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!)

Oscar Jewelry for Less

My trip down Oscar jewelry memory lane earlier this week kicked my diamond-infused fantasy life into overdrive.

How amazing would it feel to hold that Taylor-Burton 69-carat diamond - let alone pick it out from your own personal jewelry stash and wear it down the Oscar red carpet in a dress to match your eyes?

Or. OK. How great would it be to hold those Angelina Jolie Oscar emeralds in your grubby little hands or walk the red carpet with your own personal set of body guards like Natalie Portman at the Golden Globes earlier this year.

Who doesn't love body guards?

Thankfully, I'm not alone in diamond dreamland. JewelClub is riding the Oscar jewelry fantasy wave like Laird Hamilton on a tsumani - with a whopping collection of (count 'em) 20! Oscar jewelry looks for less on their smashing sample sale site.

They've got real-life alternatives to Liz's Taylor-Burton diamond dream, Angelina's emeralds, Julia's hoops, Natalie's diamond bib neck, Gwenyth's teardrops. They even have glittering ghosts from Oscar's past - like Sharon Stone's diamond drops and Nicole Kidman's "Tom Who?" earrings from 1995!

It's a strong showing of pre-Oscar jewelry fashion to give us a taste of their Oscar sample sale to come - and it's one doozy of a show stopper.

They claim their price points deserve their own gold statue, and I can't disagree. Check out their Oscar Couture Sample Sale here and let me know what Oscar jewel you want for your own collection!

We may not go home with Brad Pitt every night - but, darn it! - we can certainly have earrings that look like they do!

Oscar Jewelry Hall of Fame

It's Oscar Week, and to get the jewelry juices flowing I've collected what I (humbly) think are some of the best Oscar jewelry moments for your gawking pleasure.

As with any list, I'm sure I've missed many of your favorites - so be sure to weigh in with your rants and raves. And no - Bjork's "egg" didn't make the cut.

So...without further ado...


#10 Beyonce

Beyonce was the belle of the ball at the 2005 Oscars in these huge diamond danglers - a trend I think we'll see again on the carpet this year.

#9 Hilary Swank

I really loved the delicacy of Hilary Swank's diamond necklace at the 2000 Oscars - a $250,000 Asprey & Garrard stunner.  This year's Golden Globes copied the sentiment with a bevy of beauties sporting delicate neckwear in lacey silhouettes.

#8 Cher

Any Oscar Top Ten List has to include Cher, right? I'm going with her black Bob Mackie shoulder duster look from 1986 - but there are oh so many others to choose from. Where's the Oscar nod for Burlesque, people?

#7 Nicole Kidman

2011 nominee, Nicole Kidman, has many Oscar triumphs, but I'm going with these yellow gold Indian dream catcher earrings that she paired with that history-making absynthe green Dior dress from 1995. Tom who?

#6 Amy Adams

2009 was a bang-up year for Oscar jewelry, and Amy Adams 'almost' won the night with this gemstone bib necklace from Fred Leighton (see #2 for the night's big jewelry winner).

#5 Michelle Williams

This 19th century diamond necklace from Fred Leighton was the perfect complement to one of my all-time favorite Oscar gowns - the tangerine dream from Vera Wang on Michelle Williams back in 2006. I can't WAIT to see what she'll be wearing this year!

#4 Gwenyth Paltrow

Before she was prancing around with muppets in pink feather dusters, Gwennie made Oscar fashion history in that pale pink Ralph Lauren piece of perfection and a gorgeous 40-carat, $160,000 diamond necklace - given to her by her parents. And the world's G-Pal love/hate relationship was born...


#3 Keira Knightley

Talk about making a statement. This vintage Bulgari collar necklace on Keira Knightley spawned an entire look-alike industry back in 2006. And with good reason, right?

#2 Angelina Jolie

Yeah. Of course. Those emeralds. I couldn't come up with enough adjectives back in 2009 to describe them. They still make my salivary glands go into overdrive.

#1 Elizabeth Taylor

What would we jewelry hounds do without Dame Liz? No one has been able to top her 1970 Oscar jewelry jaw-dropper from Cartier - a 69-carat teardrop rock aptly named the Taylor-Burton diamond that perfectly complemented her dress(!) - an Edith Head creation designed to match her friggin eyes!


Big, deep breath....

Said Ms. Taylor about her little bauble,

"Originally, I wore the diamond as a ring, but even for me it was too big, so we had Cartier design a necklace. I'm still sick that I sold it some years later."

So what will the beautiful people bring us this year? Will Rachel Zoe go bannanas with Anne Hathaway's Oscar style? Will Nicole Kidman bring it or bore us?  Stay tuned...and check back later in the week for my Oscar jewelry predictions!

Oscar Jewelry Fashion - Is Less More?

Jewelry fashion and Oscar - they usually go hand in hand, right? But as I expected, jewelry hounds, there wasn't an Angelina Jolie emerald moment to speak of on the Oscar red carpet this year. My lower jaw didn't drop once, truth be told.

The big trend we jewelry bloggers agreed on appears to be the 'less is more' minimal earring look to complement the statement dress. From Jennifer Lopez in Armani Prive to Sandra Bullock in metallic Marchesa - the A-list worked the 'wow' factor with bejeweled dresses that could only support a small earring or a layered cuff in the ice department.


Sarah Jessica Parker worked Chanel Couture - with built-in diamond necklace bling. Cameron Diaz rocked gold bejeweled Oscar de la Renta with simple circles on the ears. And everyone from nominees Anna Kendrick and Mo'nique to awards season starlets, Diane Kruger and Amanda Seyfried, sported just a splash of diamonds to make their Oscar debut.


(insert rasping gasp for air here)

To make up for the diamond draught, we jewelry hounds had to turn to our gaudy goddess, Mimi, who sported 43 carats of Chopard diamonds on the ears, and the ageless Helen Mirren, who carried 125 Chopard carats around her neck.



The night's big award winners are still unkown, but the jewelry champs in my book are Kate Winslet in a gorgeous diamond pendant necklace and Rachel McAdams in Elie Saab Houte Cuture and statement chandelier earrings. Nicely done.


More jewelry dish tomorrow. But for now? Back to the champagne.

Will the Oscars be a Snorefest?

It's what we jewelry hounds wait for all year - the Oscar red carpet coverage on E!

I love every minute of it - from Guiliana Rancic's inappropriate use of 'honey' with A-listers, dames and sirs alike (Helen Mirren? Run don't walk) to Seacrest's cleavage-staring interviews. I will miss the wild card Kathy Griffin coverage - but I suppose I can wait for the Joan Rivers roundup this year to give me a good guffaw.

But I've gotta tell you, I'm a little worried at the potential for a serious snorefest this year. Avatars are replacing Angelina. There's no Brad/Jen red carpet bump-in to anticipate. And while Mo'Nique and Anna Kendrick are certainly worthy nominees - they just don't generate the excitement of, say, an Anne Hathaway or a Kate Hudson on the red carpet.

Penelope Cruz and Sandra Bullock are both stunners, but we've so 'been there done that' all year with them, I've got to admit - I'm feeling a little bored with both.

So who is left that's going to bust out with the bling this year? What ingenues are going to give us a good Gwynnie moment? Kristen Stewart will be too busy brooding with her black eyeliner. Inglorious Basterds', Diane Kruger, is a possibility - but she doesn't have the A-list star power to make a huge impact like, say a 'Julia' or a 'Nicole' did back in the day.

Perhaps I should be happy with the possibility of the first woman getting Best Director or the adorable Gabourey Sidibe living out her dream - but a jewelry hound needs her diamond drama at the Oscars! I'm afraid this year I might have to double down on the champagne to get the giddys.

What do you all predict? Weigh in!

Don't forget to Tweet with me during the red carpet on Sunday if you're in to multi-tasking! And stay tuned for all the follow-up coverage here and on Jewelry.com all next week.