LIGHT + DARK | DESK INSPIRATION

ph: Hitta Hem

Love me some home + office inspiration that's stylish + has fashion-related touches. I can't decide which of these office designs I like more- think I am leaning toward the darker space.

Click below for detailed shots of each space + to check out my top desk decor picks...








Some desk decor ideas...

Swatch Group Finalizes $1 Billion Acquisition of Harry Winston

The Harry Winston Salon in Harrods London department store.

The world-renowned Harry Winston luxury brand is now under new ownership. The Swatch Group Ltd. said late Tuesday that it has successfully completed the acquisition of the jewelry and timepiece retailer.

Swatch and Harry Winston Diamond Corp.,  now the prior owner of the brand, announced in January that the Harry Winston luxury retail division was being sold for $750 million plus the assumption of up to $250 million of pro forma net debt.

In addition to being a luxury jeweler and timepiece company, Harry Winston Diamond Corp. operates as a diamond mining business with a 40 percent ownership interest in the Diavik Diamond Mine. It is finalizing the purchase of the Ekati Diamond Mine, including its diamond sorting and sales facilities. Both mines are in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

Following the transaction, the company now is solely a diamond company and operates under the new name, Dominion Diamond Corp., while Swatch Group retains the Harry Winston brand name.

The U.S.-based luxury retail business was bought by the Canadian diamond mining group, Aber Corp., in 2006 to create the Harry Winston Diamond Corp., with divisions in luxury retail and diamond mining. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2007.

The brand’s namesake (Harry Winston, March 1, 1896 – December 28, 1978) founded the luxury retail company in 1932. He was among the most famous jewelers in the world and the first jeweler to lend jewels to an actress for the Oscars red carpet in 1944. He was also famous for donating the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

The luxury diamond jeweler and timepiece retailer has salons in key locations—including New York, Paris, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo and Beverly Hills.

The Swatch Group, based in Biel, Switzerland, is the world’s leading supplier of finished watches and watch movements and one of the world’s largest buyers of polished diamonds. The two companies previously said that they will explore the opportunities for a joint diamond polishing venture bringing together the manufacturing and diamond expertise of the two companies.

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Film Star Gina Lollobrigida To Auction Her Bulgari Jewels For Charity

Gina Lollobrigida wearing the Bulgari diamond necklace and bracelet combination as a tiara & the pair of emerald and diamond earclips. The items are included in the auction at Sotheby's Geneva.

Actress and sex symbol, Gina Lollobrigida, will sell 23 jewels from her Bulgari collection at Sotheby’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels Sale on May 14. The auction will feature important Bulgari jewels from the 1950s and 1960s, worn by Lollobrigida at landmark moments in her career. Proceeds from the sale will benefit stem cell research.

Key pieces from the collection will travel to Hong Kong, London, New York and Rome before returning for exhibition in Geneva in advance of the sale.

“I have been lucky enough to be given many roles in life – as an actor, a mother, a photojournalist, an ambassador for FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), and as an artist,” Lollobrigida said. “I began collecting jewels from Bulgari in the 1950s and 1960s, drawn by the wonderful craftsmanship and distinctive style of these pieces. They accompanied me on many journeys—both professional and personal—and are redolent of those times and the extraordinary people I met along the way.”

She continued, “I have decided the time is right to share them with other collectors. In so doing, I can also help a cause very close to my heart, that of stem cell research – treatment, which I believe should be freely available to every child. It is my wish that part of the proceeds from the sale will contribute to help fund an international hospital for stem cell research.”

David Bennett, Sotheby’s Switzerland and jewelry, Europe and Middle East chairman, added: “These exceptional jewels are evocative of both a woman, and an era. Not only do they reflect Gina Lollobrigida’s brilliance, but they are among the finest designs created by Bulgari in the “dolce vita” years of the 1950s and 1960s.”

Highlights from the sale include:

* Diamond necklace and bracelet combination, Bulgari, 1954, (also worn by Miss Lollobrigida as a tiara) a favorite of Lollobrigida on landmark occasions, including receiving her 1961 Golden Globe for World Film Favorite – Female (estimate, $300,000 - $500,000).

* Pair of natural pearl and diamond pendants, Bulgari, 1964, worn by Lollobrigida on numerous public occasions, including to meet Princess Margaret at The Taming of the Shrew premiere in London in 1967 (estimate, $600,000 - $1 million).

* Diamond ring set with a cushion-shaped diamond weighing 19.03 carats, Bulgari, 1962 (estimate, $400,000-800,000).

* Emerald and diamond earclips, Bulgari, 1964. Each earclip suspends a detachable pendant set to the center with a pear-shaped emerald (estimate $150,000 - $250,000).

* Emerald and diamond brooch set to the center with a step-cut emerald weighing 27.57 carats (estimate, $150,000 - $250,000).

* Emerald and diamond ring, Bulgari, 1964, set with a step-cut emerald weighing 16.62 carats, framed by two rows of brilliant-cut diamonds (estimate $120,000 - $180,000).

For her commitment to various humanitarian organizations, she was nominated first Ambassadress for the FAO in 1999 and has worked closely with UNICEF, UNESCO, Médecins Sans Frontières, Mother Theresa of Calcutta and children in Romania.

In 2007, she received the honor from the Republic of San Marino of becoming the only woman to be featured in a special edition of four postal stamps bearing her portrait – each depicting a different facet of her career – as actor, photographer, sculptor and humanitarian. In 2008, in Washington, the Italian-American Foundation NIAF awarded her the “Lifetime Achievement Award” in recognition of her artistic life.

Please join me on the Jewelry News Network Facebook Page, on Twitter @JewelryNewsNet and on the Forbes Website.

Sotheby’s to Offer 75-Carat Diamond with $12 Million Price Tag

The centerpiece of Sotheby’s New York Magnificent Jewels sale on April 17 will be a 75-carat pear-shaped, D-color diamond that the auction house says it is “the most important white diamond ever to appear at auction in the Americas.” It is estimated to sell for $9 million to $12 million.

The spring auction will offer 400 lots of jewelry, gemstones and pearls with an estimated sale value of more than $35 million. Among the other offerings are the following:

* Fancy pink diamond and diamond pendant ear clips. The pear-shaped pendants weigh 5.79 and 5.68 carats. Its estimate is $3.5 million to $4.5 million

* From the Estate of Lynn Wolfson, a square emerald-cut diamond ring with a 21.46-carat, D color, Internally Flawless, type IIa diamond. Its estimate is $2.5 to $3.5 million.

Six jewels from the family of financier and railroad magnate Jay Gould acquired in the first half of the 20th Century. Among the items:
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* From the Estate of Sarah Cantine Shrady Gould and Thence by Descent, an emerald and diamond brooch featuring a 22.48-carat, Classic Colombian emerald. Estimate $400,000 - $600,000.

* From the Estate of Florence Bacon Gould Sturgeon and Thence by Descent, an emerald and diamond ring with a 15.23-carat Classic Colombian emerald, circa 1930. Estimate $750,000 - $1 million.

Other highlights of the sale include:

* From a distinguished European collection, a carved colored stone, diamond and pearl “Tutti Frutti” Bracelet by Cartier. Estimate $300,000 - $500,000.

* Formerly from the collection of Katharine Dexter McCormick, a ruby and diamond ring featuring a 4.36-carat, classic Burmese ruby, circa 1900. Estimate $400,000 - $600,000

* From the Estate of Micheline Muselli Lerner, a diamond Rivière Necklace by Van Cleef & Arpels. Estimate $125000 - 175,000

* A diamond, onyx and emerald panther brooch by Cartier. Estimate $150,000 - $250,000

Highlights from the sale will be on view in the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center April 3 – 7 before returning to New York for exhibition on April 13, alongside a selection of pieces from the upcoming Geneva auction of Magnificent Jewels & Noble Jewels.

Please join me on the Jewelry News Network Facebook Page, on Twitter @JewelryNewsNet and on the Forbes Website.

SHEER GOODNESS

ph: ELLE Sweden

This editorial is absolutely gorgeous! The sheer trend is one of my favorites this season, especially the sheer plaids from Dries Van Noten + 3.1 Phillip Lim.

Click below for more + to find out how to get the look...










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