Jewelry Design: A Taste for Diamond Drop Earrings, and Unusual Ideas -
April.2003
While many of the jewelry designers hoping for plumb product placement on
Oscars celebrities went home disappointed after a cancelled Red Carpet, starlets
at the awards ceremony nevertheless chose diamond jewelry--albeit less
dramatically than in past years.
The product of choice was--without question--diamond chandelier earrings.
Adorned with dangling briolettes--smaller than past years' eye-popping
stones--the earrings were a statement on their own and many celebrities opted
out of necklaces, bracelets and rings.
The style is romantic and feminine--a continuation of spring fashion and the
on-going taste for dropping or dangling silhouettes.
Earlier shows this year also proved that the drop style ear--primarily with
small briolette stones--is still the rage, and another celebrity-driven fashion,
fancy colored diamonds, are also something to take notice of.
While the fascination with last year's brown and black diamond jewelry seems
to have waned--with champagne and cognac-colored stones used only as pave
accents and black diamonds virtually non-existent in 2003 collections--the
styles has helped pave the way for other "colors" in diamond jewelry.
In response to the famous pink, heart-shaped diamond engagement ring that Ben
Affleck gave to style maven Jennifer Lopez late last year, for example, pink
diamond jewelry is making a splash among designers. With large pink stones being
price-prohibitive for many, pink melee is being used in pave pieces adorned with
white diamonds. Another trend--a spinoff of the on-going taste for three-stone
styles--features small pinks as side stones to larger white oval center stones.
Among the popular shapes for stones this season are those ovals, along with
pears--which fit in nicely with "drop" style earrings and necklaces.
In a nod to both fashion's latest "retro" influence--Art Deco
designs--geometric shapes are also important this year. Along with the
ever-popular round stones, and the ever-growing taste for princess and emerald
cuts, jewelry designers are favoring other fancy shapes--from triangular
trillions to unusual cuts--like square pyramid-inspired cuts.
Nostalgic cuts--Asscher and rose cuts, or cushion--for example, are also a
fashion statement as a sign of the times, offering the pop of a diamond with the
brilliance of the more faceted modern stones. v
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