Soap Opera Diva Dips Her Toes into Technibond

General Hospital's Jackie Zeman (AKA Bobbi Spencer) will premier on HSN later this week with her new jewelry line, The Spice Collection.

Although she's another soap opera diva like Susan Luci, this collection seems much more like Iman's Global Chic collection except that it's all done in Technibond with real gemstones.

Here's what she had to say about the new line:

"Inspired by cultures around the world, Jacklyn Zeman's vibrant designs tell tales of exotic locales and glamorous destinations. Each hand-selected piece takes you on a spellbinding journey through faraway lands."

If you haven't already, check out this post about the ongoing quality issues with Technibond from Paul Deasy himself that explains why people's experiences are so different.

Today's Blue Plate Specials ... Studly Studs

The HSN TS is a Technibond "Garden of Gems" Textured Pendant with 18" Popcorn Chain. This looks ... how shall I say ... cheap? unattractive? With the exception of the garnet, the gems are washed out and the setting is boring. Perhaps this is my personal bias against most cluster settings or maybe it's just ugly. Who knows?!

(By the way, I have been told by reliable sources that I am a being a bit of a b-i-t-c-h right now due to some crazy PMS so that could be playing into my nasty reviews. Although it's not like they don't deserve it anyway, right???)

I suppose the chain looks decent ... See, I can be play nice! Sometimes. Whatever. I'll just have to go relax in HSN's new Elle Fall Fashion Lounge. There seems to be a lot of room to spread out. Those skinny models don't take up any space at all!

There is a $5 off coupon code for Signature A Club. Maybe this will help Adrienne gain some ground on Joan!

The QVC TSV is a Slatkin & Co. Set of 3 Ceramic Harvest Figural Candles. These are cute, but not fifty dollars worth of cute! I haven't watched the presentations yet, but I'm guessing that there has been talk of breaking this up into three separate presents--hey, you gotta get your kid's new teacher something nice or she won't like him, right?

Good Lord, I am in a bit of a snit today. However, there are lots of Easy Pay offers today. Check them out here.

The ShopNBC OTV is a Sterling Silver / Platinum Brilliante Simulated Diamond Stud Earring Set. Lisa Mason will be sooo jealous of the ShopNBC hosts getting to say "stud" all day will absolute impunity! Not just one stud, but three studs, baby. Poor Lisa.

Anywho, these three studs need to hit the gym or something. They look very fake and even though I have a undying love for fake diamonds, I don't want them to actually look fake. These look like those crystal earrings that come in a set for little girls down at the Walmart.

Sorry, stud.

When I was watching last night, I happened to catch a new line called Sophisticated Steel. I love steel jewelry! And now that the price of gold has skyrocketed, everyone else seems to be jumping on board. I'm sad to say that they were super stingy with the Value Pays though. Check it out here.

Blue Plate Special Daily Round Up ... It's EVIL PAY DAY!!!

Woot! Woot! I loooooooooooooove 5 Evil Pay Day! I know that it's not really a sale, but it feels like a sale. What can I say, I'm a sucker. I have no idea what I'm going to get. Ugh! I always do this. I always crack under the pressure. I just know that they are going to present something tomorrow and I'm just going to kick myself for not thinking to get it today. Pressure ... pressure ... I'm like a Cook's Essentials pressure cooker!

The official QVC TSV is a 3-piece Supersmile kit ... but who cares? I mean really, it's evil pay day, chickadess! However, along with the Supersmile, there's a page full of other auto-delivery (AD) items that you can order and lock in the 5 evil pays--Dr. Denese, BE, Philosophy, Ojon. So if you need to stock up, now's the time.

Queen Bea needs to sit down and elevate her feet and try to get some air.

HSN has this hideous excuse for a Technibond ring as their TS. I like Techinbond, I really do. Gold is like $1000 per troy ounce or something ridiculously high like that, so buying solid gold jewelry is an investment (like the ShopNBC OTV today).

I like Technibond best when it's just big, bold gold, like omegas and cuffs. I do not like ugly, drill-bit diamond, and nasty gemstones that belong in the bottom of a fish tank--not to mention the overall hideousness of the design. Yuck. Sorry, but this is bad.

BTW, did you read what Paul Deasy had to say about Technibond now that he's no longer under HSN's thumb? Check it out here.

ShopNBC has this beautiful and very expensive ruby necklace. This is niiiiiiiiiiiiiice, but not gonna happen ... I just can't justify $1500 for a necklace. but don't those rubies just look juicy?

Don't forget free shipping on the All Stars products!

BTW, they are now offering a big selection of fragrances ... even Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely. She's just not loyal to HSN at all. What was I thinking? She won't even show up to sell her own products

Paul Deasy Spills the Beans about Technibond!

Technibond. That word will cause fights to break out. It's a loaded word in certain circles. The best deal in gold jewelry or the biggest bunch of bubble-gum-machine-crap ever manufactured. Which is it???

Paul Deasy has spilled the beans on what really happened with the controversial line:

I was at HSN when technibond was originally launched. There have been many changes over the years. The first product was 18kt over sterling silver with a very thin polymer coating over top of that. This made it hypo-allergenic and helped to prevent the gold from coming off. This also is why the original product had a lifetime guarantee. Then somebody in their infinite wisdom decided to save money and not put the coating on. The resulting disaster nearly killed the product line. Then they fixed the problem for a couple of years. When I returned to HSN, they changed the formulation again and switched to 14kt gold over sterling silver. They also discontinued the guarantee. The bottom line? I figure that over time with wear the gold may begin to come off. That being said, I think for the price it is a pretty good value, especially with the cost of gold today. If you want something with a bit more gold over silver, always look for something classified as vermeil. That has a minimum standard (120 mils of gold over silver) and should last a bit longer.

And what does he think of QVC's plated jewelry lines?

I always liked the epiphany collection. Platinum clad over silver makes lots of sense to me, as far as helping anti tarnish. The only downside there, is when you are coating with platinum you can't size rings, but that is a very minor point. I like the veronese, but I admit I am not up to speed on what is the thickness of 18kt over the silver. I can find out, though, as I know very well the person who brought it to QVC.

So, in reality, EVERYONE WAS RIGHT! It really was that good and it really did get that bad. I just wish that these shopping channels would get it through their collective thick skulls that their customers aren't as dumb as they'd like to think they are (or wish they were anyway).

ETA: Click here to find out what Paul and Judy are up to now!