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.

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.

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.

The Funktional Art line which contains pieces like “Baduwings” and Earwings,” which seem to fit right into the artist’s eclectic style are just part of what’s to come.  Badu remarked in a recent interview with Billboard magazine that she is continuing to work with different designers to come up with new pieces for the line that will match her style and the style of the fans that support her.

There seems to be no shortage of celebrities jumping on the jewelry design bandwagon lately and for jewelry lovers, that is certainly a good thing.  With the help of talented and experienced professions, much of what these celebrity designers are producing is on the cutting edge of fashion and many of them are keeping the costs reasonable by using more affordable resources in their designs like cubic zirconia and other lab created gems.

We all want to be able to look and feel as glamorous as our favorite movie, TV and music personalities when we go out, but there aren’t very many people who are willing or able to spend thousands of dollars on the fashion accessories that we see them wear on the red carpet.  With designs created from high quality lab created gems that are expertly set in fine metals, those of us on a budget can achieve the look of our favorite celebs without having to pay astronomical prices.

Customers are invited to search the site’s extensive inventory and then once they’ve made their selection, EternityDiamonds.com will send them and exact replica crafted from high quality cubic zirconia that they can keep free of charge for up to ten days before officially placing their order.  Cubic zirconia can mimic the look of a natural diamond so well in term of appearance and feel that these replicated rings will give the shoppers the perfect idea of what their ring will be like when it arrives and that is a tremendous way for a retailer to instill the confidence necessary in their buyers to ultimately make a large purchase.

Up until this point, shopping at a jewelry store front was considered to be much more personal because the customers could touch, feel and briefly wear the rings that they intended to buy rather than just look at images of them – but the engagement ring test drive takes the personal shopping experience to a whole new level.

The only real danger that I see in this innovative practice is that potential customers will realize just how incredible a ring crafted from cubic zirconia can be.  That may spur some buyers to rethink a purchase that could potentially cost them several thousand dollars in favor of a much more affordable, but equally beautiful ring crafted from cz.

Though being able to own this beautiful and historic piece of pop culture would be an absolute dream come true for some, fifty thousand dollars in an awfully steep price to pay for an accessory – even one that was worn by one of the biggest fashion icons of the last century.

Those of us who have budgets that won’t quite allow for fifty thousand dollar necklaces might want to take a cue from Jackie herself and look to simulated gems for accessorizing.  Of course, this particular piece of simulated gem jewelry is a bit pricier because of the former owner, lab created gems as a whole are much more affordable than naturally mined gems.

An engagement ring, a pair of earrings or a pendant with a natural diamond, ruby or emerald might cost several thousand dollars from a retailer, but the very same piece crafted from cubic zirconia could be had for a fraction of what the natural gem jewelry cost.  You won’t lose and beauty, any sparkle or even any quality from a lab created gem piece that’s in the same setting as a natural gem piece – but you will save quite a bit of money.  Cz and other simulated gems give all of us the opportunity to look like fashion icons and celebrities, without having to pay the astronomical prices of naturally mined gems.