DIAMONDS FOR MAN'S BEST FRIEND

Seeing Fido disappearing over the horizon, wearing a collar studded with saphires, rubies and diamonds, puts a whole fresh complexion on losing your dog. Yet a new collection of such canine jewellery has been launched that aims to bring the last word in quality and bling to a man’s best friend.

The brainchild of Joanna Way, the Grosvenor Collection may seem a trifle ostentatious for the times, but given how besotted some owners can be with their pets, it may buck the economic gloom in the months ahead.  Especially as a promotional campaign is being fronted by the cute little mutt, seen here, rescued as a stray from the bleak streets of North Wales and adopted by Joanna.

"We were looking for a dog and as soon as we saw George we fell in love with him," she said. “He was a real street urchin but he’s such a little show-off at heart and we thought he would enjoy modelling on the dogwalk to launch the Gladstone range.”  
 
The range offers leads and matching belts for owners as well as the collars, made in English bridle leather. The collars have a curved shape and are backed with soft hide leather for maximum comfort, with buckles, lead clips and D rings in gold. The men’s leather belts are similarly buckled and studded with a gemstone set ‘discreetly’ into the buckle tongue. A matching set sells at £10,000. On their own, the collars start at £2,950.

Joanna thinks this may be a first in putting precious stones on dogs – but in fact there is a long history of owners lavishing ornate collars on their pets. A collection of them may be seen at lovely Leeds Castle in Kent. www.gladstonecollar.com and enquiries@leeds-castle.co.uk

SPY GIZMO TOP BUY FOR CHRISTMAS

Top gizmo gift is this pen, which conceals a hi-tech digital video camera and the world's smallest digital video recorder with super-sensitive hidden microphone.

Looking just like an ordinary pen, and weighing less than 30 grams, it is just the thing for aspiring James Bonds and other Spooks, but will be equally useful for those who find taking notes at meetings a bore. Just lay the pen on the desk and it will record across distances of over 15 feet. The full colour video recorder is said to be staggeringly speedy and the recordings of great clarity. It's the sort of toy, albeit with practical and impressive features, that will delight gizmo gents.

Available online now for the special offer price of £39.99 (inc VAT) for the 2Gb version from www.spodit.co.uk, and the 4Gb price £49.99 (inc VAT). When it does go into the shops, it will be around £59.99 and £69.99 respectively.

GOLDEN OLDIE COLLECTOR'S TREASURE

Gift-wrapping a Wurlitzer jukebox would be difficult enough and fitting it beneath the tree something of a problem, but it would certainly make an unusual Christmas present and help the festivities go with a swing.

Largely responsible for sending the sounds of   Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and host of others around the Western world, the jukebox occupies a special place in collective memories that today’s tiny transistors can never match. Standing around the box, selecting a number and waiting for the music to start was a ritual for a whole generation. Now, it is enjoying renewed popularity and increasing numbers are appearing in clubs and bars.

But the company that provides them, Jukeboxes Direct, also reports increasing demand by private collectors. As official distributors of the Wurlitzer brand, they offer some wonderfully colourful vintage models, dating back to the golden age of jukeboxes in the 1930s, and also a wide range of others, up to modern digital versions that can store thousands of songs. This one, shown, is the Wurlitzer One More Time Bubbler at £4,495.

There are also smaller versions, two thirds the size of the originals. Go to www.wurlitzer.co.uk

NEW STYSTEM FOR OLD SOUNDS

Still on the nostalgia trend, a new product called the Juke-Box but actually a record player has been launched by Pro-ject Audio Systems. 

Capable of playing 33 LPs or 45 singles, this is a high quality player, with electronic speed control and a digital hi-fi amplifier, as well as gold-plated RCA phono sockets for radio or CD player.  It has a host of other up-market features and comes in a stylish polished red or black finish, to retail around the £399 mark.  Available through www.henleydesigns.co.uk 

CAMERAS STILL SUIT PHOTO FANS

One does wonder how traditional cameras continue, with such strong competition from mobile phones and now pens (see top). Yet the big names regularly bring out new models that clearly have appeal to camera buffs and real photographers.

Nikon introduced a collection of four new COOLPIX compact cameras this autumn: the COOLPIX S610, the S610c, the S710 and the S560. These are high-performance designs, to retail from around £180 up to £400. They have an impressive array of features, many of them automatically applied. In good camera shops.