the pleasure is back: August 2010

2010 Emmy Awards Jewelry Round-up

Jewelry fashion at the 2010 Emmy Awards was an eclectic mix of surprising statements and safe bets. Chandelier earrings, big necklaces and crazy cuffs mixed with (snore) diamond studs, bare necks and lots and lots of basic black. Thankfully, I had my friend, Veuve Clicquot, with me to even out the ups and downs.

BUT - I wasn't hurled into a red carpet funk, like I was at the barren bling-scape at this year's Oscars. And I have Lorraine Schwartz to thank. As you'll see, she was responsible for most of my favorite 'lower-jaw-drop' moments last night.

(And Jimmy Fallon's Glee-inspired Bruce Springsteen opening number made me want to give up jewelry blogging forever for a life of song.)

The Recap:

Kim Kardashian paired her bejeweled Grecian goddess of a Marchesa gown with an 80-carat (!) Lorraine Schwartz cuff in both white and champagne diamonds that kicked a slow-starting red carpet into high gear.

And then Lea Michele came on the scene in a ruffled navy Oscar de la Renta fantasy dress and a stunning diamond mesh statement necklace with that 'blackened metal' look that's apparently all the rage this season. Glee!!!!! And we have Ms. Schwartz to thank again.

Eva Longoria Parker and Julia Louis-Dreyfus sparkled in big earring statements from Loren Jewels (rubies) and Irene Neuwirth (chrysophase and diamonds), respectively.

But wait. Just when you thought the statement necklace was a sparkling Lea Michele mirage only to slink back to our 2009 red carpet roundups - enter: Heidi Klum in all legs and diamond and ruby neck candy by (you guessed it!) Queen Lorraine. Big win!

Yellow gold was a 'trend-lette' last night, with Glee's Jayma Mays in Neil Lane stunners and Modern Family's Sofia Vergara in a head-to-toe gold look with a dress by Carolina Herrera and jewels by (drumroll....) Lorraine Schwartz!

As were red gemstones - like this 60-carat rubellite and diamond ring by Ofira on Kyra Sedgwick (in addition to all the ruby looks mentioned above).

January Jones walked the line with me in the dress department (a daring cobalt blue Versace) but her bed-head hair style hid 10.12 carat Cartier diamond stud earrings worth $1.2 million (the horror!) and did nothing to make her avant-garde garment choice work.

And speaking of 'find the diamonds' chic - Christina Hendricks (in another trend-lette - purple), Julianna Margulies, and Julie Bowen walked the Emmy red carpet with nary a jewel to the naked eye. C'mon, ladies!

So all in all, there were some colorful, daring moves that outshined the 'play it safe' crowd at this year's Emmy-fest. I am missing many of your favorites, I'm sure (Tina Fey? Anna Paquin? Betty White?) - so weigh in with your comments and questions!

And if you want a fun jewelry romp through the Twitter-sphere, check out my live tweet at #emmyjewelry last night with great 'tramps like me' @jenniferheebner, @jessicawalden, @Michelle_Orman, @AGTA_Spectrum, @gemgossip, @JulReDesigns, @quinsultant, @Treflebijoux, @Cocoabebe and MANY more!

Royal Wedding Round-up

The diamond tiara se t is out and about again - this time at the royal wedding of Prince Nikolaos of Greece to longtime love, Miss Tatiana Blatnik (an event planner for Diane von Furstenberg).

While the bride was the only one with a tiara to triumph (check out Jewelry.com for details), the usual suspects showed up in their summer best.

Who is your favorite royal?

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden:

Princess Letizia of Spain:

Queen Sofia of Spain:

Princess Madeleine of Sweden:

Queen Margrethe of Denmark

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark:

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent:

Infanta Elena of Spain:

Pearl Jewelry 101

From Coco Chanel to Michelle Obama, women have always considered pearl jewelry a must-have addition to their jewelry collections.

Ever wondered how those oysters manage to create such a shiny little miracle? Or what about the five most important factors to consider when buying pearls?

Here is a pearl primer from my sugar momma, Jewelry.com, that tells you all the pearls of wisdom you'll ever need to know! Enjoy!

Pearl Jewelry 101:

Pearl, the birthstone for June, is among the most timeless, classic and treasured of all gems. Throughout history, pearls have been associated with wisdom, wealth, purity, romance and mystery. The ancient Egyptians were buried with them. In Rome, pearls were considered the ultimate symbol of wealth and status. The Greeks prized them for their beauty and association with love and marriage. Medieval knights wore them in battle as a talisman against injury. And during the Renaissance, some European countries banned all but nobility from the right to wear them.

It's hard to believe that such a luscious, beautiful gem comes from such humble origins. A natural pearl starts out as a grain of sand or microscopic worm that works its way into an oyster and cannot be expelled. To protect its soft body from this irritant, the oyster secretes a smooth, hard crystalline substance called nacre. Layer upon layer of nacre coats the foreign object and hardens, ultimately forming a pearl. In general, the thicker the nacre, the richer the 'glow' of the pearl - which can greatly enhance its value.

Although early pearl gathering depended on divers braving the oceans' depths to retrieve these treasures, the vast majority of pearls today are grown, or cultured, on pearl farms by surgically inserting a small shell bead, or nucleus, into the mantle of an oyster.

Even though pearls are harvested en masse on pearl farms, producing a quality pearl is an extremely rare event. It is estimated that half of all nucleated oysters do not survive - and of those that do, only 20% bear marketable pearls.

When shopping for pearls, the five factors that determine value are luster (surface brilliance); surface cleanliness (absence of spots, bumps or cracks); shape (generally, the rounder the pearl, the higher its value); color (pearls come in virtually every hue of the rainbow, and a few others, too); and size (the average pearl sold is 7-7.5 millimeters, but these gems can be as small as 1 millimeter or as large as 20 millimeters).

Because pearls are soft, ranking only 2.5-4.5 on the Mohs scale for hardness, they require special care. Natural oils from the skin, as well as hair spray, lotions and cosmetics, can dull their luster. Like other jewelry, they should be cleaned with a soft damp cloth and stored in cloth or cotton away from other jewelry to prevent scratching. Also, avoid allowing your pearl to come in contact with harsh chemicals, which can erode its surface. And if worn frequently, pearl necklaces should be brought to a jeweler once a year for re-stringing to prevent strand breakage.

Bone Chilling Jewelry

Is it me? Or is the jewelry world getting a little macabre these days? From Jaws jewelry to creepy crawly couture, designers are letting go of the Cinderella diamond fairy tale and are embracing Freddy Krueger fashion instead.

Case in point? Bone jewelry.

Blogger Nicole Keating from W Magazine spotted this crazy cuff designed by Turkish jewelry designer, Alp Sagnak aptly named, "The Bone Bracelet". He used a dozen oppossum tibia and fibula bones, which he says "in Turkish are unique because they are the only bones with two joints."

Throw in oxidized silver, 24-karat gold, rubies and diamonds and you have a $10,500 bone chiller for the perfect goth goddess to grab for their collection.

But Sagnak isn't the only 'bone collector' out there. Trend Hunter features designs from the "Churchyard Human Bone Collection" made from human teeth, wrist bones - even bones from the human foot!

I don't know about you, but I'm not really interested in accessorizing with poor Mary's metatarsals (rest her soul). Ew.

What star do you think is the most likely to bust out with bone bling on the red carpet? Maybe True Blood's vampire queen, Evan Rachel Wood? Johnny Depp in collar bone cuff links?

Live Tweet the Emmy Red Carpet

It's been a long, hot summer - and FINALLY an awards show is on the calendar this Sunday.

The 62nd Prime Time Emmy awards will bring out television's brightest stars and (hopefully) blingiest baubles. With Mad Men mavens, True Blood vixens, Glee gals... and Ryan Seacrest on the agenda, what's not to love?

So join me on Twitter with the tag #emmyjewelry starting from the E! red carpet telecast all the way to the starting bell. Don't make me sit through Ryan and Guiliana's schtick alone, tweeple!

Anna Paquin's Wedding Ring Revealed!

Sookie Stackhouse (aka Anna Paquin) said 'I do' to her favorite vampire, Stephen 'SSSSooookie No!" Moyer this weekend in a Malibu wedding fit for all creatures alive and undead.

Her wedding ring was spotted by the paps today as she flitted about town running errands with her mom. The vintage style was custom-made by jeweler Cathy Waterman, who also designed Moyer's simple wedding band (spotted here while he was skateboarding in LA).

Vampires skateboard?

Vintage diamond engagement rings must be popular with the blood-thirsty set. This vintage style was designed by Twilight author, Stephanie Meyer, as a replica of the ring Edward gives to Bella in the series.

To get a live glimpse of Anna's rocks, the happy couple will be presenting at the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Sunday with True Blood costar Alexander Skarsgard. (Come tweet with me and a bunch of other fab jewelry bloggers during the red carpet shenanigans - using #emmyjewelry hashtag)

Here's hoping they all come out like this!

Jewelry Trend Alert: Bug Jewelry

Fall jewelry trends this year are full of creative wiggle room for the accessory-obsessed like yours truly. We've already covered the statement ring (like this one on Drew Barrymore at her Going The Distance movie premiere):

Another must-have look for the season involves all things creepy and crawly - insect jewelry. Call it Kafka couture, if you will.

New York Magazine featured Sea of Shoes' new funky beetle-inspired jewelry this week, and JCK Magazine reports jewelry designers at the Feninjer Fair in Brazil are showing everything from green and blue gemstone butterflies to styles incorporating beetle wings.