Michael, Victor and Robert Rock attending a CK Party at Baselworld 2012

Baselworld is the world’s largest watch and jewellery trade fair for watch and jewellery enthusiasts, offering up everything from popularly-priced mass market peices to exquisite one off’s – and Rocks Jewellers were there to ensure our customers will be getting the most on trend, best quality and most popular brands and products on the market today.

“Overall the experience was amazing” says Robert Rock, “ We got to see first hand what’s going to be happening down the line in jewellery and watches and we are happy to report Rocks  Jewellers are ahead of the game and in position to deliver everything that the customer will want.”

Some of the feedback from the show was as follows:-

Jewellery Trends

For jewellery, Rocks Jewellers noticed some real trends emerging at the fair and the good news is these are all available at Rocks Jewellers. Some of the most important trends included:

Blue. The colour blue coordinates well with the colour of the year for the fashion houses which is orange. From sapphire blue, aquamarine and topaz, Rocks have many of the items in store including Links of London, Tresor Paris, Thomas Sabo, Pandora and Rocks.

Jade. Pandora unveiled nephrite jade pieces in a collection of pendants, rings and earrings. All very unique and apparently their popularity is due to grow and grow this year so watch this space. Also one of our own – a stunning vintage Jade peice from Rocks also fits the bill.

Orange. The Pantone Colour Institute’s Colour of the Year was evident at the high and low ends — from topaz, garnets to cz’s — and should continue to grow in popularity throughout 2012. Thomas Sabo and Tresor Paris really have gotten hold of this trend.

Pearls. From freshwater to cultured, pearls are becoming a prevalent choice for focal points in jewellery. Rocks Jewellers Chic Collection has developed a collection that satisfies this trend really well with attractive pricing coupled with exceptional quality and choice. Check them out! Let’s not forget Links of London and Paul Costelloe who have also done a great job introducing pearls into their collections.

One-Of-A-Kinds. People love uniqueness and while many of the most popular brands cannot gaurantee uniqueness some of the larger jewellery houses can, as statement peices. We at Rocks have so many unique peices due to have an unrivalled vintage and antique collection in store and online.

Watches

One standout watch brand is Seiko, with their new Solar watch, the impressive timepiece, powered by solar cells in the dial eliminating the need for batteries, can adjust itself to the time and location of the world’s 39 time zones at the gentle push of a button, thanks to signals from at least four GPS satellites, which the watch is always in contact. It is the first timepiece able to adapt immediately to all of the world’s time zones, wherever the wearer travels. That’s why Seiko calls it “the first global watch.”

“Overall we were delighted to be part of the fair and it will help us ensure we are ahead of the game when it comes to delivering the best jewellery to our customers now and way into the future.”

Okay so we have had a good look through what fantastic, and not so fantastic, jewellery was paraded on the red carpet at the Oscars 2012. Diamonds are still a girls best friend, as adorned by many of the top stars, but we are also happy to report that the stunning Emerald gemstone had its fair share of red carpet space. Emeralds are fantastic as a complimentary colour to purples, and golds. The stars really wore it well this year and we can feel its growing momentum as the gemstone of choice. Another hot trend seems to be the drop / chandelier earrings, they are of course the perfect match for a glamorous ballgown so we see exactly why they are such a popular choice.

DIAMOND NECKLACES

Rocks Jewellers favourite piece was worn by Cameron Diaz, this amazing emerald cut diamond line necklace was so stunning around her neck.  We love emerald cut diamonds and in this setting really outshines other more traditional line necklaces like those worn by Penelope Cruz, Missi Pyle and Michelle Williams shown below. Their neck pieces are to die for but I think Cameron’s pips them at the post.

COLOURED EARRINGS

The red carpet had some great colours showing this year both in their gowns and their jewellery. We love all these earrings, the colours are great and the emerald green really stands out. Some great choices from our stars including Berenice Bejo, Viola Davis, Virginia Madsen, Bingbing Li, Ellie Kemper and Emma Stone.

DROP EARRINGS

Drop, or better known as chandelier, diamond earrings were dangling from the most famous of stars at the Oscars, they were a mixture of pave set chandeliers and larger claw set diamond drop earrings. They were all fabulous but we, at Rocks Jewellers, have fallen in love with Octavia Spencers pave set diamond chandelier earrings. They have an antique/vintage feel to them that is so popular right now and the sparkle off them is unmissable. She had some competition however with stunning earrings worn by Melissa Mc Marthy, Judy Green, Jennifer Lopez, Jane Seymore, Bingbing Li, and Shailene Woodley. No shortage of bling at the Oscars this year that’s for sure.

BRACELETS

Some other peices that we noticed that are worth a mention were diamond bracelets and cuffs worn by Viola Davis, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mila Jovovich. Fabulous choices!

At Rocks Jewellers we house a large selection of unique diamond and gemtone peices both new and antique. Pop in to our stores in Grafton Street and Stillorgan Shopping Center to have a look at what we have to offer. Alternatively take a look online at Rocks own collection of diamond, gold, silver, antique, engagement and wedding jewellery, handcrafted by Rocks Jewellers.

Love is in the air?!

Valentines is around the corner and you haven’t even thought about what you might get your loved one yet – sound familiar? Jewellery for a special lady is always the perfect gift that you can’t go wrong with, so therefore we thought you might need some inspiration. To name a few, Rocks Jewellers house Links of London, Thomas Sabo, Pandora, John Rocha, Alan Ardiff, Caora, and Paul Costelloe, these are all great options as they cater for all budgets and they bring out new products all the time which means the items are bang on trend. These Paul Costelloe pieces for example, bring a fresh look to vintage style jewellery and will add to any outfit casual or glamorous.

Or what about ever changing Links of London, they have done a wonderful job in the past 12 months developing fabulous new collections that strike a cord with so many jewellery lovers, the fantastic 20/20 collection is delicate and unique.

As you can see there’s lots to chose from and you will not be stuck for inspiration from these great brands!

However, if you have a different idea of what you would LOVE for this Valentine’s perhaps these unique engagement rings from Rocks Jewellers are your cup of tea. We also have the widest choice of engagement rings that you will find anywhere else in Ireland, many with matching wedding bands. Take a look and get some ideas for the most meaningful piece of jewellery you will ever own.

A diamond tester is one method, it is a machine that will tell you if the stone is a diamond, but it will not tell you what makes up the stone if it is not a diamond. Another method is using a jeweller’s loupe or a microscope. The jeweller or you can look through the top of the stone, focusing your vision toward the bottom facets of the stone.  If the lines appear doubled, like you have blurry vision, you ar looking into a sythetic stone.  If the lines are still singular, and very clear and distinct you have a real diamond.

You will also notice either through a loupe or micrscope the presence of inclusions or internal flaws. Because diamonds are naturally occuring stones they will have little inclusions within the stone, unless of course you have a flawless stone, these are rare and very expensive. Synthetic stones like cubic zirconia will have no flaws visible at all indicating it is not a diamond.  However, because some diamonds are flawless this method is not completely reliable but in most cases it will be a very good indication.

Home testing methods are great however use a jeweller you trust to take a look at your jewellery and give you peace of mind that what you have chersihed for so long is indeed the real thing.

So pop into us any time and we’ll take a look at your jewellery and appraise it for you. Contact us through www.rocks.ie to make appoinment or call Rocks Jewellers or 01 288 6156 or 01 613 9910

Born and raised in France, designer Maeve Keenan trained with Cartier for years before moving to Ireland to both reconnect with her heritage, and make some connections of her own. The mix of cultures enables her to draw upon the vast breadth of traditions of both countries. Studying History of Art has led to design this capsule collection that reaches back to a period when Ireland was more central to European culture than mere geography might suggest. A pinnacle of world culture was achieved when the Book of Kells, in which Maeve found the main inspiring motif, the ‘Tree of Life’, and decided to mix it with an Art Nouveau twist. With these beautiful pieces of jewellery, you can now wear the union of great traditions of art that meet across thousands of miles and hundreds of years.

At Rocks Jewellers you can see Maeve’s amazing inaugural collection, Caora in both of our stores, Stillorgan Shopping Centre and Grafton Street, as well as online at http://www.rocks.ie/brand.php?id=13 . These unique hand crafted, Irish made pieces will be a fabulous gift for a loved one this Christmas.

Hey so what do we think of antique and vintage inspired jewellery? I’ve been looking through some of our windows and displays and found some fabulous pieces that got me thinking about the reason behind the growing popularity of authentic antique and vintage jewellery and the great new replicas of vintage and antique designs.

Vintage is a word that can have several meanings. Its primary definition is “of old, recognised and enduring interest, importance or quality”, “classical”, and “from another time”. So I guess its easy to see why someone would love to have a vintage or classical piece of jewellery. They are interested in the history and the stories that lie beneath the surface of the gold, platinum, precious stones or diamonds.

However the other reason I have come across is more derived from the fact that the styles are “classical”. Are people in love with the style rather that the history? – I think so. Perhaps its a personal taste but the classic, timeless styles that genuine and replica vintage and antique jewellery offer is so appealing, due to the fact that the jewellery is not part of a trend that may pass in 5 years or 5 months time. The reassurance that the style and design has stood the test of time and that those that have come before us had adorned those very pieces of jewellery and cherished then so much that they are still in pristine condition today. The replica or antique inspired pieces are just as popular however, it seems that throughout the development of new designs that are modern and edgy, goldsmiths and diamond setters  still sat down to rebuild an older more classic and timeless style, indicating its true strength of character and its ability to pass through trends and generations to gain anew lease of life today and for future days.

The Sapphire Marquise Cluster Ring

So what do you think of the new Paul Costelloe Collection – The Belvedere Collection. Take a sneak peak at an Xpose interview at the launch of the new collection in Dublin. Not in the shops yet but it looks fab and is living up to his last collection. They were so popular and were usable in everyday fashion as well as having glam pieces to liven things up for the weekend. Take a look at interview. Rocks will have it instore and online in the coming weeks so watch this space.