When Salvatore Ferragamo died of cancer in 1960, he left behind an Italian widow who had never worked a day in her life, and six children, aged 18 to two years old. Because Salvatore believed strongly that women should have equal access to business, he had brought his oldest child, Fiamma in to learn the family business.

While living in Europe I was left with no choice but to pack only one Little Black Dress. Just thinking about four months with only one LBD filled me with anxiety. But little did I know, that single Little Black Dress was more than enough.

This elegant line, exquisitely crafted in 18k gold, includes dangling earrings, a wonderful ring, two different pendant tree necklaces, and an etched gold pendant choker– truly something for everyone. Each graceful piece is destined to become a treasured piece of art - a glorious symbol of time-without-end.

Yes it is tax day, and while taxes are no fun, they are most definitely the preferred one of the two famous certainties. This week we are celebrating both Lilly Ledbetter, as our Delamina woman of the week, and President Obama for signing into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act early in his tenure.

The Akoya pearl is the most familiar type of cultured pearl. Grown in pearl oysters off the coast of Japan, Akoya pearls are created by inserting a nucleus (small shell bead) into the oyster. The oyster becomes irritated by the foreign substance and begins to secrete nacre to cover the material. On the average the pearl spends one to four years in the oyster and grows to between 6 mm to 9mm in size. Even though pearls are harvested en masse on pearl farms, producing a quality pearl is an extremely rare event. It is estimated that half of all nucleated oysters do not survive — and of those that do, only 20% bear marketable pearls.