“PARK AVENUE………PLEASE”

……………….PARK AVENUE is the name of this NECKLACE and EARRING SET, J, and the STRETCH BRACELET, J…………………………What does PARK AVENUE connote?…….CLASS……..and this set has lots of it. There are FIVE STRANDS of graduated metal beads…..all nested perfectly. The coloring creates an OMBRE effect…..starting with the smallest beads working down to the largest. The colors  are GUNMETAL…RHODIUM SILVER, and BRIGHT SILVER at the very bottom. The BALL STUD EARRING [pierced only] is in the Rhodium Silver……..The shortest strand is approx. 25 inches and the longest is approx. 31 inches, with a 3 inch extender…..but you know me and numbers. You’ll get a more accurate measurement from the QVC posting……..The Park Avenue stretch bracelet is basically the same story. There are three rows of graduated metal beads that ombre as the necklace. There is one single bar at the back of the bracelet, where the smallest beads are, to hold the three strands together……………….These pieces are  about elegance, but don’t think it is only for dress up. It would look just as fabulous with a white tee and white or black jeans and sandals……..it’s all about ATTITUDE!………..Neither is it a one season necklace and bracelet…….These are pieces you can wear all year long, plus the STUD EARRING is a wonderful ESSENTIAL just like your hoops, and can be worn with anything. It can be your everyday earring all by itself………………….This, like all of my jewelry, is like nothing you will ever find at retail. They just don’t sell jewelry with such a strong presence……Mostly, what you will find is very middle of the road. That can never be said for anything Linea. Anything you might find in an UPSCALE store or boutique that comes anywhere near to this you can be sure will NOT HAVE THIS PRICE!……………………………….Sorry don’t have the style numbers yet….When I do I’ll fill them in……………………….

enjoy…………….much Love………………………Louis

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“PARK AVENUE…….PLEASE CON’T”

……………………………PARK AVENUE is about MONEY. It is the only avenue in NYC that has a center garden going all the way up town. It just looks special, and very GRAND. Even walking on Park Ave you feel differently…………That is how I hope you feel when you’re wearing this very special, and grand necklace……………..The colors are…..GUNMETAL……..CHOCOLATE……and RUSSIAN GOLD. It’s very unexpected, and that’s what makes it wonderful. The stud is in the Russian Gold…..another go with everything ESSENTIAL. The Park Avenue bracelet follows suit with the three ombre colors. I think you will find many tops in your wardrobe that looks great with these colors…….The Chocolate top in the photos is coming this month too……………………………..enjoy……………………….much Love………………………..Louis

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“ROMAN COINS”

……………………I believe at this point in our relationship it is no secret that I am absolutely in love, beguiled and hypnotized by anything from antiquity. I love ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, Africa, China, Central America etc etc. There is just something so mesmerizing about these ancient cultures and the art they produced……certainly more creative than much of what we see today. Remember, these artists had nothing to go by….they were creating the first of everything…..The thought is mind boggling. They were creative for the sake of creativity without any preconceived ideas……Yes, the Romans were greatly influenced by the Greeks, but the individual artists were basically creating from nothing…..They had no reference material, art books or computers to work from….All of the Roman coins above were created by these artisans. Today they are each well over $1000 and upwards to $40,000 and more for each coin. They are just beautiful…..They were just too expensive to buy to have reproduced…….I have long been intrigued with the idea of doing Roman coin jewelry…….Many years ago I did a group of coin jewelry for Anne Klein. Let me say now….they were nothing compared to what I am offering you now at half the price!!!I also did tee shirts and blouses, summer long skirts all adorned with coins……..Andrea Pfister, who I collaborated with on my Anne Klein Couture shoe collection, came up with a fantastic group of coin decorated bags, a variety of sandals and strappy high heel sandals. Jac had a pair of tea cup heel thongs in black with a V plaque on the instep covered in coins. They jingle jangled when she walked. I thought they were so sexy. I think they are still here somewhere in the house with all of Jac’s shoes….I’ll have to look………….but that was years ago………Then a few months ago Kate said in a post to me that she would love some coin jewelry…..That put the so called bee in my bonnet…the creative juices started to flow….I have wanted to do coins for so long…..this was the push I needed……but how to do it in a FABULOUS way was the big question. When I mentioned this group to my TCJC group I first got a lukewarm reception, but they let me do anything I want, because ultimately they believe in me….even if they can’t see it. All  they can reference is what they have seen before, not what IT COULD BE….. The coins that were avail. on the open market were tinny and cheap. They just weren’t going to do it for me. How to get it done my way??? I took pictures of the Roman coins to all of the different manufacturers I work with, and told them what I wanted to do. I use basically four different factories because they specialize in certain things, and after so many years they know what I like, and just as important, what I don’t like! Some specialize in pearls and all kinds of stones….other in metal, and others are more eclectic and work with everything……..The main factor was who could manufacture THE COINS I WANTED!!!! At one of the factories they showed me a 3-D computer that can copy and make almost everything. They are amazing machines! They have one computer linked to one machine, and one young man who operates it. He works in a room the size of a small closet! You need the patience of a Saint and time, time time. When I saw the possibilities of what he could do I knew this was the answer to my prayers!!! I worked with him and showed him the photos of the coins…..”could you make these?” I said. “I’m pretty sure I can.” was his answer. He did tell me it would be much more difficult from a flat photo than from an object. I got so excited I shut the door and worked with him so we wouldn’t be disturbed…..leaving everyone else to go and get coffee or what ever! I told him exactly what I wanted and the sizes I needed. I wanted BOTH SIDES of the coins to be exactly like the designs in the photos I showed him. Having one side look like the coins and the other side some random texture wasn’t going to cut it. I can be a DEMANDING task maker when I WANT something…..Doing designs on both sides was double the work, but that’s how the coins were…..It would take many many hours and sometime days to make one coin prototype layer by layer by layer. As I said, it is so much more difficult to make a two sided 3-D coin  from a photograph than it would have been if he had the actual coin. It is so complicated it can give a normal person a migraine. We selected the photos of the coins to be replicated that he thought would be the most successful. I, of course wanted more, but I couldn’t be a total pig!!! After about 25 minutes I realized this was going to take days, so I opened the door and left him to his work. There was a look of relief on everyone’s face when I finally emerged. Of course if others were in the room they would have exclaimed about cost!!!! Not something I wanted to hear. We will work on the cost later…..The coins had to be right or the whole project would have been a huge failure….at least for me………I learned that after the first coins were made he had to go back to the computer to refine them to make sure he got the aged look of the coins….After four weeks the finished coins were sent to me….the result is what you see here in the following photos……..I hope you are as excited as I was and am………..to be presenting these incredible pieces to you……………They have become some of my all time favorites……..My only fear is we didn’t order enough…………………………………..enjoy………………much Love………………………….Luigino

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“THE ROMA NECKLACE & THE ROMA EARRING”

…………………………….Italian women LOVE their coin jewelry. It’s partly because they are proud of their Roman heritage, and the Roman culture, but I think mostly because they are  just BEAUTIFUL…..As I explained, each coin was reproduced from an ancient Roman coin. They are all double sided as the originals were. Some look more worn than others due to the fact that they were THOUSANDS of years old. QVC states that these are “stamped” coins” They are not stamped. You could never get a stamped metal piece to look like this. They are made from coins that were created by the 3-D image machine. From these first coins molds were made. I chose an ANTIQUE GOLD PLATING that came closest to what the original coins looked like……The first necklace is the….ROMA, J478581………..The Roma necklace is a THREE CHAIN TIERED NECKLACE from which various Roman coins hang. Each row has coins placed in different positions on the chains so they create a pleasing pattern when worn. The chain itself has a very delicate detailing which also gives an artisan hand crafted look…This is a great necklace to wear on its’ own or to mix with the two other coin necklaces. Above, you can see the Roma mixed with the longer AMALFI NECKLACE, J478583. I think they look fantastic together……very ITALIAN………..The ROMA EARRING, J478579. is a clip on earring due to its’ size. It fits securely onto the ear and is very comfortable. The coins of the earring are the same as in the necklace………..These necklaces will add instant drama and glamour to anything you own….new…or old……………….I know you will get years of pleasure wearing these necklaces, and I assure you the compliments will come with every look of envy!……Maybe it might inspire you to take a trip to wonderful Italy…….enjoy…….much Love……..Luigino…..P.S. Luigino is what my dear friends in Italy call me!

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“THE ROMA NECKLACE UP CLOSE”

………………….The ROMA necklace up close so you can see the beautiful details of ancient Rome………Remember, the large coins on the reverse side are different so you can wear the necklace on both sides!…………….enjoy…………………………..much Love……………………..Luigino

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