Modern Jewelry Trends

When choosing jewelry for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, a surprising number of actresses had to ask: what rhymes with orange? Dresses in citrus hues paired with blue gems, diamonds, or yellow gold added a tropical note to the red carpet. Blue dresses too, most often paired with diamonds, added to the Isle-of-Capri summery feeling of the February night. Unlike at the Golden Globes, the style was back to bare necks with big bracelets and earrings accessorizing brightly colored gowns.

Lisa Rinna wore Bochic aquamarine cabochon earrings with diamonds and a LeVian aquamarine ring with chocolate diamonds with her vivid orange dress. In almost the same color dress, Jane Krakowski wore Bochic 22k yellow gold disc earrings with rubies and matching bracelet. (Didn’t their stylists call each other?) Eva Longoria-Parker paired her Jenny Packham tangerine gown with a jeweled neck with H.Stern’s Zephyr 6 carat diamond solitaire earrings. Marisa Tomei wore H.Stern’s Zephyr Diamond Cuff with a dress in a creamy Orange Julius color.

In a blue mood, “Slumdog Millionaire’s” Freida Pinto topped off her soft periwinkle gown with classic Martin Katz 8-carat cushion-cut diamond drop earrings, seven-row diamond bracelet, and a 53-carat diamond bracelet wrapped in her hair. SAG Award winner Kate Winslet, in royal blue, wore 22-carat pear-shaped diamond drop earrings and a 39-carat multi-shape three-row diamond bracelet by Chopard.

Generally the SAG awards are more accurate at predicting winners at the Oscars than the Golden Globes. Does that mean that in addition to an Oscar for Kate, we can expect bright colors, fussy or plunging necklines, lots of big diamond studs, and piled on bracelets on the Academy’s red carpet?

Move over Golden Globes. January’s most influential fashion event was the inauguration. First lady Michelle Obama accessorized her lemongrass-yellow coat and dress ensemble by Isabel Toledo for the swearing-in ceremony with diamond studs. At the inaugural balls, she wore elegant diamond linear earrings and stacked diamond bangle bracelets by Loree Rodkin with her creamy one shoulder dress by Jason Wu. The night before at the “We Are One” Concert at the Lincoln Memorial, she also wore earrings by Loree Rodkin: diamond Quatrefoil chandelier earrings with lotus earwire and black diamond center.

As we reported earlier, Obama wore Loree Rodkin dangle earrings on election night too. Looks like we don’t just have a trend-setting first lady who loves diamond jewelry and wears it well. Looks like we have a new first jeweler too.

At the Golden Globes in January, large diamond bib necklaces were a surprise star of the red carpet. Beyoncé illustrated this trend best in a show-stopping diamond fringe necklace by Lorraine Schwartz. Other stars with statement necklaces included Elizabeth Banks in Lorraine Schwartz, Amy Poehler in Fred Leighton, Christina Applegate in a yellow diamond flower necklace by Lorraine Schwartz, and Susan Sarandon in long diamond chains by Fred Leighton. Marisa Tomei had the most fashion-forward jewelry of the evening: Sevan’s one-of-a-kind “Zeus” necklace and hand-carved quartz and diamond ring. Although most stars still focused on earrings and bracelets, perhaps the tide has finally turned.

The movie Bride Wars didn’t break any box-office records but it did set a new standard for jewelry promotion. The big-screen saga of feuding best-friend brides, starring Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson, featured jewelry by Tiffany & Co. Blue box in hand, Hudson’s character orchestrates the perfect engagement, complete with fiancé on bended knee and the box’s dazzling contents—a five-carat Tiffany Novo diamond engagement ring. Anne Hathaway wears a Tacori blue bridal hairpin created especially for the film with five faceted blue jade petals surrounding a white topaz in sterling silver. The hairpin, a clever “something blue,” is now available to any Tacori retailer by special order.

Alchemy: A Passion for Jewels is an exquisite look into the art of fine jewelry making, through the eyes of famed designer Temple St. Clair. Known for her signature colored gemstone and 18k gold jewelry, Temple St. Clair’s designs have attracted an international and star studded following, including Naomi Watts, Nicole Kidman, Beyonce, and Heidi Klum.

In Alchemy, authored by the designer herself, Temple St. Clair reveals how her love of history, tradition, mythology, literature, nature, and adventure all led her into the jewelry world—from her early summer travels to her studies in Florence, Italy, and beyond.

One of the most interesting early stories is how St. Clair’s mother bought an ancient coin and asked her to commission a local goldsmith to make a piece of jewelry around it. Armed with the coin and a sketch, St. Clair entered the Palazzo dell’Orafo of Florentine goldsmiths, where she first discovered the centuries old art of fine Italian jewelry making. It’s a unique glimpse into St. Clair’s vision for her one-of-a-kind pieces that combine ancient influences, often with Italian inspired craftsmanship, gold work, natural gemstones, talismans, and charms.

The hardcover, 224 pages, was published by Harper Collins this past October. Priced at $49.95 with full color illustrations throughout, Alchemy is a perfect mix of designer inspiration, original creations, jewelry craftsmanship—and, of course, most importantly, a passion for jewels.