Sustaining Luxury & Beauty

I was so happy to read Lynn Yaeger’s recent article in the NYTimes, A Diamond in the Roughage about her mad scheme to save the planet, be a responsible consumer by being environmentally conscious, and leave the teeniest possible carbon footprint. Her discussion of wearing “old” jewelry, as she called it, especially spoke to me as CIRCA has always trumpeted estate jewelry as a way to “recycle” pieces back into the market. I think of the groovy seventies necklaces my mother has outgrown – they’d look fantastic with vintage Pucci! A piece which is age inappropriate for her now looks chic on a twenty or thirty-something.

“Going green” has become so embedded in our consciousness that the luxury industry has finally followed suit – jewelry, fashion, and even travel. I was recently in Bali and stopped in to see the magnificent Alila Villas in Uluwatu. All of the Alila hotels have embraced the principles of ESD (Environmentally Sustainable Design) and they epitomize luxury, high design, and beauty.

Luxury & Sustainability: Rebecca Minkoff

CIRCA is a leading voice for sustainability in the jewelry industry. We believe every diamond “recycled” is one less that has to be mined. We asked Rebecca Minkoff, top Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) designer, her thoughts on sustainability in jewelry and fashion:

Visit the CIRCA Facebook Page and let us know what you are doing to help the environment.

Luxury & Sustainability: Steven Kolb

Those of us in the luxury industry are keenly aware that our future is reliant on sustainability. We asked Steven Kolb, Executive Director, Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), his thoughts on sustainability in jewelry and fashion.

Visit the CIRCA Facebook Page and let us know what you are doing to help the environment.

CIRCA at the Palm Beach Centennial

This past Sunday, CIRCA Palm Beach joined in the All Town Celebration at the Flagler Museum for commemorating the Palm Beach Centennial. After 100 years, the town gathered for a parade beginning at the Palm Beach Recreation Center, along Cocoanut Row, to the historic Flagler Museum.

The highlight of the parade was the spectacular collection of antique cars. CIRCA was, of course, in the thick of things. CIRCA Palm Beach Director Tracy Sherman (pictured), rode in a 1926 Ford Model T “Woody”, (oldest and best car in the parade!) along with fellow members and officers of the Royal Poinciana Way Association. The Association sponsored the Centennial Time Capsule, which was presented to Mayor Gail Coniglio and will be buried until the Bicentennial in 2111.

Guest Blogger: Costello Tagliapietra

CIRCA sat down with the design duo behind Costello Tagliapietra, recent winners of the inaugural CFDA/Lexus Eco Fashion Challenge, to find out about their style:

Names: Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra

Hometown: New York

When did you first start designing: 
We began our company in 2005 but were designing clothes long before that.


How do you incorporate sustainability into your design:

We do not categorize ourselves as sustainable fashion, we do, however, use an environmentally conscious technology called AirDye to dye most of our fabrics. This saves upwards of 45 gallons of water (per dress) from becoming unusable "black water" as well as saving 95 mega joules of energy and 3 kilograms of greenhouse gas while not having had to sacrifice or compromise on fabric quality or design in anyway.

Luxury & Sustainability

Those of us in the luxury industry are keenly aware that our future is reliant on sustainability. At CIRCA, we practice sustainability every day - each diamond or unworn piece of jewelry that someone sells to CIRCA is put back into the marketplace for another to wear and enjoy. We believe that every diamond "recycled" is one less that has to be mined.

We asked fashion's ultimate insider, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Director of Fashion, Lincoln Center, her thoughts on sustainability in jewelry and fashion:

Visit the CIRCA Facebook page and let us know what you’re doing to help the planet this
Earth Day.

CIRCA Participates in Charity Auctions

April has been a busy month for CIRCA in terms of charitable efforts, and we are thrilled to announce the latest: CIRCA’s participation in the CFDA’s Fashion & Friends of Japan online auction and CIRCA DC’s donation of an estate jewelry piece to the silent auction at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) Spring Gala.

Bidding began late yesterday on the online auction site charitybuzz for A Day of Polo in the Hamptons with CIRCA, a perfect getaway from the city during the summer heat. The Mercedes-Benz Challenge Cup the main event of the Hamptons Polo season, and CIRCA has donated two passes to the VIP tent for the finals in Bridgehampton. The highest bidder will have the opportunity to meet the players in the team tents, receive a private polo lesson with the CIRCA team captain, and cap off the day with a dinner for two at Savanna’s restaurant in Southampton. The proceeds for this donation benefit the CFDA Foundation’s Fashion and Friends for Japan Initiative, established to help those impacted by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Guest Blogger: Natalie Chanin

In Celebration of Earth Day, CIRCA is showcasing those who promote luxury in a sustainable way. We sat down with environmentally conscious designer Natalie Chanin to find out what her style influences are:

Name: Natalie Chanin

Hometown: Florence, Alabama

When did you first start designing:

I think that I was always designing. I have a very early memory of helping my grandmother select fabric for a dress she was making for me.

History Repeating Itself

Our nature theme continues throughout April with this 18kt gold flower brooch from the Italian jewelry house Castellani. Fortunato Pio Castellani came from a family of goldsmiths. His workshop rose to prominence in the mid-19th century when he was asked to restore pieces from the Campana jewelry collection, one of the most important collections of the 19th century. The collection, now housed in the Louvre, consists of ancient Etruscan, Greek, and Roman adornments and played a vital role in introducing archaeological style jewelry into the fashion of the time. It became so highly sought after, in fact, that at the 1867 Paris World Expo, the majority of fine jewelers featured archaeological-style pieces in their displays.

Guest Blogger: Alexandra Lebenthal

Every Jewel tells a story. CIRCA asked Alexandra Lebenthal about her favorite jewelry right now:

Although I work on Wall Street, I own my own business, and so have more freedom to dress in a way that shows my love of fashion, though there are times when even I must conform to a certain extent. A woman doesn’t need to limit herself though just because she cannot embrace many of the more fashion forward styles and designers. All is not lost!! There is hope…jewelry!!

Jewelry lets a woman in business show her style, playfulness, personality and even at times her power. Here are a few things that I can envision a woman wearing right now:

Farewell to the Grande Dame of Jewelry

The world said goodbye last week to the grande Dame, Elizabeth Taylor. One need only type her name into a search to see the thousands upon thousands of tributes that have been posted. She will be remembered for many things – her Hollywood career, her humanitarian work for HIV/Aids and of course her many marriages. I, personally, will always adore her for being one of the great lovers and collectors of jewelry.

There have been many women in modern times who were known for their jewelry and their style – The Duchess of Windsor, Princess Diana and Jackie O, to name a few - but there were none quite like Dame Elizabeth. Here was a woman whose self-proclaimed love affair with jewelry possibly surpassed even her love affairs with men. Her iconic pieces like the Taylor-Burton diamond and the Krupp diamond are prime examples of my personal philosophy - if you can drag it, you can wear it.