THE LUXE FOR LESS: CORAL (INSPIRED) JEWELRY...

For quite a few years now, I've been wanting a red coral necklace. I know that this a bit if a touchy subject, as through out the years precious (red) coral has been harvested to near extinction and many believe (myself included) that it should be placed on the endangered species list. Which is why, unless it was vintage and I was buying it off of someone's fab grandma, I definitely wouldn't purchase a necklace made of real coral. Nevertheless, I do love the look. So it was no surprise, that this fabulous Kenneth Jay Lane piece caught my eye.



It's a beauty, isn't it? And totally guilt free, since the "coral" bib is actually just red enamel. Available at Kabiri, the $ 500 price tag isn't exorbitant, but still, you know me, I like to shop around.  

As luck would have it one of my favorite jewelry designers, Amrita Singh, makes an equally beautiful, but much more affordable alternative.


This is the "Attina" necklace. It retails for $100, is also available in black (gorgeous!), turquoise and cream. Get it here! The coral bib on the Attina is also made of enamel and the chain is 18k gold plated brass. In other words... it is made of the exact same materials as the Kenneth Jay Lane coral necklace, but costs one fifth of the price. It's a no brainer...

This coral design ring by Arosha Luigi Taglia also caught my eye. It's solid 18k gold, absolutely stunning and worth every penny of it's $720 price tag.


This Catherine Weitzman Gold Coral Reef ring however, is just a pretty, 18k gold vermeil (i.e. it's not going to fade) and at $120 it's a tad more tempting. Get it here!