All The Opus Watches (1 through 11) From Harry Winston & Various Horologists.

above: the most recent addition to the Opus Watch series was developed with Dennis Giguet

In 2001, Harry Winston launched the Opus series. The Opus concept was based on the idea of creating an exceptional timepiece each year in partnership with a gifted independent horologist. The partners work together as equals and collaborate to produce innovative and groundbreaking luxury watches.

I don't know why but some have spelled out numbers, other use an Arabic numeral and still others use a Roman Numeral to designate the edition, so in my post I will do the same. Most recently the Opus 11 (shown above) was introduced, but I thought you might want to see all of the Opus watches since 2001.

Opus One, developed with F.P. Journe:


Opus Two, developed with Antoine Preziuso:


Opus 3, developed with Vianney Halter:


Opus 4, developed with Christopher Claret:


Opus V, developed with Felix Baumgartner:


Opus 6, developed with Gruebel Forsey:


Opus 7, developed with Andreas Stehler:


Opus 8, developed with Frederic Garinaud & CSH:


Opus 9, developed with Jean Marc Wiederrecht and Eric Giroud:



Opus X, developed with Jean-François Mojon:


Opus Eleven, developed with Dennis Giguet:


To learn more about each of the Opus watches, visit Harry Winston

All 44 Superbowl Rings To Date And Some Fun Facts About Them.

Don't fret, further in this post, each of the above rings are shown enlarged for detail.

One of the most recognizable pieces of bling are given to the players of the National Football League's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Who makes them? Who gets them? What are they worth?

The rings almost always include the team's name, logo, and Super Bowl number (usually in Roman numerals). Most of the rings also have larger diamonds or diamonds made into the shape of the trophy, that represent the number of Super Bowls that franchise has won.

For example, Pittsburgh's 2008 ring has six trophies and six large diamonds, representing the six Super Bowls they have won to date:

above: The Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl XLIII ring weighs 104 grams and incorporates 63 round, brilliant cut diamonds totaling 3.61 carats.

I don't know how much the total carat weight varies year to year or the actual market value, but here are some facts about the rings, courtesy of Wikipedia:

•The NFL pays up to $5,000.00 per ring, with up to 150 rings per team. The NFL pays for the cost of 150 rings to the winning team, at roughly $5,000 apiece, depending upon the fluctuating cost of gold and diamonds. If the rings are over the $5,000 limit, the team owners must make up the difference.

•Recent rings have been appraised in excess of $20,000, with some valued at $45,000. but manufacturers keep this information confidential

•The rings are made by the company of the winning team's choosing. The majority of the Championship Super Bowl rings have been manufactured by Jostens in Denton, Texas. They've made 28 of the past 43 rings.

•The Indianapolis Colts' Super Bowl rings were manufactured by Herff Jones (based in Indianapolis), at their Warwick, Rhode Island ring plant.

•Austin, TX based Balfour Company has manufactured numerous Super Bowl Rings

Tasteful? No.
Impressive? Yep.

The rings are made after the game for obvious reasons, so this years' ring is not included among the images below, shown in chronological order.

Rings from 1966-1974:

Rings from 1975-1983:

Rings from 1984-1992:

Rings from 1993-2001:

Rings from 2002-2009:


Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers Sunday, February 6, 2011 - 6:30pm ET on FOX




The Official Super Bowl XLV site

Mia Van Beek Turns Your Kid's Art Into Actual Jewelry, Keychains & Bookmarks.

Jewelry designer Mia Van Beek of Formia Design has come up with a way to turn your children's art into fabulous everlasting mementos in the form of pendants, charm bracelets, earrings, brooches, keychains and bookmarks.



Working with all types of metals [sterling silver, gold, stainless steel, etc], she expertly transforms two dimensional drawings into metal versions of the same.



She can create them as either positive or negative [outlines] pieces and is able to reproduce anything from stick figures to even the most enigmatic representation of a child's imagination.




Words do not suffice, take a look at these examples.

Pendants:







Keychains:





Earrings:

Bookmarks:

Charm Bracelets:


To learn how to submit the art and order your own wonderful piece of her work, go here.

About Mia:

Education and experience:

1988-1991 Jewlery school in Sweden

1992 Journeyman diploma

1996 Goldsmith Master Degree

1997 Degree in design at Collage of arts in Linkoping, Sweden.

2001 set up my own business Formia Design in Stockholm, Sweden

2004 Received Best New Designer of the year award at Stockholm Jewlery show

2004 Established Formia Design LLC in Virginia, USA

She not only creates these whimsical pieces, but it an expert goldsmith and creates other fine jewelry. Visit her website to see her many other jewelry designs.

follow her on Twitter.

Shop her online store.

Real Road Kill Bracelets by Metalsmith, Jeweler and Taxidermist Lucy Jenkins.

One of the best uses of Road Kill I've ever seen. These unusual and surprisingly attractive bracelets were made by award-winning metalsmith/jeweler/taxidermist Lucy Jenkins.

The gold-plated and sterling silver Road Kill Fur bangles are lined with fur sourced from actual Road kill and engraved with the Latin name of the animal and the road from which it was sourced. The Road Kill Range attempts to create a new way of wearing ethical fur for aesthetic purposes.

Oryctolagus Cuniculus (rabbit), found on the A3052 - Gold Plate, Road Kill Rabbit Fur:




"NO ANIMALS WERE KILLED FOR THE PURPOSE OF THESE PIECES" is actually printed on the lid of the presentation box for the bracelets.


Lupus Americanus (hare), found on the B3212 - Gold Plate, Road Kill Hare Fur:



The above two bracelets were available for purchase at Luna and Curious but have been sold out.

Other bracelets from the range (not for sale):
Oryctolagus Cuniculus B3180 - Solid Silver, Road Kill Rabbit Fur:



images courtesy of the artist and Luna and Curious

Lucy Jenkins