Piaget Prez Larry Boland, was in from the Big Apple, displaying the firm's Red Carpet collection of watches and jewels at Neiman Marcus Thursday, including two diamond watches worth close to $2 million. Surprisingly, they were both for men. The $1.1 million watch's dial and case has 678 diamonds totaling 7.4 carats. The band contains 628 diamonds totaling 37.6 carats. The second watch is also covered with sparklers and can be yours for just $825,000. They can be seen by appointment through tomorrow. The collection was shown to invited guests Thursday. Justine Miguel modeled jewelry as Sharene Boulos played harp. Guests sipped wine and nibbled on pupus ...

...”;Stories of Aloha: Homegrown Treasures of Hawai'i”; is a book about Aloha Airlines, its employees, and the individuals and mom-and-pop businesses featured in its in-flight magazine, “;Spirit of Aloha.”; The 140 stories and essays were culled from hundreds written by Jocelyn Fujii, whose work appeared in every issue of the magazine from 1985 to 2008. The 264-page soft-cover book is published by Hula Moon Press. It includes a foreward by Richard Chamberlain and photography by Brett Uprichard. It will be released Oct. 3, at Ala Moana Center's Barnes & Noble, priced at $19.95. Part of the proceeds from book sales will go to the Lokahi for Aloha Financial Assistance Fund for former Aloha Airlines employees. At the Oct. 3 book unveiling event, B&N is donating a percentage of all sales in the store that day to the fund. This includes sales of CDs, coffee bar items and other books. Nice gesture of aloha ...

Bumped into former Hilton Hawaiian Village G.M. Noel Trainor the other day with his golfing family — wife, Lisa, daughter Leimomi, 19, a Stanford coed, and daughter Leimana, 12, a Kamehameha student. Noel retired from HHV in early 2008 after 25 years, 15 as the general manager. He is still much involved with the visitor industry and his favorite charities. He heads Trainor Consulting, specializing in business solutions for Hawaii's hospitality industry. He has clients here and on the mainland. “;Everyone is looking for ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs without throwing out quality and service,”; said Noel, who has plenty of expertise in that area. He also continues to be involved with the Foodbank, Waikiki Community Center, the YWCA and the American Heart Association. He works with the UH Foundation raising funds for a culinary institute, which will be a part of Kapiolani Community College ...

...Kick Start Karate, a program that keeps at-risk kids out of trouble, is holding its fundraiser Sept. 6 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Richard and Sooz Mirikitani's Bayer Estate. The event offers loads of good food from Alan Wong's, Roy's, Alanzo's and Sam Choy's; plenty of beverages; and a silent auction. Former Police Chief Lee Donohue is the big gun behind Kick Start. Kick Start has helped 800 students in its 14 years and provided college and trade school scholarships for some of them. A donation of $150 gives you entry to the beachfront setting. Call Leanne Williams at 286-8831 for tickets and more info ...

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Ben Wood, who sold the Star-Bulletin on Honolulu streets in World War II, writes of people, places and things Saturdays. E-mail him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).