The Seedorf family has some serious football skills. Dad Johan was a football player and agent. Johan Seedorf’s nephew Stefano and son Jurgen are also footballers – but the reining king of the Seedorf family is definitely Johan’s son Clarence.

Clarence Seedorf is a first rate Footballer who was named by Pele as one of the 125 best players alive. Clarence has won the UEFA Champions League with 3 different team. He has also played in the Euro 96, the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004 representing The Netherlands. Needless to say, Clarence is a true international football star.

In 2005 four masked men broke into Seedorf’s home and robbed him at knifepoint while his wife and child were in the house. The robber’s made off with over 100,000 Euro’s worth of jewelry and valuables. Seedorf said that the robbers recognized him and were well behaved, and left quietly.

Good thing the robbers didn’t see the fabulously tasteful Corum Admiral’s Cup watch in rose gold and titanium on his wrist. A tough watch for a tough footballer. Great choice Clarence!

For a lover of luxury and fine craftsmanship, the discovery of a David Oscarson writing instrument under the tree will prove a most joyous occasion indeed.  Much like the finest timepieces, the creations of David Oscarson are a feast of visual and tactile superlatives that offer a welcome diversion from the stamped-out mediocrity that so often defines the electronic age.

What you immediately perceive when handling a David Oscarson pen is–aside from the delicious weight–the overwhelming quality.  The David Oscarson press material emphasizes the painstaking nature of their cold enameling processes and guilloche, but the proof
of their dedicated labors is what you hold in your hand, gleaming and lustrous in the light like a perfect little universe. Two expressions come immediately to mind: “Seeing is believing” and “good things come in small packages”.

Choosing a favorite fountain or roller ball from among David Oscarson’s collections is delightfully difficult, as each has its own captivating presence.  Some of the Oscarson themes I like best are “Trellis”, “Harvest”, and “Pierrot Pierrette”.  Perhaps my very favorite is the Valhalla fountain pen, with its non-torpedo body shape and fascinating Norse-inspired symbolism.  Personal preferences aside, there is no way one can make a poor decision with anything from David Oscarson–these artistic writing instruments are simply
magnificent.

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In my final gift ideas blog, I’d like to highlight one of our most exciting new brands – H. Stern.  With a rich history of design excellence, H. Stern continues to break boundaries and offer exciting jewelry fashions.  The theme for H. Stern’s current offerings is definately bold fashion.  The majority of their designs are large and funky with a distinctive elegance – a combination that is tough to achieve.

One unique and striking new element that H. Stern brings to the table is their 18k “noble” gold alloy.  This luscious metal features a proprietary alloy which displays a warm tan hue that sits somewhere between typical yellow and white gold.  The result is a flexible and distinctive jewelry metal which works perfectly with both white and yellow gold jewelry.

Here is a list of gift suggestions which exemplify the elegant jewelry fashion design of H. Stern:
“Stars” Earrings – Designed in 18k noble gold and featuring champagne diamonds, this pair of earrings displays dazzling diamonds and warm colors.

“Moonlight Crystal” Ring – With large rock crystal gemstones set in 18k noble gold, this is a fun and very fashionable 3-stone gemstone ring design.

“Celtic Dunes” Dangle Earrings – These gorgeous yellow gold dangle earrings feature a hand engraved finish which really brings out the rich hue of the 18k gold – a bold and stunning choice.

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Much like the Christmas and Holiday Season itself, complicated watches have a mystique that is difficult to describe, but undeniably powerful.  The superb Harry Winston Excenter Perpetual Calendar certainly falls within this category: its masterful mechanics, luxurious craftsmanship and sleek, exotically beautiful style all provoke serious attraction.

Harry Winston often approaches the classical watchmaking complications with a distinctively fresh design concept.  Rather than an uber-classical perpetual calendar layout (exemplified by the Patek Philippe Ref. 3940 watch) the Excenter Perpetual calendar chooses to disperse the calendar functions over the beautiful anthracite dial, implementing dual retrograde indicators to show the date and the month; piggybacking upon the latter is the quirky but attractive rotating leap year indicator.  These tricky retrograde solutions for the calendar displays–effectively a complication within a complication–are given added visual allure by the off-centered time display with its adjacent star-studded moon phase indicator.

The implementation of an additional hand for a second time zone (adjustable via the crown at 2 o’clock) is a great–and very practical–feature you don’t often see on perpetual calendar watches.  It’s also one of the numerous details that places this brilliant Harry Winston Excenter model among the finest perpetual calendar timepieces currently available.

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In case you hadn’t noticed yet, Hearts On Fire diamonds are now unquestionably the benchmark by which all other diamonds are measured.  There’s no mystery to why Hearts On Fire has been awarded by court the right to refer to their diamonds as “the world’s most perfctly cut diamonds” – it’s simply a combination of cutting edge technology, unprecedented and extremely strict standards, and an unbending resolve to produce the finest diamonds available.

The prestige and dazzling beauty offered by Hearts On Fire diamond jewelry makes for an easy choice as the perfect holiday gift. Along with their superlative diamond cut, Hearts On Fire offers classic, elegant and stunning jewelry designs.

I’ve assembled here a short list of gift ideas which won’t break the bank, and are guaranteed to take her breath away:
“Fulfillment” Stud Earrings – These are available in a variety of sizes and are our most popular Hearts On Fire earrings – offering a big look for a very reasonable price.

“Garden Flower” Diamond Necklace – With 5 clusters of dazzling diamonds, this necklace features impressive sparkle and is flexible enough be be worn casually or dressed up.

“Repertoire” Diamond Bracelet - This is a unique and gorgeous diamond bracelet design which represents something a little different and sophisticated than the standard “tennis” bracelet design.

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Despite all of our recent worldwide economic turmoil, new records continue to be set in diamond and gemstone auction prices.  Just this past week, the famed Wittlesbach Diamond, a 35.56 carat cushion cut natural blue, was sold at auction for a record $24.3 million.  This price breaks the previous record for a diamond sold at auction of $16.5 million.  The Wittlesbach diamond had been passed down through generations of European royalty beginning with King Phillip IV of Spain who purchased the diamond in 1664.

In further news, the largest fancy intense blue diamond ever auctioned, a 13.39 carat, was recently sold for $8.8 million. Also, a 42.28 carat cushion cut Kashmir sapphire was auction for a record $3.5 million.  In all of this blue gemstone frenzy though, a 10.48 carat flawless fancy deep blue briolette cut diamond failed to sell despite an estimated price of $6 million – $9 million.

All of this activity serves to remind us that diamonds and gemstones, with their captivating beauty, continue to be one of the most enduring forms of value and investment – even, and in fact ESPECIALLY in turbulent times.

Over the years, I’ve seen many jewelry brands and trends come and go, but one jewelry brand still reigns as the king of diamond fashion here at Lussori – Chopard.  This brand is the personification of so many important things.  The magic starts with the simple yet genius design aesthetic which has made Chopard a true icon in the jewelry world – endlessly imitated, but never equaled.

The next ingredient in the Chopard recipe for excellence is top shelf materials including Top Wesselton diamonds and fine metal alloys – never compromising quality for price.  Finally, unparalleled craftsmanship ensures that each piece is not only superbly designed, but perfectly assembled and finished.  It may sound simple, but it’s rare to find all of these qualities in a jewelry brand, and this formula has made Chopard the success that it is today.

These qualities also make the brand an absolute no-brainer for holiday gift ideas.  Whether you’re shopping for your loved-one’s first Chopard piece, or their 5th, there is always something perfect available.  From tasteful stud earring designs to elegant pendants and fun fashion rings, Chopard offers a dizzying array of styles.

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Selecting a favorite model from the Glashutte Original Pano watch collection is a pleasantly challenging task.  Sharing in common the beautiful Glashutte manufacture movements with hand-engraved duplex Swan neck fine adjustments, golden chatons, and other charming horological delights, as well as handsome styling that achieves a superb balance between luxury and everyday practicality, these timepieces can all be highly recommended.  For me, however, the superb functionality of the PanoMaticVenue watch makes it a real standout.

With the Glashutte Original PanoMaticVenue watch on your wrist, you have not just a beautiful example of traditional German craftsmanship, but also an elegant companion that will keep you on track no matter where in the world you may be.  The hour in one location, such as that in which you live, can be displayed on the 24-hour subdial, while the off-set primary display shows the time in the place you happen to be in currently.  If you happen to change global locales often, the PanoMaticVenue timepiece is ideal, because setting the time is a task that’s literally at the fingertip.

Like any Glashutte Original watch, the PanoMaticVenue is simply a joy, from the standpoint of art.  A finely rendered dial, fascinating and useful complications (including the signature panorama date), and the lush decorations of the movement all tacitly assure the wearer that fine watchmaking is alive and well in the 21st century.

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I love nothing more then goofing on political figures – and when I found out that Joe “the scrapper from Scranton” Biden was selected by Obama as his Vice Presidential running mate, I knew I had research to do.

I found that Biden was born in Scranton Pa. His dad made some money early on – but  then lost it in different business ventures. Biden had a “st-stu” stuttering problem from an early age and didn’t perform well academically in high school or college. He got married – had kids and just when it seemed like things were getting better – his wife and child were killed by a tractor-trailer while pulling out of an intersection.  When you read his bio – it seems like he just couldn’t catch a break.

He joined the senate in his early 30’s so he never really made money before politics – as most politicians do. As a matter of fact he is also ranked as one of the three least wealthy members of the US Senate.

But – it looks like things are finally going Joe’s way as he is about to be confirmed as the next Vice-President of the United States.

So what does the future Vice President of the free world choose when he needs a trusty timepiece?

Lucky for us – we caught this photo of Joe Biden “Hugging it out” with Michelle Obama on the campaign trail – In perfect view is his preferred choice in timepieces.
An Omega Seamaster!

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As the holidays are once again upon us, I’ve decided to do a series of gift idea blogs.  With the first, I’d like to highlight one of the most popular new brands we’ve brought on board this year – Marco Bicego.  Since adding them to our roster of designer jewelry brands, Bicego has quickly become one of our top sellers, and for good reason.

Marco Bicego’s jewelry collections are exciting, fun, and very wearable, with a heavy focus on 18k yellow gold and multi-colored gemstones – a combination that is currently very popular.  Many of these jewelry designs straddle the line between casual and elegant, allowing them to be worn for a variety of occassions – essentially, the perfect fashion accessory!

One of our favorite collections here is the “Paradise” collection.  These designs feature gemstone beads set with hand-finished gold beads in a dynamic and colorful look that is tasteful and vibrant.  Furthermore, many of the necklace designs in this collection feature 47 inch length allowing them to be worn in a variety of ways as a necklace, bracelet, or even as a belt if you’re daring enough.

Finally, one of the most exciting things about Marco Bicego is that the brand is careful to offer each of their designs in multiple variations such as the number of strands in a bracelet or necklace.  Because of this, there is sure to be a Marco Bicego piece that fits both your style and your budget.

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