Sunday, November 21, 2004
By Neal Rubin / The Detroit News
What seems like excess to you and me might look like groceries and mortgage payments to somebody else. Or like a simple, diamond-encrusted token of affection.
Link Wachler, for instance, concedes that $20,000 is more than someone probably needed to pay for a dog collar. But as one of the descendants at David Wachler & Sons Jewelers, he's in no position to campaign against extravagance.
As for the owner of Bentley, the stylish female Jack Russell terrier, it was a way of thanking his best pal for five years of unconditional devotion. Bentley doesn't seem impressed, but then, the whole point is that she doesn't love him for his money.
A photo of Bentley and her necklace was recently mounted in the Wachler & Sons window in downtown Birmingham. Link Wachler's uncle, Norman, crafted the piece out of diamonds and 18-karat gold.
Link Wachler created a 23-karat gold belt buckle to go with the collar at about the same price. The buckle is for the owner, not the terrier, and it features a sculpture of the dog's face.
Wachler has also done likenesses of Regis Philbin, George W. Bush, Al Roker and Steven Seagal, but this was his first $20,000 belt buckle canine.
He realizes that some might consider $40,000 in dog-related jewelry immoderate, or even offensive, but "people who work hard are entitled to have fun." The specific purchase is simply a matter of degree.
A splurge for Wachler might be a new TV. Bentley's owner, a Birmingham contractor, named his dog after his car. So clearly, his moments of binge-and-splurge will probably be pricier than the average guy on the street, even when that street runs through Birmingham.
From Wachler's standpoint, there's a sliding scale for excess that's tied to generosity. "If they're socially conscious in other ways and still have some money left over for themselves to enjoy, I have no problem with that."
One sensible investment for Bentley's owner might be a bodyguard -- not for him, but for Bentley. She'd probably feel a lot safer taking walks with a rottweiler.
WACHLER WAS commissioned to make a ring for Seagal, the star of "Under Siege," "The Glimmer Man" and various other action movies. As a gift, he says, he also made a money clip with Seagal's face on it. He hand-delivered them to suburban Memphis, Tenn., because Seagal doesn't trust the mail.
The ring was a yellow sapphire with a bold Chinese dragon face on either side. Wachler, 52, says Seagal prefaced the presentation with a challenge: "I've seen a lot of fine craftsmanship from all over the world, especially Chinese and Tibetan pieces I own. That's where I'm coming from."
"Here's where I'm coming from," Wachler said, and he placed the robust size 12 on Seagal's finger.
Wachler says the 53-year-old Lansing native's response was a lukewarm, "Not bad."
"What do you mean, 'Not bad'?"
"When I say not bad, I mean really, really good."
Several weeks later, Wachler says, he e-mailed Seagal to thank him for the business and wish him well.
"P.S." Wachler wrote. "I watched 'The Glimmer Man' the other night.
"Not bad."
Neal Rubin appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at (313) 222-1874, nrubin@detnews.com or 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226.
the underline of the first photo:
Link Wachler of David Wachler & Sons Jewelers fashioned a custom yellow sapphire ring with a Chinese dragon design for Lansing native Steven Seagal, who told the jeweler it was "not bad."
Underline of the second photo:
Bentley, a Jack Russell terrier, was immortalized in this 23-karat gold belt buckle that went with a $20,000 dog collar created by Link Wachler's uncle, Norman.
----------------------
for your information !!
sincerely
suzi
By Neal Rubin / The Detroit News
What seems like excess to you and me might look like groceries and mortgage payments to somebody else. Or like a simple, diamond-encrusted token of affection.
Link Wachler, for instance, concedes that $20,000 is more than someone probably needed to pay for a dog collar. But as one of the descendants at David Wachler & Sons Jewelers, he's in no position to campaign against extravagance.
As for the owner of Bentley, the stylish female Jack Russell terrier, it was a way of thanking his best pal for five years of unconditional devotion. Bentley doesn't seem impressed, but then, the whole point is that she doesn't love him for his money.
A photo of Bentley and her necklace was recently mounted in the Wachler & Sons window in downtown Birmingham. Link Wachler's uncle, Norman, crafted the piece out of diamonds and 18-karat gold.
Link Wachler created a 23-karat gold belt buckle to go with the collar at about the same price. The buckle is for the owner, not the terrier, and it features a sculpture of the dog's face.
Wachler has also done likenesses of Regis Philbin, George W. Bush, Al Roker and Steven Seagal, but this was his first $20,000 belt buckle canine.
He realizes that some might consider $40,000 in dog-related jewelry immoderate, or even offensive, but "people who work hard are entitled to have fun." The specific purchase is simply a matter of degree.
A splurge for Wachler might be a new TV. Bentley's owner, a Birmingham contractor, named his dog after his car. So clearly, his moments of binge-and-splurge will probably be pricier than the average guy on the street, even when that street runs through Birmingham.
From Wachler's standpoint, there's a sliding scale for excess that's tied to generosity. "If they're socially conscious in other ways and still have some money left over for themselves to enjoy, I have no problem with that."
One sensible investment for Bentley's owner might be a bodyguard -- not for him, but for Bentley. She'd probably feel a lot safer taking walks with a rottweiler.
WACHLER WAS commissioned to make a ring for Seagal, the star of "Under Siege," "The Glimmer Man" and various other action movies. As a gift, he says, he also made a money clip with Seagal's face on it. He hand-delivered them to suburban Memphis, Tenn., because Seagal doesn't trust the mail.
The ring was a yellow sapphire with a bold Chinese dragon face on either side. Wachler, 52, says Seagal prefaced the presentation with a challenge: "I've seen a lot of fine craftsmanship from all over the world, especially Chinese and Tibetan pieces I own. That's where I'm coming from."
"Here's where I'm coming from," Wachler said, and he placed the robust size 12 on Seagal's finger.
Wachler says the 53-year-old Lansing native's response was a lukewarm, "Not bad."
"What do you mean, 'Not bad'?"
"When I say not bad, I mean really, really good."
Several weeks later, Wachler says, he e-mailed Seagal to thank him for the business and wish him well.
"P.S." Wachler wrote. "I watched 'The Glimmer Man' the other night.
"Not bad."
Neal Rubin appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at (313) 222-1874, nrubin@detnews.com or 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226.
the underline of the first photo:
Link Wachler of David Wachler & Sons Jewelers fashioned a custom yellow sapphire ring with a Chinese dragon design for Lansing native Steven Seagal, who told the jeweler it was "not bad."
Underline of the second photo:
Bentley, a Jack Russell terrier, was immortalized in this 23-karat gold belt buckle that went with a $20,000 dog collar created by Link Wachler's uncle, Norman.
----------------------
for your information !!
sincerely
suzi
