Claire’s has launched a line of jewelry and accessories inspired by the TV smash hit Glee – the line includes everything from rings, bracelets and necklaces to bags and even a bit of home décor.  The line of accessories was introduced in pop-up shops in just a few major cities prior to the official release and was scheduled to be on the shelves of more than fifteen hundred Claire’s stores across North America as of yesterday.

With the tremendous popularity of Glee and the fact that millions of kids across the country who are devoted to the show are heading back to school and in search of the perfect way to compliment their new outfits, this line is sure to be a success for Claire’s. 

As jewelry designers begin to see the success that can be had from a line of affordable accessories inspired by a popular TV series, we may very well see more and more jewels spawned from our favorite television series in the near future.  With just as many hot, high fashion looks portrayed on the small screen as there are on the big screen, there is a potential endless array of roads that creative designers could go down and with the help of high quality cubic zirconia and other lab created gems, even the most extravagant looks can be re-created at affordable prices.

Shoppers are always hungry for affordable ways to compliment their favorite outfits in every situation and cubic zirconia is the perfect raw material to help jewelry designers make that happen.  Whether the trends lean toward classic or modern or take inspiration from the movies, TV or the red carpet – high quality looks can be achieved at the right prices with cubic zirconia.

Platinum, which is no stranger at all to fine jewelry, is the precious metal used throughout ShopNBC’s new line of affordable fine jewelry, and though each and every piece looks as though it has been crafted from the finest diamonds, the stones in the platinum settings are actually high quality cubic zirconia. 

The collection offers a nice selection of designs to meet a number of different personal styles and each stone present in the collection has been certified with at least an AAA rating.  These rings, earrings and pendants are fine jewelry in every single sense of the word, with the exception of the astronomical price tag.

There has been quite an increase in the popularity of all types of cz jewelry lately.  In order to save a little bit of money during the economic drought young couples who are looking for attractive and affordable engagement and wedding jewelry, established couples who want to share nice gifts without disrupting their retirement fund and fashionistas who want to keep up with the hottest accessories are all turning to cz in favor of the much more expensive naturally mined diamonds usually found in fine jewelry.  It was just a matter of time until a reputable source decided to put an entire collection together that contained beautiful fine jewelry crafted from more affordable components like high quality cz.

It might take a little time to get used to seeing a fine jewelry collection with prices that are so affordable, but if this collection from ShopNBC begins to take off there will likely be many more manufacturers following suit with their own collections of affordable fine jewelry crafted from cz in the not to distant future.

The amazing find is said to be similar in size and quality to the famed Catherine the Great Emerald that was sold at auction in April for more than 1.6 million dollars and though some of the value of the Catherine the Great Emerald may have come from it’s history, this amazing gem will surely bring it’s finders a sizable sum of money for their efforts.

Natural gems can be found in a number of areas in the U.S., but it certainly isn’t everyday that a 65 carat natural gem of any variety is unearthed at a U.S. farm.  Just because you can’t go out onto your property with a shovel and sifting pan to unearth incredible gems, that doesn’t mean that you can’t look the part of an empress.

Landing a natural gem that is as large as the Catherine the Great emerald or the “Carolina Emperor,” is incredibly rare, but lab created gems can be produced in virtually any shape or size and offer consumers a very affordable alternative to expensive natural gems.  Cubic zirconia is a high quality alternative to a natural diamond and it can be produced in a wide variety of colors to mimic the look of just about any type of natural gem.  Cz is durable, optically flawless and works well in any setting to produce the look of the finest and most expensive jewels at prices that someone on just about any budget could afford.

The biggest trend on this year’s Emmy red carpet seemed to be white diamonds (and in a couple cases, black and white diamonds) set in platinum.  It didn’t seem to matter what genre of TV or celebrity that the lovely ladies of the Emmy’s belonged to; funny ladies like Saturday Night Live alums Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, hard rock daughter Kelly Osbourne and serious actresses (and awards show veterans) like Kyra Sedgwick were all looking fine in flawless diamonds in platinum settings.

It’s easy for these celebs to look good; they have personal stylists, fashion and jewelry designer friends who are willing to give them expensive clothes and jewels and awfully deep pockets to buy anything else they might need to complete their impressive look.  If you aren’t lucky enough to have a celebrity bank account, a group of designer friends and a make up team to attend to you, it doesn’t mean that you can’t look your best for a special night out.

While you can’t get much more fashionable than a flawless diamond in a brilliant platinum setting, you can achieve practically they same look for a whole lot less.  Cubic zirconia can very easily and effectively replace a natural diamond in any setting and look every bit as good for a fraction of the cost.  If you want a similar look for even less money, you could opt for that same gorgeous and flawless AAAAA cubic zirconia into a white gold or sterling silver setting and get a truly amazing look for a very affordable price.

Serendipity 3, a restaurant in New York City that is frequented by rock stars, actors and a host of other celebrity types has just recently unveiled the Guinness Book of World Records’ most expensive dessert – a $25,000 ice cream sundae.  This overly excessive treat contains 28 different varieties of cocoa, 0.2 ounces of edible 23K gold, a truffle that sells for more than twenty-five hundred dollars a pound and it is served in a goblet that contains an edible gold lining.  At the base of the goblet is a beautiful gold and 1 carat diamond bracelet and the sundae is decorated with flawless white and “chocolate” diamonds.

While it would be nice to be able to afford to spend twenty five thousand on dessert and walk away with some stunning jewelry, not all of us carry quite that much in our wallets when we go out to dinner – but the good news is that you don’t have to spend quite that much money to get a good dessert and an incredible bracelet.

There are plenty of ice cream shops around that will make you a wonderful dessert treat that won’t cost you twenty five dollars, let alone twenty five thousand – and if you’re in the market for beautiful jewelry that won’t break your bank account you can always look for Cubic zirconia and lab created gem jewelry.

Cz has all of the beauty, shimmer and shine of a natural diamond but it costs a fraction of what a natural diamond does, without sacrificing quality.  If you want to save money, but still look like a million bucks don’t get your jewelry as part of the world’s most expensive dessert, get it from a retailer that stocks cz and lab gem creations.

Paquin wore and incredible “vintage inspired” necklace from famous celebrity jeweler Neil Lane that contained around fifty carats of brilliant round cut diamonds and a beautiful pair of classic diamond stud earrings.  The benefits of being a celebrity Mom were also pretty evident as Paquin’s Mother was also outfitted with a dazzling bracelet and set of earrings provided by Lane.

There is no doubt that the jewels on display at this celebrity union were out of this world in terms of beauty, but at fifty carats there probably aren’t many non-celebrity couples that could have comparable jewelry that was crafted from natural diamonds.  Just because you don’t get paid like a celebrity or have close ties to a famous jeweler, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have your fair share of bling to turn heads on your wedding day.  Instead of donning fifty carat diamond necklaces you might have to opt for a more affordable, but equally stunning option. 

Cubic zirconia is becoming a more and more popular choice for wedding jewelry due to the fact that it is every bit as beautiful as any natural diamond, but much more accessible and affordable.  Loose cz can be crafted into amazing pieces that will rival the look of even those pieces created for celebrities by celebrity jewelers, but with a price tag that is only a fraction of that of the natural diamond jewelry.  You can all of the sparkle of a celebrity wedding on your special day, even if you don’t have an unlimited budget, with the help of high quality cubic zirconia.

Pet Fashion Week in New York is the nation’s biggest showcase for pet clothes and accessories and there is absolutely no shortage of glitz and glamour to have your four legged friend looking every bit as good as you.  Each year dozens and dozens of vendors have their contributions to the pet fashion world on display for purchase and each and every year tons of people who want nothing but the pest for their pet grab up the gear – everything from coats and dresses to hats and perfectly jeweled collars and charms that cost upwards of three thousand dollars.

If you are willing to spare no expense (and you have an unlimited budget to do so), then you’ll be able to get everything you need to turn your dog from fashion zero to fashion hero.  If three thousand dollars is a little bit out of your price range for a fine piece of jewelry for yourself, let alone a collar for your dog, there are certainly options available to have your dog looking like a celebrity pooch without breaking your bank account.

It doesn’t matter if you are in the market for a stunning rock that will turn the heads of your friends or coworkers or if you want your pampered pup to walk around with a collar that will be the envy of the entire dog world – cubic zirconia is what you need if you want bling on a budget.  Loose cz can be purchased in wholesale lots for a fraction of the cost of loose natural diamonds, but cz looks every bit as good as a natural diamond in any setting or situation. Cz lets you pamper yourself and add to your dog’s already impressive collection of fine jewelry collars without having to worry too much about the price tag.

In an effort to cut down on organized crime involving jewelry, the world’s most active online marketplace is partnering with the Jewelers’ Security Alliance.  The close partnership and free sharing of information between EBay and law enforcement is intended make it much more difficult for criminals to sell their stolen or counterfeit wares by eliminating one of the largest customer bases for the stolen product.  Identifying and catching criminals in the act of selling stolen and fraudulent goods and ultimately eliminating one way for them to quickly redistribute stolen property could go a very long way toward cutting down on the criminal activity involving fine jewelry.

Hopefully, in time, the partnership between EBay and the JSA will help make owning and selling fine jewelry safer, but in the meantime while crimes involving fine jewelry are soaring, many fine jewelry hounds and some jewelry retailers are looking to lab created gem jewelry as a safer alternative.

Cubic zirconia mimics the look of natural diamonds so well that only a trained professional can tell the difference between the two, but in terms of money cz has some unique advantages over natural diamonds for retailers and end users.  Due to cost and availability, cz doesn’t have the same resale value as a natural diamond, this makes a jewelry store that stocks mainly cz and lab gems jewels much less attractive to prospective criminals.  For the people who are actually wearing the jewelry, cz jewelry looks every bit as good as natural gem jewelry but because the cost is so low in comparison to natural gem jewelry it is usually reasonably easy to replace if it were to get stolen or lost.

Following a recent Alaskan cruise trip, a couple from California accidentally left what was probably their single most important piece of luggage in the back of a cab on the way to Vancouver International Airport.  The pack containing the nearly half a million dollars in jewels that were worn to special events on the couple’s vacation could have easily found it’s way into the hands of the wrong people, but fortunately for the couple, the very valuable piece of luggage merely took an extended ride in the back of the cab and it was returned exactly as it had been left.

Hearing this type of story, which isn’t as nearly as uncommon as you would probably imagine, is precisely the reason that many people (even those who can afford to own and wear exceedingly expensive pieces of fine jewelry) are turning to quality pieces crafted from cubic zirconia.  This couple spent more than a day without nearly half a million dollars in fine jewelry, wondering if they would ever get it back and that is a very scary situation to be in.

Even for those who don’t have a habit of losing, misplacing or leaving things behind – accidents happen.  High quality cubic zirconia jewelry lets you look every bit as stunning, glamorous and sophisticated as any piece of natural diamond jewelry but doesn’t carry nearly as large a price tag.  If you lose your favorite cz ring, pendant or pair of studs you’ll certainly suffer some disappointment, but cz jewelry is much easier for most people to replace than natural diamond jewelry.

The bejeweled pup also took more than seven hundred black diamonds and just over four hundred rubies to complete for a total of more than 200 carats of fine gems and a whole heck of a lot of sparkle.  While most will probably agree that it’s good to go all out for truly special occasions, this amazing homage, which took more than eight months to put together, may be a bit much for even such an iconic character.

The estimated value of the Snoopy, “Ever Shining Star” statue is nearly $375,000 but you can have a bling filled birthday or anniversary celebration for quite a bit less than that.  If you want to celebrate in style, how about a simple and classic pair of diamond studs or a high quality diamond pendant?  – And for those of us that want the look of natural diamonds and rubies for even less, amazing creations crafted from loose cz and lab gems provide the very same sparkle for a fraction of the cost.

AAAAA cubic zirconia can rival the beauty of the best diamonds, even those hand selected to be a part the finest jewelry or those used to assemble Snoopy’s 60th anniversary statue.  With high quality cz you’ll have no problem looking like you’ve spent thousands of dollars, but you’ll actually be able to achieve that look on a budget.