2011 Oscar Jewelry Roundup: The Trends & Top Ten from Tinseltown

Oscar jewelry fashion at the 2011 Academy Awards was a smattering of surprises paired with the usual classic diamond deluge. Fasten your seatbelts, jewelry hounds. Here's my glittering recap to the red carpet Super Bowl. 

Red-hued frocks with elegant diamond looks were a big trend (Anne Hathaway, Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Hudson), along with emerald jewels (Amy Adams, Reese Witherspoon, Annette Bening), knock-out necklaces (Nicole Kidman, Helen Mirren), and colorful earrings in surprising silhouettes (Marisa Tomei, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman).

While there was a very real fear that the 'less is more' trend would dominate the night - (Michelle Williams, Mandy Moore and Jennifer Lawrence all opted for minimal jewels - among many others), Oscar always brings out the best in some of our go-to fashion divas.

Here are my top ten looks of the night, but be sure to visit Jewelry.com on Facebook for my complete album with rants and raves capturing all the Oscar looks. And better yet? Check in with JewelClub Monday morning to get all the hot 2011 Oscar jewels at prices that don't need their own body guard.


1. Anne Hathaway Oscar Jewelry

Some might say Tiffany diamonds and a red dress are safe Oscar bets. I say - that's the kind of red carpet fashion we jewelry hounds are looking for (and dare I say) expect from the A-list. And Annie's jewelry looks just kept on coming throughout the show (I'll be tracking down pics and credits for all - so stay tuned!)

2. Nicole Kidman Oscar Jewelry

How can you make a stunning 150-carat Fred Leighton diamond necklace look even more beautiful? Put it on Nicole Kidman and have it DRAPE DOWN HER BACK! Win!

3. Marisa Tomei Oscar Jewelry

Van Cleef & Arpels is responsible for these sapphire, diamond and emerald statement stunners. And her Charles James dress from 1950 almost made Tim Gunn hyperventilate, bless his heart. She's never looked better.

4. Natalie Portman Oscar Jewelry

The sensational Live Twitter Chat gang (some of the best minds in jewelry and fashion participated - click here for more!) were either in LOVE with these Tiffany ruby tassels or thought them to be, um, pedestrian. I love the pomegranate color - not the silhouette so much. It just wasn't the knock-out moment the belle of the Oscar ball needed to bring (a la Gwyneth in Cathy Waterman and Ralph Lauren when she won back in the day).

5. Gwyneth Paltrow Oscar Jewelry

Speaking of G-Pal - only she could pull off this Calvin Klein silvery sensation of a dress paired with these unique Louis Vuitton gemstone (bird?) earrings from their L’Ame du Voyage collection. A bold choice and a big win!

6. Helen Mirren Oscar Jewelry

Dame Mirren reigned over the red carpet in a pearl, diamond and platinum necklace from 1907 and a diamond bracelet from Cartier’s Archive Museum Collection. This woman always looks lovely - although the length of her necklace is a bit long here for my taste.

7. Reese Witherspoon Oscar Jewelry

This year's Angelina Jolie-emerald-earring copycat award goes to...Reese Witherspoon, who looked lovely in 35-carat emerald drops by Neil Lane (her jewelry totaled $1 million). Annette Bening? You come in second place...

8. Jennifer Hudson Oscar Jewelry

Jaws dropped when this dream girl stepped on the red carpet in a 'tangerine/red' Versace number and Neil Lane diamonds. And I am telling you. You don't have to go anywhere, sister.

9. Mandy Moore Oscar Jewelry

The 'less is more' win of the night for me went to this pretty diamond cluster earring on Mandy Moore. The overall look is the perfect example of how to wear jewelry with a sparkly dress. Just lovely.

10. Amy Adams Oscar Jewelry
 

Such a bold choice to wear navy, no neck line and this Cartier emerald and diamond wrap necklace and a 30.75-carat carved emerald and diamond bracelet-watch worth $1.025 million. Everyone is talking about her jewelry - despite the fact that it belonged with a different ensemble.

Whew! So what do you guys think of my Top Ten Oscar jewels for 2011? Who did I miss? Weigh in - and be sure to double back tomorrow for my 'after party' jewelry gawk-fest. Hoping for an Angelina sighting at the Vanity Fair party. Stay tuned!

(By request, a close-up of Amy Adams' Cartier wrist bling. Wow!)

Emerald: May’s Symbol of Spring

If April birthday girls have it best with the diamond as their designated birthstone, May certainly comes in a close second.

The emerald is May’s birthstone, and if you’ve been following the red carpet the past few years, you’ll notice stars like Angelina Jolie and Julianne Moore are making us all green with envy as they bring the bauble back into the spotlight.

Emerald is a green variety of the mineral, beryl, and has been prized for thousands of years for its lush green hues and rare beauty. Throughout the ancient world, emerald symbolized eternal hope, rebirth and the arrival of spring - and some cultures believed the gem rewarded its owners with love, intelligence and eloquence.

The ancients ascribed numerous magical and mystical properties to this precious green gem. In ancient Rome, for example, emeralds were believed to have a soothing effect on the soul. Modern scientists have since shown this myth to have some basis in fact: tests indicate that the human eye is more sensitive to green than any other color.

Middle Age seers used emeralds to foretell the future, as well as to ward off evil spirits and cure ailments ranging from bad eyesight to infertility. The stone was also said to improve memory and bring great wealth to its wearer.

Derived from the Latin word for green, "smaragdus", emerald is also the traditional gift of choice for couples celebrating their 20th and 35th wedding anniversaries.

The finest emeralds have traditionally come from Colombia; both the Incas and Aztecs mined rich emerald deposits in the rugged Andes Mountains. But Russia's Ural Mountains also have produced top-quality gems. Brazil is by far the world's largest producer of emerald, with a wide range of sizes and quality.

Emerald's precious green color is caused by small amounts of chromium and enhanced by traces of iron. Emeralds come in a variety of light and dark shades - often with subtle background hues of other colors like yellow, blue, brown or gray. Generally, the purer and richer the green, the more valuable the emerald.

The gem ranks 7.5-8 on the Mohs hardness scale. This means that emerald, while relatively hard, can still be scratched, chipped or split fairly easily. Most emeralds have numerous flaws, or "inclusions", which weaken their structure. Flawless emeralds are exceptionally rare, and therefore command great prices (in some instances, higher than diamonds).

Take that April!

Visit Jewelry.com for a bevy of birthstone bling – including hundreds of emerald styles for your favorite May birthday girl. And be sure to watch their Daily jewelry giveaway for your chance to nab one - for free!

Bernie Madoff Jewelry On The Block

Diamonds, emeralds, pearls and Rolex watches are all being auctioned this weekend in New York, which wouldn't really be news except for the small fact that they all belonged to disgraced billionaire and all-around scumbag, Bernie Madoff.



The auction will feature some 200 items, including a pair of Victorian-era diamond earrings ($20,000 est.), an Edwardian-era diamond and emerald bracelet, a 123-inch strand necklace of Baroque Akoya pearls, and various pricey watches, golf clubs, mink coats, cuff links and the like.

The question remains: Who would want to own this stuff? (The karma...the karma).

Auctioneers hope to bring in well above the $500,000 total which is the sum of the low-estimate of each item, with proceeds going to help the victims of the massive ponzi scheme.


Seems like a drop in the bucket, but here's hoping. Would you guys buy the Madoff loot if you could? Weigh in!

Angelina’s Oscar Emeralds…on Nicky Hilton?

Jewelry hounds, I need your peepers. Is it me or is Nicky Hilton wearing THE SAME emerald earrings that Angelina Jolie made famous at the Oscars this year? The horror!

The giant teardrop-sized stunners are cut in the same shape as Angelina’s green gems, but I quite simply can’t imagine anyone who would want to trod that same hallowed jewelry ground. Especially someone low-key like Paris’s younger sib.

Hilton was walking the red carpet of sister Paris’s narcissistic, I mean, self-titled documentary, Paris, not France last week when the emeralds made their appearance.

It is possible that Lorraine Schwartz accessorized both Angelina and Nicky with the same emeralds, but any stylist worth their salt would surely know that repeating a history-making jewelry moment – and one made by Angelina Jolie no less – is anything but a wise choice in today's shark-infested fashion waters.

Mon Dieu!

What do you guys think? Are they the same earrings? Or are they look-alikes? Regardless, should she have steered clear of the fashion faux-pas or are the emerald earrings fair game for anyone who wants to be a…well..wannabe?

Class With the Countess Takes Flight

Gold hoops, diamond studs and an unfortunate bra incident were the fashion highlights when the New York Housewives stepped out to support one of their own this week.

Housewife no more, LuAnn de Lesseps, celebrated the release of her Miss Manners book, Class with the Countess, in New York’s meatpacking district, and everyone but the legally challenged Kelly Bensimon came out to show their support.

And support is what she must really need right now after her surprise split from her husband of 16 years (aka “The Count”) earlier this year.

According to a recent People magazine interview, Luann admits the split has been difficult – especially now that her book is hitting shelves.

“When I wrote the book I felt very secure,” says de Lesseps. “And that’s totally changed.”

The book, which is dedicated to her husband, contains a chapter titled “How to Get a Man to Stay in Love.” Yikes.

So why didn’t her own tips work?

“You can try all you want,” de Lesseps responds, “but if you’re not getting reciprocation from the other person, it’s not your fault.”

Another unfortunate development was fellow housewife, Jill Zarin’s fashion choice for the event. Known for bringing the gasp back to gaudy, Zarin’s usually over-the-top fabric choices are the stuff of legend. This time, she misfired with the dreaded white bra under a mesh top move.

Oh, Jill.

But costar and celebrity chef, Bethanny Frankel, brought out the glam in a diamond collared little black dress with icy studs and the cutest pumps. And Broolynite, Alex McCord, looked lovely in her fringe dress and gold hoops.

The Countess channeled her inner Angelina with an emerald cocktail ring to go with her simple black number, and even brought out her commoner mother to take part in the festivities.

You have to hand it to her – she might cringe when the help doesn't address her properly, but she knows how rock an outfit.

Emeralds, Oscar and Angelina Jolie

I'm still sifting through the glittering jewelry looks from last night's Oscar extravaganza, but I'd like to just take a moment to revel in the beauty of Angelina Jolie's shocking Colombian emerald jewelry. If the jewels, the Oscar nomination, the front row seats and the arm candy wasn't enough to put Jennifer Aniston over the edge last night, I don't know what will.

While I am admittedly a card carrying member of Team Aniston, the quiet elegance of Angelina's black Elie Saab gown was perfectly complimented by her Lorraine Schwartz 115 carat emerald teardrop earrings and her silver dollar-sized 65 carat right hand ring. Bravo.
























Despite America's wish for a more dramatic Jen-Angie showdown, it appeared as if the main characters in our favorite media-contructed love triangle weathered the awkward Oscar storm well. Jennifer got through her tepid animation schtick right in front of the stoic couple without stumbling, and Brad and Angie mastered their "I'm so interested. No. Really." for her benefit.

But the emeralds, people. I'm thinking those green Colombian beauties will go down forever as one of Oscar's best jewelry moments. Am I wrong here? Have Angelina's wiccan ways seduced me over to the dark side? Who do you think won the showdown last night?

And stay tuned for more Oscar jewelry gabbing from the red carpet to the glittering after parties. The Amy Adams gemstone lobster bib look has me on the fence. Totally glam or unfortunately gaudy?