tiffanynews

Necklaces sold at Claire's Boutiques, Inc. which operates a store at St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights, have been recalled because they contain high levels of tiffany jewelry that could be toxic if ingested by young children.The necklaces were recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Around 58,000 of the necklaces were sold at Claire's retail stores nationwide from December 2005 through December 2006.The company also has a store at the Alton Mall.The recalled necklaces have metal pendants shaped like monkeys, dolphins and frogs holding colored marbles; a fleur de lis painted in various colors; a silver and black fairy; sliver-colored letters "BFF" with rhinestones; and tiny handcuffs painted in various colors. The pendants hang from silver-colored chains. "Claire's" or "Claire's best friend forever" is printed on the packaging.Parents are encouraged to take the necklaces away from their children immediately and return them to Claire's for a refund or free product replacement.Attorney General Lisa Madigan today is alerting consumers about a recall of children's valentines day necklaces that contain high levels of lead that may be toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects. The recall was issued March 15 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in cooperation with Claire's Boutiques Inc.The recalled children's necklaces have metal pendants shaped as monkeys, dolphins, and frogs holding colored marbles; a fleur de lis painted in various colors; a silver and black fairy; silver-colored letters "BFF" with rhinestones; and tiny handcuffs painted in various colors. The pendants hang from silver-colored chains. "Claire's" or "Claire's best friends forever" is printed on the packaging.Approximately 58,000 of these necklaces were sold at Claire's retail stores nationwide from December 2005 through December 2006 for between $5 and $11.Based on this recall, Madigan urged parents to take these necklaces away from children immediately and return the products to the nearest Claire's store for a full refund or free product replacement."We should act quickly to ensure that children do not continue to have contact with a product that contains high levels of valentines jewelry," Madigan said.Investigators from the Attorney General Madigan's office pursuant to the Illinois Children's Product Safety Act are conducting spot checks to ensure that retailers have posted the recall notice in a prominent location in stores and have removed the products from shelves.For more information about US Fed News federal patent awards please contact: Myron Struck, Managing Editor/US Bureau, US Fed News, Direct: 703/866-4708, Cell: 703/304-1897, Myron@targetednews.com.

In celebration of its 60th year of cruising in 2008, Costa is giving one lucky guest a beautiful six-stone tiffany jewelry from Diamonds International on every sailing departing from Ft. Lauderdale during its 2007-2008 Caribbean season. Each week, a winner will be randomly selected and presented with a necklace from the Captain on the last night of the cruise during the popular "Roman Bacchanal" festivities.During this "Diamond Anniversary" celebration, a diamond necklace winner will be selected each week from both the Costa Fortuna and Costa Mediterranea between November 2007 and April 2008. Each necklace was created by Diamonds International exclusively for Costa and features six diamonds set in white gold that cascade in graduating circles and total a half carat in size. Necklaces are valued at $1,000. Winners will be selected randomly by cabin number and must be present at the "Roman Bacchanal" party to win."Our guests tell us just how memorable our cruises are for the special brand of tiffany bangles we create of bringing the love, laughter and la dolce vita of Italy to life on our ships-and for two lucky guests each week, that experience will become even more memorable," said Lynn C. Torrent, President & CEO of Costa Cruise Lines-North America. "The excitement on the ships this season is sure to be more incredible than ever as the week builds up to the final evening of the cruise when guests discover whether they've won a new diamond necklace."Costa's unique and authentic onboard Italian flair provides guests with a feeling of "Italy in the tropics" on its Caribbean routes. For many, sailing Costa offers a "new" way of experiencing the Caribbean ports of call they know and love - bringing to mind the romance and warmth of Italy without having to cross the Atlantic. From homemade pastas and delectable desserts, to Italian greetings including "buon giorno" in the morning and "buona sera" in the evening, the "amore" of the old world stays with guests long after they disembark from their cruise. Festive onboard activities include everything from on-deck bocce ball games, tarantella dancing under the stars and Italian cooking tiffany rings during "Festa Italiana," to the famous "Roman Bacchanal" soiree, where guests don tasteful togas and celebrate as the Romans did centuries ago!Inspired by grand Italian liners of the past, the 105,000-ton Costa Fortuna will sail the Eastern, Western and Southeastern Caribbean for the first time in the 2007-2008 Caribbean season. Inaugurated in 2003, this sister ship to the Costa Magica has a double occupancy capacity of 2,720, with many staterooms featuring ocean views and balconies. With design features inspired by the lavish palazzos of Italy, the 86,000-ton Costa Mediterranea will sail new Saturday-Saturday itineraries in the 2007-2008 Caribbean season. Also inaugurated in 2003, this ship has a double occupancy capacity of 2,114 and features numerous staterooms with ocean views and balconies.Costa, Europe's Number One Cruise Line, is the leading Italian cruise company and for 60 years has offered the best in Italian hospitality, cuisine and entertainment on cruises throughout the world. In 2007, 1,000,000 guests chose a Costa cruise, a true historical record in Europe. The fleet's 12 ships all fly the Italian flag and offer 250 different destinations throughout the year in the Mediterranean

In celebration of its 60th year of cruising in 2008, Costa is giving one lucky guest a beautiful six-stone tiffany jewelry from Diamonds International on every sailing departing from Ft. Lauderdale during its 2007-2008 Caribbean season. Each week, a winner will be randomly selected and presented with a necklace from the Captain on the last night of the cruise during the popular "Roman Bacchanal" festivities.During this "Diamond Anniversary" celebration, a diamond necklace winner will be selected each week from both the Costa Fortuna and Costa Mediterranea between November 2007 and April 2008. Each necklace was created by Diamonds International exclusively for Costa and features six diamonds set in white gold that cascade in graduating circles and total a half carat in size. Necklaces are valued at $1,000. Winners will be selected randomly by cabin number and must be present at the "Roman Bacchanal" party to win."Our guests tell us just how memorable our cruises are for the special brand of tiffany bangles we create of bringing the love, laughter and la dolce vita of Italy to life on our ships-and for two lucky guests each week, that experience will become even more memorable," said Lynn C. Torrent, President & CEO of Costa Cruise Lines-North America. "The excitement on the ships this season is sure to be more incredible than ever as the week builds up to the final evening of the cruise when guests discover whether they've won a new diamond necklace."Costa's unique and authentic onboard Italian flair provides guests with a feeling of "Italy in the tropics" on its Caribbean routes. For many, sailing Costa offers a "new" way of experiencing the Caribbean ports of call they know and love - bringing to mind the romance and warmth of Italy without having to cross the Atlantic. From homemade pastas and delectable desserts, to Italian greetings including "buon giorno" in the morning and "buona sera" in the evening, the "amore" of the old world stays with guests long after they disembark from their cruise. Festive onboard activities include everything from on-deck bocce ball games, tarantella dancing under the stars and Italian cooking tiffany rings during "Festa Italiana," to the famous "Roman Bacchanal" soiree, where guests don tasteful togas and celebrate as the Romans did centuries ago!Inspired by grand Italian liners of the past, the 105,000-ton Costa Fortuna will sail the Eastern, Western and Southeastern Caribbean for the first time in the 2007-2008 Caribbean season. Inaugurated in 2003, this sister ship to the Costa Magica has a double occupancy capacity of 2,720, with many staterooms featuring ocean views and balconies. With design features inspired by the lavish palazzos of Italy, the 86,000-ton Costa Mediterranea will sail new Saturday-Saturday itineraries in the 2007-2008 Caribbean season. Also inaugurated in 2003, this ship has a double occupancy capacity of 2,114 and features numerous staterooms with ocean views and balconies.Costa, Europe's Number One Cruise Line, is the leading Italian cruise company and for 60 years has offered the best in Italian hospitality, cuisine and entertainment on cruises throughout the world. In 2007, 1,000,000 guests chose a Costa cruise, a true historical record in Europe. The fleet's 12 ships all fly the Italian flag and offer 250 different destinations throughout the year in the Mediterranean

Bob Hoffmann, 56, of Gillette, N.J., had some gold jewelry he hadn't worn in years -- a chain bracelet, a ring, a money tiffany jewelry. When he heard a radio commercial for a company that bought old gold, sight unseen, he visited their Web site, requested one of their shipping bags, and sent his unwanted valuables on their way."The stuff sat in a drawer -- I had no use for it," says Hoffmann, who expected to get well over $100 for jewelry that had cost him four times that.The amount of the check that the company promptly mailed him? A trifling $58."It's nothing like what people say," concludes Hoffmann, who doesn't want to bother returning the paltry check and getting his gold back. "And at the end of the day, I wouldn't do it again."Coveted by cultures as ancient as the Aztecs, enshrined in myth with the tales of that first gold-fingerer, Midas, gold has a time-misted history as the most precious of metals. Atomic number 79 on the periodic table has served as the standard for silver money clips -- hence the term "gold standard." And it is the ultimate recycled commodity: That dated rope chain from your "Saturday Night Fever" days may have had another life as a tiny scissor on a Victorian chatelaine, or an ancient Greek coin.Hoffmann's experience to the contrary, today, more than ever, it pays to cash in old gold. Earlier this month, the value of the shiny yellow stuff reached an all-time high of more than $900 an ounce, breaking the record of $875 set in 1980. (Then, as now, oil prices were skyrocketing, the dollar was in the toilet, and "stagflation" -- inflation paired with a flat economy -- drove investors to seek refuge in the conservative metal.)"When the price of gold becomes newsworthy, we see quite a jump in people selling old gold, and we're seeing a large increase in business now," says Joshua Garfield, marketing director at Philadelphia-based Garfield Refining, which is in the business of refining scrap gold. "And when people want to sell, people come out of the woodwork to buy."But how happy you will be with the cash you get depends on the purity of your silver pendants, how much of it you are selling and how much research you do.When it comes to selling gold, there are two options: Sell to a jeweler or other middleman, or directly to a refining company.Cecilia Gardner, president of the Manhattan-based Jewelers Vigilance Committee, notes that all municipalities have laws requiring those who buy secondhand gold to obtain identification of the seller and hold the gold for a specified period. "If a jeweler is not doing that," she warns, "something is wrong."

A Gypsy boy Yann, and the dwarf who has raised him are caught up in drama on and off the stage, where they work with a magician and his tiffany jewelry. Outside their Parisian theater, revolution is beginning to boil. Inside, the magician is murdered by the villainous Count Kallovski, who has Yann in his sights as well. So begins a finely crafted tale that crosses years and crisscrosses countries, as Yann becomes a young man with a mission: to save the lovely Sido from her heartless father, even as he struggles with the extraordinary gifts bestowed upon him by his Gypsy heritage. If the success of historical fiction depends on how well setting and story mesh, this is a very successful book, indeed. Gardner sweeps readers into a turbulent time, dissecting eighteenth-century French society and the evolution of the revolution, from a yearning for liberty to a chaotic bloodbath. The history becomes personal when seen through the eyes of an astoundingly rich, carefully drawn cast, whose lives are interwoven like tiffany earrings of string in an elaborate cat's cradle. Scores are waiting to be settled on every page; this is a heart-stopper. -Ilene Cooper When I asked Jan Tevepaugh last month if she had photos of her mother, she went to an old file cabinet and pulled out wedding portraits. In them, Betty Jo Davis is wearing the pearls. Until that afternoon in the basement with me, Jan had never noticed them.Her hair was brown, no gray in it yet, and she wore a pretty dress belted at her tiny waist. "It was like these people had been stored away in a warehouse and are now coming back again to life and are being seen again."After his address, he answered questions that organizers had selected from hundreds submitted in writing. One questioner wanted to know what compassionate people could do to get their leaders to move away from use of force. "The real answer for that question? I don't know," he replied. But he also said he saw small signs of hope, small signs of gradual change in the way world leaders address problems. Sometimes, in the home, in the family, women are the top troublemakers." But at the global level, he said, men are causing most of the trouble. Later, as an obviously appreciative Gregoire clasped his hand, he mused that female leaders may help the world become more compassionate.Elizabeth Josephine, Betty Jo.Jan gave Beth the tiffany key rings to wear and told her the story of how she came to get the pearls."It's a bygone era recaptured and brought back to life," Denmark said. "It was like these people had been stored away in a warehouse and are now coming back again to life and are being seen again."After his address, he answered questions that organizers had selected from hundreds submitted in writing.

So, the answer to the question of whether the tiffany jewelry moment has passed is that its demise has been greatly exaggerated. The post-Cold War world order that was rapidly constructed with the US at its centre is creaking but a new architecture that will manifest collective interest while retaining US centrality has not yet emerged. The US has overreached its power and suffered a strong backlash as a result. Its pre-eminent position was the result of a unique set of forces that weakened all other powers. That long-term structural change will restore some balance and thereby reduce some of the more extreme aspects of US dominance is not surprising and need only be alarming to the US if it adopts an intransigent or, worse, a proselytising mode to the rest of the world. The US retains the scope to play a hegemonic role because globalisation has created fundamental common interests between a wide range of nation cheap pendants, corporations and other groups which they have all developed an interests in the effectiveness of a single market. The choice is not between unipolarity and a self-regulating market system as one does not have to be an old fashioned realist to recognise that a self-regulating world system is a chimera. Order has to be constructed and secured if the global market is to work. Unipolarity breeds opposition, as recent years have demonstrated, and is therefore unstable. At the same time world governance through a full concert of nations is unachievable. Stability is best guaranteed by an international institutional architecture that draws in as many countries as possible while still retaining a core state and the USA is the only candidate for such a role. Even China, its only potential rival, is developing via integration into the market and this constrains the extent of its opposition to the prevailing power structure, as it does with cheap earrings. What is lacking is a new architecture of international institutions that will capture both enduring American centrality and the new complex of forces emerging in the global world system. There are no shortage of international institutions on which to build - the post-war institutions such as the UN, IMF and World Bank are all showing their age but are reformable as are their later cousin, the WTO and the G8. But other more regional or less US dominated groupings such as the African Union, Arab League, OAS and OPEC, must be brought into a more coherent, rules-based structure for global management as they do not now add up to a coherent management system for diffuse power.

It is in Asia that the biggest long-term threats to America arise, and in this context it is surprising that, even allowing for the importance of tiffany jewelry, so much attention has been paid to the Middle East in the hierarchy of recent US concerns while its influence wanes palpably in the region to where the centre of gravity is moving so rapidly that the twenty-first century may see the Asianisation of globalization. This is changing as the enormous potential of China becomes more apparent. The Bush administration has backed away from its initial confrontational stance towards China and seeks now to draw it into the web of global capitalist interest via membership of the WTO and other major international organisations. China's focus is on securing the supplies of energy and raw materials it needs to feed its economic expansion ratter than building overt anti-American security alliances but the foundations for a fully fledged world role are clearly being laid in Africa and Latin America, and in South East Asia China is effectively translating its economic and military power into political influence. India is some way behind China in economic growth but its potential is similar in all respects that are relevant to the projection of discount tiffany bangles. Beyond Asia, other, smaller countries are also threatening US power. Iran and Venezuela are thumbing their nose at the giant apparently less in fear of retribution than the history of both countries might suggest they have reason to be.My conclusion has to be that there is no single power that has the range of characteristics necessary to match or even challenge the US profile. But what combinations between them are plausible as a way of enhancing their collective sway? If the EU and Russia cannot challenge America separately, a pan-European alliance from the Atlantic to Asia, perhaps with Japan as a close ally might shift the centre of gravity in world affairs. Tension following the collapse of the Soviet Union as NATO and the EU expanded up to Russia's border is being defused by a meeting of interests as an increasingly confident Russia uses its energy wealth to supply Europe's discount tiffany rings. This is being codified in formal accords that seek to develop a greater Europe without dividing lines but the strategic cooperation that would threaten American power is a long way off.

The Lesotho Promise, a 223.35-carat tiffany jewelry, is made up of 26 white D-flawless diamonds, the most valuable on the grading system. All 26 were extracted from the 15th largest rough diamond ever found, a 603-carat stone discovered in a mine in Lesotho, South Africa, last year.Graff displayed the Lesotho Promise at the palatial Salle d'Empire at the Hotel de Paris here, which was filled with other rare gems, including The Flame, a 100-carat pear-shaped D-flawless diamond, along with an array of Graff's multicolored diamonds and emeralds.The Promise is the culmination of 18 months of painstaking work in the company's diamond-cutting facility in Antwerp, Belgium, a process Graff is retelling in a documentary and discount tiffany bangles.While the 26 stones forming the necklace had an estimated value of $50 million, executives wouldn't disclose the asking price for the finished piece, revealing only that several buyers had already been turned down before it was officially unveiled. "We're still waiting," said Laurence Graff, Graff's chairman and founder. One client's offer was too low, while another had proposed buying half. "We'll never split the stones," Graff insisted.It's unlikely the company will have to wait too long. The necklace elicited gasps and wows at a cocktail event for clients, who included local socialites and Russian billionaires. And, as the world's economy weakens, that class of superrich increasingly counts diamonds as a hedge against inflation."We're dealing with a clientele that manipulates so much wealth, and knows it's important to have a certain percentage of that wealth in jewelry," said Henri Barguirdjian, chief executive officer and president of Graff USA."In bad times, the diamond jewelry business is very successful. It's another class of investment, increasingly recognized by new economies like Russia and China.""In bad times, the diamond discount tiffany rings business is very successful," added managing director Francois Graff. "It's another class of investment, increasingly recognized by new economies like Russia and China. They consider it to be treasure, something safe to pass on for generations.""I've never seen stones like this," said iconic British singer Shirley Bassey, a Monaco resident. "I had to come because of my song -- 'Diamonds Are Forever,'" she joked.

Today's kids don't read, especially boys. According to John Hechinger's August 8 WSJ article,tiffany jewelry and gore are just the ticket for sucking in reluctant readers. "Evan Brain's Christmas List and Other Shenanigans: Boy Warrior Fights Evil" fits the bill (see also <http://www.newsrx.com/search/topics/Eve+Becker-Doyle> Eve Becker-Doyle).And well it should ... who better to write a book to appeal to boys (and girls) than an obstreperous adolescent who loves disgusting and gruesome? Co-author/illustrator Evan Brian "Brain" Doyle can relate to his readers. A gifted 15-year-old addicted to gaming, Evan reads only comics and fantasy, and, like many of his peers, has ADD issues. His exasperated mother, co-author Eve Becker-Doyle, exacts revenge by making Evan write books against his will.At first, Becker-Doyle worried about the political correctness of Evan's over-the-edge writing and cartoons. She almost left out a bloody illustration of Esteemed Overlord Qarqaxa, Evan's benevolent but carnivorous sci fi Santa character. A long line of valentines bangles expectantly wait their turn not to tell their wish list, but hoping to be Qarqaxa's favorite treat. A pile of heads accumulates as Qarqaxa chomps contentedly. The clever, satirically funny cartoon is blood chilling.Ultimately the drawing was included on advice of a children's book editor/teacher. And ... boys and girls alike gleefully devour the Calvin-like stories about Evan's escapades.Why? Just read Evan's sassy, irreverent Christmas list: "A necklace of elf butts, a library full of comic books, a new family, other good books but not stupid or girly ones, apology notes already written, the real Hobbes "In his fantasy retelling, Evan refashions this list into an altogether different one: recipe ingredients to enhance his consumption by Esteemed Overlord Qarqaxa. Here Evan diligently suggests the best preparation for his delectable self, then happily takes his place in the hors d'oeuvres line.Across the room, Mrs. Haddad was showing some visitors a pair of earrings made from slender turkey bones that were sharp as toothpicks. "I take them off at Thanksgiving and, if I'm out somewhere, I'll stick an hors d'oeuvre and eat it," she told them. "It starts instant conversation."Later, while Mrs. Haddad was in her workshop plucking feathers from a weathered wild-turkey carcass, Dennis Horn, a family friend, came up the driveway toting a plastic bag containing several deer skeletons he'd stumbled across while hunting. "They're gorgeous," Mrs. Haddad said, cradling one foul-smelling ribcage in her hands. "You've made me a happy woman today."Given all the valentines rings and contentment that bones have already brought to Mrs. Haddad, she has sometimes kidded with her husband about something else that would make her happy.

Fill this gardening system's sleeves with soil and seeds, hang on the tiffany jewelry, water, and watch foliage flourish (Woolly Pocket, from $38-$48 at the Future Perfect, 115 N. 6th St., nr. Berry St., Williamsburg; 718-599).
Return to Me's 24-karat-gold-plated necklace comes with needle and thread so you can stitch any pattern you like ($95 at Auto, 805 Washington St., nr. Gansevoort St.; 212-229-2292).
Even scented-candle haters like Feu de Bois' cozy wood-fire scent, now available in a mini size
Toronto, has been issued the trademark CLEAR (Reg. No 3709298) by the USPTO.The trademark application (serial number 77305588) was filed on Oct. 16, 2007 and was registered on Nov. 10.
The goods for which registration was sought are "Jewelry, namely, rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, medals, cufflinks, chains, charms, buckles for watchstraps, and brooches, only made of precious metals and not with precious or semi-precious stones". For more information about US Fed News trademarks please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, US Fed News, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com.
Signature Engraving Systems, a supplier of computerized gift engravers, has unveiled its valentines money clips and Name Necklace Machining Center.
It attaches to the Signature 8080 Plus and the 8080 Super and lets users create custom charms and name necklaces in sterling silver up to 1.25-millimeters-thick in under 15 minutes.
The device works with the existing system's Signature software, and allows jewelers to add hand-tooled accents. The machine features: removable micro filter for easy reclamation; spring gauges to adjust cutting depths; nose plate for engraving depth control; and a simple one-time valentines pendants and circuit board upgrade to optimize special cutting speeds and feeds required for delicate cutters.

Spotted: "Gossip Girl" star Leighton Meester sporting tiffany jewelry crown key necklace in the first episode this season.
That televised image of the style-setting actress was enough to make the key pendant a lock for America's next fashion wave. Since its introduction by Tiffany last summer, the key necklace has unlocked a fashion fad that local jewelers say is the signature look of the winter season.
"They are the thing right now," said Roy Lovelace, manager of M.M. Schenck Jewelers. "They are very popular. There are a lot of variations, but the diamond styles in white gold are the most popular."
Bob Mason, owner of Rone Regency Jewelers in Brainerd Village, said he first saw the key necklace at a summer jewelry show. By October, he said, there was a local response to the fad. By Christmas, Mr. Mason sold every style in his store.
"It's a fashion statement; a lot of movie stars are wearing them in valentines money clips, and that drives the demand," Mr. Mason said. "It (the age demographic of buyers) was pretty amazing because they stretched from 18-year-olds to 50-year-olds."
Get the look: The key pendant is a vintage skeleton key, usually done in white metal accented with diamonds, worn on a chain as a necklace. The key's bow features a design such as a heart, fleur de lis, clover, skull, filigree pattern, oval or circle. The bow or the key's blade will be studded with some type of bling.
How to wear the look: The key pendant is traditionally worn in an open valentines pendants, seated at the hollow of the neck. During winter months, the key can be worn over sweaters on a long chain (at least 24 inches) so that the key hits between the sternum and navel.
Layering three keys is also a popular look. Wear them on graduated chains so the keys nest within each other. The linear look of one long necklace or three layered chains is slimming to the face.
Who's wearing it: Taylor Swift wore a vintage key necklace in her "Love Story" video. Jennifer Aniston was photographed wearing the Key to My Heart necklace. Demi Lovato wears the Urban Outfitters key necklace.
Other celebrities photographed in the look: Hayden Panettiere, Michelle Trachtenberg and Jessica Biel.
"The necklaces have diamonds on them, so they are not appropriate for girls younger than midteens," Mr. Lovelace advised.

Chris Bangle is Director of Design in the Development Division of tiffany jewelry Group in Munich, Germany. Mr. Bangle has been working in this capacity since October 1992, after serving as the Director of Fiat Centro Stile/Design. Mr. Bangle held various positions at Fiat Centro Stile, including Head of Exterior Design and Head of the Exterior Studio. Mr. Bangle's design philosophy is featured in the January 2001 issue of the Harvard Business Review.
Thomas Steinbruck's prestigious background includes: graduating from the Studio Bercot and L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in Paris, France; apprenticing with Gianfranco Ferre for the House of Christian Dior, and in America, for Geoffrey Beene and Gemma Khang. Mr. Steinbruck was the recipient of the Fall 2001 Moet & Chandon Designer Debut Award and has dressed various celebrities and socialites including Susan Sarandon and the Miller sisters.
BMW of Manhattan, Inc., BMW of North America's corporate flagship store, is one of the largest BMW Centers in the U.S. In addition to serving the New York market's sales and service needs, the 200,000 square-foot location on 57th Street is a focal point for the valentines bracelets marque. "We are very proud to showcase a piece of BMW's future and present its creator, Director of BMW design, Chris Bangle," states General Manager Jeff Falk. "It represents a unique opportunity for us to reward our customers and the NY community with a special insight."
BMW of North America was established in 1975. Since then, the company has grown to include marketing, sales and financial service organizations in the United States; a South Carolina manufacturing operation; DESIGNWORKS/USA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW is represented in the U.S. through a network of more than 340 car, 315 Sports Activity Vehicle and 160 motorcycle retailers. BMW US Holding Corp., the Group's headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
Information about valentines cufflinks products is available to consumers via the World Wide Web on the BMW homepage. The address is: http:// www.bmwusa.com. SOURCE BMW of North America

Band: Susannah Hoffs, Debbi Peterson, Vicki Peterson, Michael Steele, Greg Hilfman.
It's easy to be cynical when bands tiffany jewelry-- the only sound that animates many of them is the ring of a cash register. But at the House of Blues, the reformed Bangles were onto something different: If anything, they sound more like a band today then they did during the mid-1980s.
Yes, time, maturity and so-so solo projects made them more likely to play nice in the sandbox, but their show was the work of a revived band; they haven't named their upcoming Koch album (due in stores Sept. 23) "Doll Revolution" for nothing.
It's not so much that valentines day earrings changed -- songs such as "Manic Monday" and "Walk Like an Egyptian" retain their sunny radiance, and the members still have a youthful appeal. More impressive is how the new material seamlessly updates their classic sound.
Vicki Peterson's "Single by Choice" is a rangy declaration of independence and Debbie's "Ride the Ride," while not as explosive as the version on the album, still enthralls. They also smartly rearrange the older tunes, stripping down "If She Knew What She Wants" into a wary valentines day key rings.
The nearly 90-minute show was something of a round robin, with the spotlight rotating among the four singers; the band has become a stronger whole while giving each member a chance to shine.
Susannah Hoffs favors swelling pop confections; Vicki Peterson brings flinty, country-inflected pop to the mix; her sister Debbi comes to the fore on classic '60s psychedelia; and Michael Steele is partial to rock struts.
The result felt like the performance of a band that still has life left in it.

Firing tiffany jewelry was not a viable option because the company has defended him so fiercely in the face of increasingly harsh criticism over his styling direction, the sources pointed out. That would have been an unacceptable admission of failure, they said.
"Despite their public support, the company had come to the conclusion that something had to be done" to defuse the criticism, said a source at another automaker who had inside knowledge of the debate.
"Even though sales weren't a problem, they felt the constant criticism was beginning to undermine the brand and the whole aura of infallibility that is so important to them," the source said. "But they couldn't fire Chris because this would have been an admission that the critics were right and things really were screwed up. This way they get to save some face."
The source said he was approached late last year to sound out his potential interest in replacing Bangle as head of BMW brand design. He rejected the approach, he said, because he considered the job to be unworkable.
Another designer and close associate of valentines money clips said the decision to take Bangle out of the styling studio - and away from the heat - was long overdue.
"The only question I have is, 'What took them so long?'" he said. "Chris is a truly talented guy, but they've been getting hammered now for three years because of him. They had to do something."
Few car designers have generated as much sturm und drang as Bangle. Three years after the launch of the redesigned flagship 7 series unleashed a torrent of criticism because of its break-the-mold styling, BMW loyalists continue to call for Bangle's head.
Bangle, an American and a former chief of valentines pendants design, has headed BMW's styling department for more than a decade. In that time he has been responsible for redesigns of the 3,5 and 7 series. He also supervised the creation of the X5 and X3 SUVs, the forthcoming 1 series and the 6 series coupe and convertible.
But nothing has touched a nerve the way the 7 series redesign did. Billed by Bangle as the beginning of a necessary overhaul of BMW styling, it featured a straight belt-line that wrapped around onto the trunk. This created a wedge-like protrusion widely referred to as a "Bangle-butt."