Royal Wedding Jewelry: Catherine Wears Cartier & Robinson Pelham

The royal wedding jewelry shining from Kate Middleton (now Her Royal Highness Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) was an understated display of elegance, grace and delicate diamonds.

The Tiara:

The subject of MUCH speculation, Kate 'borrowed' the Halo Tiara from The Queen's coffers, which was made by Cartier in 1936. The Queen's father, then the Duke of York, bought the bauble for the Queen Mother, then the Duchess of York (still with me?), who then gave it to her daughter - then Princess Elizabeth - on her 18th birthday.

Set in platinum, the priceless jewel is made from old and baguette-cut diamonds, with the upper part forming a range of lotus flowers and the lower 'zig-zag' part forming a removable piece that can be used as a bandeau.

No word yet on whether or not Catherine gets to keep it for her own collection - or if it's just a loaner. Stay tuned!

The Earrings:

Kate's understated earrings by Robinson Pelham were a gift from her parents - and were specifically designed to match her tiara. Nice touch.

According to Today Show blogger, The Windsor Knot, the earrings are diamond-set stylised oak leaves with a pear-shaped diamond drop and a pavé-set diamond acorn suspended in the centre.

Inspiration for the design comes from the Middleton family's new coat of arms, which includes acorns and oak leaves. Cool.


The Ring:

Kate's wedding band, which ALMOST didn't make it on her ring finger (nice work, Wills) is a rare band of Welsh gold by Wartski, who also crafted the Welsh gold wedding bands for Prince Charles and Camilla.

Prince William famously declined to wear a ring because he 'doesn't have a taste for jewelry'. It's a happy day. I'll leave this as a rare "No comment".

Overall, we witnessed a delicate diamond display that's in keeping with Kate's understated jewelry style. We'll see how long that lasts now that she has access to The Queen's stash!

Bling at Perez Hilton's Blue Ball Birthday Bash

Jewelry sparkled at gossip queen Perez Hilton's 33rd birthday party in LA this weekend, where the blue-themed bash brought out everyone from Dancing With The Stars divas and Real Housewives to Disney starlets and 80s popstars.

In other words? A D-listers dream come true.

What jewelry hound worth their salt doesn't love a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills appearance, right?

Adrienne Maloof Alert! This gazillionairesse has enough in the coffers to create this crazy cart-heavy cuff out her her son's names!

Taylor Armstrong wore this serious blue gemstone statement necklace to go with her perma-smile.

And my favorite BHHW, Kyle Richards, rocked it with this cool winged pendant thing happening. Like!

Other bejeweled divas were 80s chaunteuse, Deborah Gibson, who wore what appeared to be a sapphire and diamond choker and a crazy cuff with her blue sequined mini.

And Disney diva, Selena Gomez, was Perez's personal arm candy in blue jewels that appeared to be painted on.

The "hot mess" highlight was the why-is-she-still-famous? Aubrey O'Day, in a blue Little Red Riding Hood get-up with some strange strands. Huh?

It's never dull, right? Thoughts?

Lindsay Lohan's Jewelry Line Lunch

What would my life be without a Lindsay Lohan jewelry post, right? After 90 days at Betty Ford, Li-lo is on the loose again, and the jewelry buzz is following her like a neglected puppy dog.

But let's all share a moment of silence, shall we, and send out our most positive thoughts that instead of 'misplacing' loaner jewels or 'borrowing' samples from her friends' launch parties, Lindsay's jewelry news will take a more legitimate turn for 2011. 

So far, so good.

Apparently, jeweler Pacal Mouawad (famed for partnering with Nicole Richie on her House of Harlow line, among other stars) lunched with Lohan where they reportedly 'discussed' a jewelry line of their own.

And what did she get for her trouble? How about a 10-carat diamond heart Rosette necklace worth $25,000 smackers? I'd stay off the sauce if I were you, sister.

"Lindsay is looking great, she has a positive attitude, and we are looking forward to an amazing 2011 spending a lot of time together," Mouawad told people.com.

To be continued...

Reset It and Forget It

Resetting diamond jewelry is one of the most cost effective ways to get more use out of those jewelry box lingerers that never get to see the light of day.

Old rings that have been relegated to those dark corners like a diamond you've inherited or a generous gift that well, just isn't your taste - now's the time to hunt them out.

While some folks want to sell their jewelry these days, remember the resale price of a diamond ring is way below the price paid for it. Most people after finding out how much they'll receive decide it's not worth selling, but then have no idea what to do with the ring.

Why not reset it and forget it? One of the most popular ways to reset a diamond ring is either to take out the diamond and set it as a pendant, or reset the diamond with smaller gemstones surrounding it, to give it an entirely different look and feel.

If you have an heirloom the question of to reset or not can be fraught with emotional issues. After all, this ring may have been passed down from generation to generation and to take it out of its originally setting is almost like breaking the chain. If you do decide to reset, then when you talk to your jeweler, find out about having an antique setting that is more to your taste, but still keeping within the era of the original setting. If you do decide to take the resetting plunge, make sure you go to a reputable jeweler that specializes in resetting. Spend time with the jeweler and make sure you're confident that they understand what you're looking for.

A good idea is to have the diamond graded by a professional gemological laboratory such as IGI or GIA. They'll examine the stone and you'll receive a diamond certificate detailing the diamond's properties. That way if any queries arise when you receive the diamond back in it's new setting you can re-check that it is the same stone. Make sure the jeweler insures the stone during the period they have it. If they don't make sure your insurance covers the diamond during this time.

Find out how long it will take to reset the stone - you don't want any nasty surprises. If you're having additional stones in the new setting, make sure they're the quality you want, ask to see a sample of the types of gems of diamonds that will be surrounding the diamond, together with your diamond. Some colors or diamonds reflect in the main stone, making the stone appear duller than it is (and vice-versa, they may bring added brilliance to your gem).

The same applies if you've having it set in gold. Some diamonds appear to have a more pronounced yellow tint when set in yellow gold. White gold or platinum may make the stone appear more colorless.

No matter what you decide, giving your diamonds a facelift is a great way to get more bang for your buck in these trying times. And you have recycling bragging rights you can cart out in front of all your eco-friendly pals. Seems like a win-win to me. Good luck!

Oprah Gives Pink Diamonds to Aussie Audience

And YOU get a pink diamond! And YOU get a pink diamond! And YOU get a pink diamond!..

And I'm getting a headache from hearing about all the crazy schwag these 'Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things' audience members are making out with.

From a $2,500 Philip Stein watch, studded with 58 diamonds; $1,900, 1.17-carat Dana Rebecca earrings, featuring 100 diamonds; $525 Judith Ripka earrings made with canary crystal stones and white sapphire accents and...

A. TRIP. TO. AUSTRALIAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

...these folks are getting more free stuff than Debra Messing at a pre-Oscar gift bag party.

But this latest little freebie for 6,000 folks in Oprah's Australian audience has me really drooling with envy: a necklace featuring a real pink diamond designed in the shape of an 'O' (of course).

It makes sense that Australia's famous diamond exporter, Rio Tinto is in on the action - and because they are the largest supplier of pink diamonds, it makes even more sense that they'd create a style for the Divine Miss O with that coveted stone as the centerpiece.

The AP reports the one-off design uses "Australian colors" and features seven diamonds including a rare pink Argyle diamond mined from its operations in Western Australia's Kimberley region.

And now 6000(!) audience members are going away with one for friggin' free.

What's next? Free cars? Oh, right....

No pics have surfaced of the O-inspired style since the show won't air until later this season, but I'm sure the piece will look something like this:

Or this:

Which reminds me. Circle pendants (a style that Oprah sent off into the jewelry stratosphere back in 2006) are a great, classic way to gift the women on your list this holiday - for romance, friendship, good parenting, rockin' "round" the Christmas tree (sorry) - the look is universally wearable.

And affordable. Circle back to JewelClub for their stash of circle styles - many under $100 (like this one for just over $50!).

And Oprah? If you're listening? I've been a very good girl this year....

Duchess of Windsor's Jewelry Sells Big!

Update: Royal jewelry is all the rage these days. Sotheby's got WAY more than the expected $4.5 million for this highly anticipated sale. How does $12.5 million strike you?  And that stunning panther bracelet went for a whopping $7 million all by itself. Meow!


When it comes to the world of purchasing uber-jewelry, there are jewelry auctions ...and there are Jewelry Auctions.

Sotheby's is holding an event in the latter category this fall when the world can bid on 20 pieces from The Duchess of Windsor's haute couture jewelry collection.

The Duchess, formerly American socialite Wallace Simpson, was the woman behind King Edward the VIII abdicating the British throne back in 1936, creating a royal scandal so huge, Fergie's cornucopia of connundrums looks like chump change.

Thankfully for jewelry lovers, the Duke lavished his beloved with beautiful baubles throughout their lives (he abdicated the throne, not the royal bank account) and commissioned some of the world's most talented jewelry designers to do his bidding.

Here is just a sampling of the stash that Sotheby's expects will bring in upwards of $4.5 million.

This Cartier diamond bracelet is expected to garner a $350,000-450,000 pound pay day.


According to Luxist, Jeanne Toussaint, Cartier's High Jewelry Director, created this realistic onyx and diamond panther bracelet designed in 1952. It's considered one of the best of her "three dimensional "great cat jewels.


Jeanne Toussaint also created this flamingo brooch, decorated with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, citrines, and diamonds. It is listed with an estimate of 1,000,000-1,500,000 pounds ($1,520,000- $2,300,000) - and it's my personal favorite, in case you're doing some early Christmas shopping.


To celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, The Duke commissioned this emerald, ruby and diamond brooch by Cartier that incorporated their initials. This piece is expected to realize 100,000-150,000 pounds ($152,000- $230,000).


The full auction, which includes 16 additional gems from the Windsor collection will take place in London on November 30th.

Which one of the Windsor wonders would you like to take home to your jewelry box?

2010 CMA Awards Jewelry Fashion

With so many leading ladies from Hollywood's A-list littering the 2010 Country Music Awards, like Gwyneth Paltrow (more on her later), Katherine Heigl and Nicole Kidman, I began to wonder if I was covering the right event.

But these looks came 'round, and I was reminded you can never keep a good rhinestone cowgirl down.

So? What did I learn from last night's jewelry hunt?

Country singers love big old gowns. And Carrie Underwood (almost) won the night with her seven(!) costume changes during her co-hosting gig. But one country music crooner wore a getup that put Miss American Idol in her place - everyone's favorite coal miner's daughter, Loretta Lynn.

 

Now that's country music couture!

Jewelry winners were:

Miranda Lambert in Amrapali statement earrings and a series of bangles:

 

Jennifer Nettles in Kimberly McDonald agate-slice earrings:

Taylor Swift in Neil Lane diamond dangle earrings:

 

Katherine Heigl in sapphire button earrings with a starburst pendant from Ryan Ryan

The other big winner for me was Gwyneth Paltrow. Love her or hate her, the woman showed serious chutzpah by taking the CMA stage and singing a great little ditty from her latest film, Country Strong (see the performance video here).

I know there are a gazillion country singer wannabes out there who deserve their chance, so Gwynnie jumping the line is more than a little annoying. But I like her. Despite her 'lifestyle' website, workout videos and way-too-public friendship with Madonna. And that song is totally sing-in-the-shower-worthy. Well played.

Lots to ponder here, jewelry hounds. What do you think of Hollywood invading the country music scene? Did Gwyneth deserve her standing o? Where is Dolly Parton when you need her? Who wore you fav jewelry look? Weigh in!