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Shop guide (all prices are approximate).(Buyers guide)

…cartier.com. 7. Grosgrain band, diamond border, $3,300, David Yurman; 888-398-7626; davidyurman.com. 8. Alligator strap, diamond trim, $3,500, Montblanc; 800-995-4810; montblanc.com. P.110 1. AK Anne Klein pale gold discs, $75; nordstrom.com. 2. Diamond-studded 18kt-white-gold tank, $9,000, Tiffany & Co.; 800-526-0649. 3 & 4. MICHAEL Michael Kors gold links with sandalwood squares, $140, and sandalwood cuff with inset watch, $120, select Macy's stores; 800-289-6229. 5. Coach flat-link stainless steel bracelet, $458, Nordstrom; 800-695-8000. 6. Chunky-chic enamel cuff, $125, JLO by Jennifer Lopez; shopjlo.com. 7. Chain paved with faux diamonds, $150, Elgin; elgintimepieces.com.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

THE 10-POUNDS-LESS DRESS P.113 ECI dress, $178, Nordstrom; 800-933-3365. Ten Thousand Things earrings, $960; 212-352-1333. Jean-Michel Cazabat shoes, $495, Bergdorf Goodman, NYC; 212-872-8651. P.114 Lucy Sykes New York dress, $395; lucysykesnewyork .com. Pandora hoop earrings, $150; pandora-jewelry .com. Temple St. Clair gold bangles, $2,300 and $2,500, and rings with multicolored stones, $1,150 each; 973-921-1562; templestclair.com. Stephen Burrows dress, $275; 212-283-7124. Coomi gold hoops, $4,600; 866-972-7272. P.116 Reiss dress, $325; 212-925-5707. Lisa Stewart gold hoops, $195, Homeslice, Hoboken, NJ; 201-963-7800. Bottega Veneta shoes, $680; 877-362-1715; bottegaveneta.com. P.118 J.Crew dress, $250; jcrew.com. Ippolita hoop earrings, $1,040; 877-865-5500; ippolita.com. P.120 Tevrow + Chase shirtdress, $395, Saks Fifth Avenue; 877-551-7257. Valentino heels, $670; 212-772-6969. Kenneth Jay Lane bangles, $50 to $58; 877-953-5264.

BEAUTY: LOOK…

…work in her tiny V.O. Gallery, founded in 1984 in that Foggy Bottom mall. Reiben says she immediately sensed that she was destined to take over the business - - even though its jumbled paperwork was mostly in Dutch, a language she didn't know, and though it dealt mostly in well-known European jewelers, few of whom she'd ever met. A 16-day, nine-country tour of Europe soon fixed that, and the renamed Jewelers' Werk Galerie (the Dutch accent was in honor of van Ommen) has been in business ever since.

"Everything I'd done had prepared me for this," Reiben says, over lunch at Leopold's, Georgetown's latest sceney cafe. Its mobbed terrace fronts her new gallery ("I'm sort of the waiting room for Leopold's") and the cafe's well-heeled clientele may help the move succeed.

Reiben's particular vocation for radical jewelry becomes clear when she takes special note of the gold leaf dusting a piece of Leopold's classic chocolate cake, then says, with a laugh, "I would have preferred plastic or rubber."

Those are typical Jewelers' Werk materials. Her current show includes pieces by Natalya Pinchuk, another Russian immigrant, now teaching in Texas. They are made from old sweaters whose brightly colored yarns have been unraveled, pounded into felt, then molded into funky shapes that are distinctly phallic and testicular. A brooch shaped like a bright-green penis, anyone? How about a sausage- rope of bulbous naughty bits to drape around your neck?

Mostly, when Jewelers' Werk does show gold or gems, they're pushed beyond their standard preciosity: "It's the concept that matters," Reiben says. One of her most famous artists, the Munich jeweler Otto Kuenzli, once made…

…mid- and upper-price brands use that and other metals to encase watch works. Here are some.

* Titanium, a light metal, is used increasingly by watchmakers for cases, dials, and/or movement components. At the end of the 1990s, very few brands used it. Now dozens do, including new watches this year from Corum (for the first time, in its 12-sided Competition), Giuliano Mazzuoli's limited edition Manometro, TAG Heuer, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Tissot, and Citizen.

* Zalium is a zirconium-based alloy, harder than titanium, used in the aerospace industry. It's used, too, for Harry Winston Rare Timepieces' three-year-old Project Z watches including this year's Vintage Spirit and Sports Spirit models.

* Hublot's automatic Mag Bang features two world firsts in metals usage. First, its bezel, case, and back are made of magnesium--one of Earth's most common elements, a third lighter than aluminum and 2.6 times lighter than titanium. It's the first time magnesium has been used for watches. (While extra-strong, it's also very difficult to machine.) Second, the dial is made of titanium, as are the bridges, bottom plate, and screws of the movement (instead of traditional nickel silver). Together, the 44.5 mm watch weighs only 72 grams. "The future of high-end technical watchmaking lies in weight reduction," says Jean-Claude Biver, Hublot S.A.'s chief executive officer.

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… 29-31: David Rosenberg's sample sale (location TBD, 612-343-3221). Women's, men's and children's midline clothing, including spring and summer knit tops, blouses, dresses, pants, jackets, coordinates, plus-sizes and jewelry. Best bargain: the $3 and $5 racks.

April

13-14, 19-21: Gage & Gage gift wrapping/accessories sale (660 Industrial Circle, Shakopee, 952-233-2081, www.gagewarehousesale.com). Bows 25 cents or less, boxes 25 cents to $2, gift bags 50 cents to $2, ribbon, tissue, wrapping paper $2 to $7 and paper plates. Combine this sale with the soup ladies' nearby (see April 19-21) and the Canterbury Craft Sale April 20-22 at Canterbury Park (www.canterburypark.com).

14: Textile Center of fiber arts garage sale (3000 University Av. SE., Minneapolis, 612-436-0464, www.textilecentermn.org). Yarn, patterns, tools, equipment, fabric, beads, buttons and related items. April 13 is dropoff day.

14-15: Junonia plus-size active and casualwear (www.junonia.com or 1-800-586-6642). Additional 20 percent discount in the Juno's clearance section online. An Eagan-based company. 17-21: PPL anniversary sale (850 15th Av. NE., Minneapolis, 612-789-3322). Everything in the high-quality surplus store is discounted further, including furniture, household, clothing and jewelry.

18-21: Stroke of the Heart warehouse sale (3792 Williston Road, Minnetonka, 952-945-9495). Locally designed greeting cards with simple watercolor designs priced as low as 25 cents each. Also,…