Nomination’s Star Set to Rise in 2010
The difference between a fashion fad and a fashion phenomenon is its endurance. Just as stars of stage and screen can rise or fall in an instant, so too trends can die faster than they were thrown from the catwalk on to the high street.
Glassless glasses of the 1960s, heat-reactive T-shirts of the early-nineties and baggy trousers made famous by rapper MC Hammer, were all minor blips on fashion's timeline. But some fashion accessories, which are steeped in history and conform to the basic desire of man to be an individual, stand the test of time.And so it is with Nomination charm bracelets.
The next 12 months, just like every year of the last two decades, looks set to see demand for the Italian-born composable bracelets continue to grow.In fact, after several years of slowly but surely becoming the fashionista's best friend, 2010 could be the year that the rapidly-spreading trend becomes a global sensation.
The celebrity set which endorses the product has expanded to bursting point while the surge in sales of the prestige item has been massive across the board.
Footballers, singers, rappers and movie stars are all fans of the bracelets, which can be customized with attachable charms, and the public appetite for them has never been greater.
But perhaps its best assets - for retailers and consumers alike - are its price point and its flexibility. You can start to build your own Nomination charm bracelet, which is usually made up of around 18 links, for as little as £20 (US$33). Individual charms which slot into the blank links can be as extravagantly expensive or modestly affordable as you desire.
Meanwhile, the interchangeable nature of the charms means wearers can effectively build several different sets to suite their mood, changing interests or maybe even their relationship status - hearts and letters spelling 'I love you' can be quickly swapped for skulls, cross bones and spiders' webs to quell the advances of an unwanted admirer.
The sexless nature of Nominations also makes them a jeweller's dream. Alongside the likes of Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera, Nominations are also popular with male role models such as English Premier League footballers, who have been known to display their national flag around their wrists.
Nomination charms are made from 18 karat gold on a stainless steel panel cover a wide spectrum of themes including animals, flowers, religions, zodiac signs and birthstones. It remains to be seen whether their star will continue to rise in 2010 but initial signs would strongly suggest that it will. In recent years the web has become a reliable gauge to tell whether a trend is in the ascendancy or on its way out.
Judging from the hundreds of people who have joined the Facebook groups dedicated to the brand, the viewing figures from the many of video guides related to building a bracelet and the level of interest in Twitter, the Nomination success story is far from over.
Designer watches struggle to keep up in 2010
It is nearly 20 years since Gucci launched its first range of ladies watches. Since this time, almost every couture fashion label has joined the watch industry from Channel to Dolce and Gabbana and from Christian Dior to Diesel. These clothing giants joined forces with some of the smallest and some of the biggest names in the watch industry like Fossil Binda and LVMH, to bring their own brand of watches to the consumer.
Over the years, companies like Fossil and Binda grew beyond recognition. Growing from small national brands to big players on the world watch stage adding further licensing agreements with more and more fashion houses to bring a wider range of branded watches to the high street. The influx of designer brands has had a detrimental effect on many of the traditional brands such as Rotary watches, Pulsar, Seiko and Tissot watches. Some brands like Tissot have fought back by moving themselves out of direct competition with the designer watch brands and focusing on the sport watch market place. Others companies such as Rotary watches and Seiko have also attempted this move with varied success.
2010 though has seen a massive shift in the watch market with the addition of brands like Ice-Watch and Toy Watch decimating the designer watch market. The designer brands have been caught unaware by these non-clothes affiliated watch companies creating watches that are bag on trend for 2010. The sports watch look of these brands has been popular for over two decades since brands such as Seiko and Breil made the divers watch fashionable back in the late 80’s. Ellesse carried on the movement in the late 90’s however this fizzled out with the addition of the designer brands like D&G, DKNY and Emporio Armani exploding onto the watch market. Toy Watch and Ice-Watch have re-invented this movement with resin and rubber cased watches from as little as £50 to as much as £300. The resin and rubber cases allow the manufacturers to capitalise on the 1980’s fashion trends of 2010. This fashion trend coupled with the 
fantastic design of the watches is what has allowed these two brands to firmly gain a foot hold in the watch market, taking market share from some of the biggest designer brands of the last 10 years. The 1980’s fashion movement has also allowed some of the oldest watch brands in the market place to finally see the light of day and fight back against the designer brands. Brands like Timex watches and Casio have re-launched styles from their back catalogue capitalising on the new 80’s fashion trends.
Could this all spell the end for the designer brands? And could this be the rise of affordable watch fashion? Well Christmas 2010 really is going to be very interesting who comes out best could be simply down to price and not just down to the name on the front of the watch.
Ceramica AR1400 A Watch Review
The AR1400 is part of the new Ceramica range of watches launched by the fashion watch company Emporio Armani. As the name tells you the Ceramica range is a watch range that has been created out of the material you would normally associate with expensive kitchens and in the watch industry the like of Chanel and Rado.
So the Ceramica is a Ceramic watch that is great but what does it look like on? What does it feel like to wear it? And what are the best ways to look after it? These are all the questions that need answered before you make a purchase. In the old days people would just go into a shop and try it on, but in a world of online shopping it is difficult to get all of this information without buying the watch first. There are a number of pictures of this Armani Sports watch that will help to make up your mind, these can be found along the side of this blog. There is a view of the watch with a T-Shirt and Jeans as well as a view of the watch on your wrist and a view of the watch with a suit, all of these views we hope will make it much easier for you to make a decision on this item.
Key facts about the Emporio Armani AR1400
The black Ceramic bracelet and case are hard wearing, and perfect for anyone who is looking for a black watch that will stay black for the life time of the watch. The Ceramic bracelet has removable links which can be removed to make the bracelet fit anyone’s wrist, this can be done easily by using a couple of tools and following the instructions in the instruction manual, all you need to do is follow the arrows which are engraved on the inside of the bracelet. Always remember to keep a hold of your spare links just in case you ever need them again. The main thing to avoid with a Ceramic watch is dropping the watch from a large height avoid this and you will enjoy your Ceramic watch for years to come.
Although the watch is Ceramic, both the case back of the watch and the butterfly clasp are both made of stainless steel. Along with this the buttons on the AR1400 and the winder is made from stainless steel but all have the Emporio Armani logo etched into them.
How to use your AR1400 sports watch
The AR1400 has chronograph functionality or to the layman it has a stop watch. This is easy to use once you know about how to use it:
1. To start and stop the stop watch use the button found at the 2 O’clock position
2. How the stopwatch dials work
a. Unlike many sports watches the AR1400 has a second hand accumulator in the 6 O’clock
b. Once the seconds dial travels round 60 seconds the second accumilator dial starts off counting each minute which passes. This dial is found at the 10 O’clock position
c. The AR1400 will time to the nearest second and will time up to 60 minutes
3. There is a third dial on this watch this is found at 2 O’clock position and is 24 hour accumilator which can be used to tell if it is before or after mid day.
