Sunday, February 15, 2009

A Little Something for your Collection


Roses have always been my favorite flower. Oddly though, I do not wear roses on clothing, or favor things that have roses on them. However, I have to say, this Judith Leiber minaudiere is certainly exquisite, n'est ce pas?

Composed of 1016 diamonds, (over 42 carats), 1169 pink sapphires, and 800 pink tourmalines-it would be the crown jewel to any evening bag collection, and is certainly one of the most stunning in Leiber's 45 year history of crafting handbags.

Hungarian by birth, Judith emigrated to the US in 1947 and
launched the Leiber Company in 1963. It all started innocently enough-Judith had mail-ordered a gift for a friend, which arrived terribly scratched. She decided to cover it up with crystals, and so began the Leiber empire. Still going strong today, Judith Leiber Inc. has expanded into decorative objects, sunglasses and jewelry. But the handbags remain the standouts.


Each First Lady going back to 1953 has carried a custom made bag to the Presidential Inauguration. Leiber purses are always well represented on the red carpet as well.

One of the few luxury products still made by hand in the US today, Leiber purses are priced in the thousands of dollars.


If you were a fan of "Sex and the City", you will probably remember the episode where Mr. Big gives Carrie an unexpected gift of a Lieber Swan purse, which completely underwhelmed her!

To see more of these creations, see the book The Artful Handbag, a beautiful coffee-table book documenting the history of the company.

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