley.

Jewelry designer Ana Cavalheiro has released her first collection. Cavalheiro, who grew up in Lisbon, Portugal, had a career in marketing before deciding to follow her passion for jewelry. She trained in Paris two years at the "École du Louvre (BJO Formation) " where she learnt to handcraft jewelry in the traditional European way. Although Cavalheiro lives in Southern California now her designs recall her Portuguese youth with bright colors and romantic and medieval motifs. The pieces are handcrafted in 18K and 14K gold and gemstones including large cocktail rings and earrings and necklaces whose designs are influenced by traditional European tile designs. Check out the gallery below for more looks at her romantic yet modern designs.

Jewelry designer Sarena Traver is more than just a maker of fine jewelry, she's also a race car driver. Traver's company, JeTalia has four collections, Cage, Synchro, Apex, and T2. Traver's father was in the gem business and she grew up as his apprentice.

Racing informs her designs in a subtle way, she likes to incorporate movement into the designs. She works primarily in gold, diamonds, and pearls with prices ranging from $1,000 to $18,000. My favorite are her Cage pieces which feature pearls inside gold scroll cages. The ring shown at right sells for $2250.

Fashion designers have their haute couture lines and their ready-to-wear collections. High-end diamond jeweler, Daniel K, has a dazzling diamond and platinum couture jewelry collection but now there is Daniel K Prêt-à-Porter, the luxury jeweler's first entrée into the gold arena, the jeweler's version of ready to wear. Since 1999, Daniel Koren, the young jeweler behind Daniel K has been creating jewelry with diamonds and platinum and his pieces have been worn by celebrities including Debra Messing, Mary J Blige, Sigourney Weaver and Halle Berry.

The Daniel K Prêt-à-Porter line is a a recently unveiled, collection of modern earrings, bracelets, rings, and necklaces featuring pavé diamonds set in 18k rose, yellow or white gold. The collection offers a variety of pavé diamond encrusted, round and oval hoops in different widths and sizes. I also love the colorful stacking bangles which are available in different colors featuring rubies, sapphires, tsavorites and diamonds and can be worn together or individually. The bangles are hinged and have a release button for getting them on and off easily.

The most dramatic pieces are the ones that feature black and white diamonds. The bracelet above is part of a set that has black and white diamonds set into rhodium blackened white gold for a distinctive and slightly gothic look. The Prêt-à-Porter collection is more moderately priced than the Daniel K Couture collection, retail prices range from $2,500 - $60,000.

The sun is shinning brightly, the weather is hot, flowers have bloomed, nature is out and about and the pool is ready for a party. Summer is the best season for everything (except of course snowball fights and skiing). Kids are out from school and everyone seems happier. Of the laundry list of things to like about the summer, of course my favorite is summer fashion. It's laid back and whatever goes attitude is inviting and freeing especially after being bundled up in coats, scarves and all of sorts of layers.
Unfortunately, the easygoing nature of summer fashion can sometimes translate into looking as though you have just rolled out of bed. However, with the right accessories your style meter can be turned to high. If you love summer as much as I do, then show your affection with some "I love summer, nature is great" inspired jewelry. Any of the featured pieces could easily be paired with any of your go-to summer outfits allowing for comfort and style.

The blog Jewelry Insider hit upon a great item that combines jewels and chocolate -- perfection! A Swiss chocolate company, Cocoa Gourmet, has created what its calls its "Royal Collection," which features 12 chocolates made with safe-to-eat gold or silver, or sprinkled with diamonds. Priced at $1,250, the collection has four 22-carat gold chocolates, four pure silver chocolates and four sweet diamond pieces. There's also a $520 Gemstone Collection. Lovely, and an unusual gift idea, but I'm not convinced that ingesting metal is such a hot idea, though I guess if you have dental work you're ingesting it all the time ... Order here, if you're braver than I. Free worldwide shipping!

De Beers is making big moves into the retail market. The diamond company which was once more on the back end of diamond transactions, providing diamonds to jewelers, is now planning to have around 50 stores by the end of the year. In an interview in the Wall Street Journal, De Beers Group Managing Director Gareth Penny said that the company's retail business is still in its "start-up phase and is rapidly expanding, seeking to be in one of the top five jewelry retailers in the world. De Beers currently has seven stores open in the U.S. in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, New York and Washington D.C.

This is part of a big shift in De Beers over the past few years. Recently De Beers created their Forevermark diamond brand. They are putting their substantial marketing muscle behind Forevermark and planning to build into one of the world's leading diamond brands.

Men's jewelry is often a subject of some debate. Although men have been adorning themselves with jewelry for thousands of years, some say that men have no need for this type of embellishment. And certainly when it comes to men's jewelry, bad taste can abound. But simple, tasteful jewelry on a man can also be incredibly sexy.

John Ferdinand is an independent accessories brand from Hong Kong. They create pieces styled in solid sterling silver and inlaid with ebony, using offcuts from furniture making which would otherwise be discarded. The pieces also come packaged beautiful raw bamboo boxes. Although they design primarily for men, the company has found that about half of their customers are women who are mostly buying for themselves. No surprise, the designs have a contemporary unisex appeal.

This week one lucky reader will win the Halcyon bracelet which features a chunky curved silver panel inlaid with ebony on a thick, soft strap of nappa leather with a silver buckle. It's got a watch-like appeal making it perfect for those who use their cell phone to tell time but would still like a bold piece of wrist candy.

This week's comment starting question is: What are your feelings on men wearing jewelry?

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, July 11, 2008. We'll randomly choose one winner amongst the eligible entries and announce the winner on July 12, 2008.

Some other important details:

* To enter, leave a confirmed comment below answering the question above.
* The comment must be left and confirmed before Friday, July 11, 2008 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
* You may only enter once.
* One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
* One winner will receive the John Ferdinand Halcyon bracelet valued at approximately $333.
* Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.

See complete contest rules here.

This contest is now closed. Thank you for your participation.

Across various sectors of the luxury market the story seem to be the same, the mid-range is suffering while the high end remains strong. Reuters reports that Italian jeweler Buccellati has seen a drop in less expensive jewelry in the United States. Maria Cristina Buccellati, head of communication for the company, says that they've only just started to feel affects of the faltering economy in the U.S. Bucellati's concerns follow those expressed by Buglari and Richemont. For Buccellati sales of jewelry priced between 10,000 euros ($15,880) and 30,000 euros ($47,152) had slowed in the United States but jewelry items priced above 100,000 euros ($157,175) are still having strong sales.

Buccellati is fairly protective of their brand and are not as well known as other high-end jewelers, partially because they are one of the only high-end jewelers who does not routinely lend jewelry for actresses to trot out on the red carpet. They also don't aim for the masstige market, Buccellati makes only about 3,000 jewelry pieces a year and around 500 of those are one-of-a-kind pieces.

Most of the companies that offer charms shaped like pets offer just the most popular breeds but Meche goes the extra mile. Their dog charms cover all current AKC breeds and they have begun working on the cats, starting with the most popular. The pieces are three dimensional and free standing. They can be ordered in 14K white or yellow gold and customized with diamond collars and eyes and finished with custom colors.

Thistle & Bee sells a variety of luxury objects including jewelry, picture frames, home goods and baby gifts. The company has a full range of sterling silver products including a large range of enameled pieces such as cufflinks and keychains. The American flag keychain shown above has handpainted enamel detail and sells for $250.

Thistle & Bee has now expanded into gemstones and fine jewelry with new collections of gold pieces featuring diamonds and colored stones. Examples and prices are in the gallery below.