Results tagged “jewelry”

Bravo's alleged boyfriend-beating "housewife" is at it again. Page Six now reports that Kelly Bensimon allegedly stole an idea for a jewelry piece from a former Elle Accessories co-worker, Celeste Greenberg. The story goes like this: Greenberg procured a vintage owl pendant for then editor-in-chief Bensimon to wear for photo shoots, and together they promptly made a deal to manufacture a replica of the design. Trouble is, those verbal agreements are always so tricky. Greenberg is now filing a lawsuit that claims Bensimon "cut Greenberg out and went ahead and manufactured the pendant on her own," which she currently sells for $325 and has been happily hawking the piece during her Real Housewives screen time.

It's hard to swallow Bernard Madoff's lawyer claim that his scamming client "innocently" mailed gift packages to relatives, given that one of the packages alone had $1 million worth of jewelry in it. Also, since when do you mail $1 million worth of goods? Isn't that something you do face-to-face? Anyway, according to Bloomberg News, that package had "13 watches, a diamond necklace, an emerald ring, and two sets of cufflinks" while another two had "a diamond bracelet, a gold watch, a diamond Cartier watch, a diamond Tiffany watch, four diamond brooches, a jade necklace, and other assorted jewelry." The U.S. Attorney's office is trying to argue that Madoff is dispersing his assets, therefore violating his bail (and further making him seems like a flight risk), and wants him in jail pronto. Madoff's lawyer says the disgraced investor and his wife are trying to retrieve the items, which might be hard since the feds are in possession of some. In other Madoff news, he borrowed $250 million from a friend right before his arrest.

Prosecutors say that (alleged) $50 billion Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernard Madoff should be in jail after violating his bail conditions by sending packages to relatives. The feds say he's transferring his assets, but Madoff's defense lawyer Ira Sorkin claims they were just innocent gifts—the Post describes some objects as "expensive watches, pens, cufflinks and a $200 pair of mittens meant as a Hanukkah gift" and the Daily News adds there was jewelry and that the packages were apparently worth $1 million.

The Queens DA announced that two American Airlines baggage handlers at JFK Airport were charged with stealing $280,000 of jewelry from a suitcase checked in and bound for Los Angeles. Apparently Albert Acevedo and Angelo Riviello had a code to let each other know about certain bags; in this instance, Riviello said, "Wow, that’s heavy," and Acevedo, baggage crew head, came over and opened the bag. Acevedo took some of the suitcase's envelopes and later told a colleague, “I made a good find today. These rings add up to $1000.” Riviello later admitted to hiding his take of the jewelry in his microwave while Acevedo admitted he put his stash under his bathroom sink. The Post says the victim is "gem merchant David Diamond," who alerted the police when he bag went missing.

Jacob the Jeweler's company, which has adorned everyone from Madonna to Kanye, is suing Wyclef Jean because the recording artist never paid for his jewels. Newsday reports that Jacob & Co. Inc. filed papers in a Manhattan court yesterday claiming "the hip hop musician bought several items between March 2002 and January 2006 for $765,100" and "still owes $319,680 despite repeated demands for payment." Meanwhile, Jacob Arabov, the man behind the bling, was sentenced to over two years in federal prison last month for lying to investigators about his business transactions with a multistate crime ring. Last year Harry Winston learned that if a celeb "borrows" some jewelry it's as good as gone.

Cecille Villacorta, an ex-Saks employee, is on trial today for charges that she stole over $1 million from the Manhattan flagship store, money that actually went into her customers pockets. Sort of like a modern day Robin Hood except she was stealing from the rich and giving to the rich. Her big commissions and bonuses came from striking a deal with about 230 customers and selling over $27 million in jewelry; upon purchasing the jewels she told the trusted consumers they could expect a "refund" credit without ever making a return. On top of the $1M she's accused of stealing, she also received $50K in commissions. The 51-year-old faces 25 years in prison for grand larceny.

   

The Guggenheim Museum turns 50 years old next year and you can now own a little piece of the iconic building. The building has been undergoing a massive restoration, and lightweight concrete and Gunite remnants were set aside and are now being showcased in...jewelry! From the press release:

[Jewelry artist Cara] Tilker makes each jewelry piece through a labor-intensive process. Resin is poured into a handmade silicone rubber mold, then individual building fragments are placed in the resin, covered with a second layer of resin and allowed to set. After the resin pieces are released from the mold, they are hand-shaped and sanded, and finally set in sterling silver settings.

The Turtle Bay crane collapse took 7 lives, flattened a townhouse, and battered three other buildings, but the calamity’s toll doesn’t stop there: Two tenants returned “home” to find their roofless 19th floor penthouse looted of jewelry and electronics worth $30,000 or $80,000, depending on whether you believe the Post or the News.

Staten Island's Ninja Burglar struck again late last week, slipping furtively and unseen into a doctor's home on Melbourn Rd. in the Castleton Corners section of the borough. No one was home at the time and he scored big in his 19th break-in since May of last year, making off with $20,000 in jewelry. The theft comes just a little over a month after the man in black struck twice in quick succession in late November.