An illustrated collection of the wild and outlandish jewels associated with hip-hop music showcases the cultural phenomenon of bling with an assortment of gold-and-diamond-studded pistols, platinum teeth, jewel-encrusted goblets, and more, accompanied by entertaining sidebars and facts.

Why the luxury market's fate rests in Chinese wallets The media has negatively focused on the Chinese political administration clamping down on gifting. Observers have come to doubt the strength of Chinese consumption as the key driver for luxury. The Bling Dynasty illustrates how doubts about Chinese consumption are ill-founded and Chinese luxury demand is on the cusp of becoming dominant. This book contains the research and expert views companies need to understand and address the new challenges posed by this dominance. Each chapter brings a different perspective, covering complex aspects of luxury consumption, with illustrations and real-world examples that support the research. Readers will gain insights through interviews with brand executives, retailers, experts, and consumers. As an economic heavyweight, China is fast realizing its role in the luxury market. Chinese consumers should be accounting for more than a third of the global luxury market today, and half, if not more, in ten year's time. The Bling Dynasty runs counter to the conventional wisdom that expanding sectors become more global. Luxury is actually becoming over-dependent on Chinese sales. Readers will: Understand how Western brands developed in Asia and the challenges they are met with, notably ubiquity Learn why Chinese are purchasing luxury items abroad and what it means for the future of the sector Gain insights on why there are no Chinese luxury brands challenging Western models Realize that Chinese consumers are becoming similar to their American peers and that luxury competition goes way beyond pre-conceptions China's big spenders are increasingly mobile and this is affecting key markets. The Bling Dynasty provides new research and a comprehensive look at the booming business of luxury and the Chinese wallet.

This book is a fun book for the reader as it displays a handful of emotions, a bit of quirkiness, perhaps some knowledge, some lessons to be learned and the feelings of pride and commitment. The colorful illustrations provide the perfect visual that definitely makes this story come to life. Also, the author, Maureen Sky, created the fairy images from her knowledge of vintage jewelry. Specifically, vintage Bakelite bangle bracelets (Maureens favorite pieces, I.e. Applejuice, Butterscotch, and Endofday) which allows the knowledgeable reader of Bakelite jewelry, a bit of fun and creative humor while reading the story.

When bounty hunter Grace deHaviland is brought in to locate a cheating, conniving, financial management guru—arrested on multiple fraud and theft charges—who’s skipped out on bail, she finds she has her hands full, not only with trying to track the missing man down, but also in dealing with a street-wise rapper who’s popularity is in decline, his contentious wife and their disintegrating marriage and careers, and a desperate manhunt that might end up getting her killed.

"Information about gems, rocks, and other shiny objects on the planet, for children"--

Can fame be switched off? A group of revolutionaries called the League for the Liberation of Nobodies have concocted an ingenious plan and they've targeted the year's most glittering celebrity occasion: Oscar Night. The Last Bling King is the story of how ordinary men and women rose up against celebrities and the super rich, became the people they wanted to be, and changed the world forever. This is the 21st Century antidote to "Atlas Shrugged", Ayn Rand's best selling paean to wealth.