The jewels of the 2013 Golden Globes

Oh my, it was almost earring overload on the red carpet for the 2013 Golden Globe Awards!

There are so many to get through, I'll start immediately - in no particular order....  firstly, at the top of the page is Julianne Moore who went with vintage Bulgari diamonds. Her dress and hair matched the jewels dated to 1967.  Very retro-glamour!

Alyssa Milano in large turquoise drop earrings.

 Amy Poehler in a 83 carat diamond lariat by Chopard

Amy Adams in Tiffany diamond earrings worth a cool $280,000

Anna Gunn wearing Irene Neuwirth's pin coral and Mexican fire opal earrings

Debra Messing in huge triple drop earrings of rock crystal quartz and diamond earrings by Samira.

Carla Gugino donned $28,000 multi coloured rose cut diamond earrings by Bavna.

 

Connie Britton wore a stack of diamond studded bracelets totalling over 100carats by Lorraine Schwartz.

Emily Blunt also wore Lorraine Schwartz - her earrings were made with ruby, pink sapphire and diamonds.

Glen Close wore a playful pair of emerald, blue sapphire and diamond earrings.

Hayden Panettiere went minimalist but had a nice set of stacking bracelets.

Halle Berry also went minimalist with these frame earrings that do include a little diamond or two.  But they do suit her face, if a little casual.

Heidi Klum went all out in multi coloured diamond earrings in yellow gold by Lorraine Schwartz.

Jane Lynch wore Ofira diamond and ruby studded futuristic styled drops.

Jennifer Garner went for big shiny gold and diamond drops.  A little 80s I think?

Jennifer Lopez wore diamond studded drops in yellow gold by Le Vian.  She also wore numerous "chocolate and vanilla" diamond studded rings to go with her clinging lace dress.

Jessica Alba wore what must have been the most expensive piece of jewellery on the night.  The necklace "Mrs Winston" by Harry Winston is worth a cool $5.8 million.  I believe she went down the red carpet with a security guard.

Jessica Chastain also wore Harry Winston diamonds.

Julie Bowen in Bavna peach moonstone and rose cut diamond earrings.

Kelly Osborne wore gorgeous big emerald and diamond drops by Jacob & Co.  They kind of go with her purple hair :)

Katharine McPhee went for elegant linear drops of onyx, diamond and platinum by Neil Lane.

Megan Fox was another to wear the soft pink tones of coral.  This pair of earrings by Lorraine Schawartz also featured rubies.

Naomi Watts went old-world glamour and her deco lavender jade and ruby earrings were by Lorraine Schwartz. 

 Michelle Dockery went for Bulgari emerald and diamond earrings.

Olivia Munn wore a Chopard diamond collar and small drop earrings.

Rosario Dawson looked lovely in lavender jade and diamond earrings by Lorraine Schwartz.

Sally Field wore diamonds.  Trade sources haven't identified who they were from - perhaps they're actually her own!

Salma Hayek wore big beautiful blue-green Paraiba tourmaline cabachon and diamond earrings by Martin Katz that added a wonderful pop of colour against her dark hair and all black ensemble.

Taylor Swift looking serious in her Lorraine Schwartz diamond and ruby earrings.  Perhaps they were a little heavy!?

Shaun Robinson also went for some colour in her earrings.  These Abellan earrings are a mix of London blue topaz, ruby, turquoise, pink tourmaline, amethyst and diamonds.

Savannah Guthrie wore estate jade and diamond earrings by Fred Leighton.

Zooey Deschanel stood out in a sea of glittering stones with her big, bold pearls.  Such a classic look and it still looks great.

And lastly, Sarah Paulson wore Lorraine Schwartz diamond fan drop earrings.

There were a multitude of diamond studs and small diamond drops, but we've seen those before!

So, were any of these stand outs for you?  Which would you like to wear ... or own!?

Till next,
Annette :)

Red Carpet Jewels - Critics' Choice Awards 2013

It's Awards time again, which means lots of glittering jewels are hitting the red carpet and their photos being splashed across the web.

The traditional kick off to the red carpet season is the Critics' Choice Awards and this year has proved no exception.   Whilst there were a few bangles, a few rings and a couple of pendant necklaces, earrings swept the board again - from studs and smaller drops to amazing statement earrings.   Diamonds of course played their part as they do each year, but traditionally "semi-precious" and lesser known gems are starting to make more and more appearances, which I personally love to see.

Here are some highlights from the red carpet....

Naomi Watts set off her black sheath with these fantastic mint chrysoprase, pave set diamonds and sugilite drop earrings.

 

Octavia Spencer's grey labradorite with its tell-tale flash and pave diamond earrings looked great with her gown and stood out beautifully against her dark hair.

Jaime King wore amethyst and diamond earrings

Emmy Rossum wore lovely long earrings in what appears to be chalcedony and diamonds.
 

Helen Hunt 's earrings in soft yellow tones looked great but I'm still trying to postively identify the stone - I'm working on it!

Jessica Chastain wore ruby and diamond studs that went well with her red dress. 

On the diamond front we have Eva Longoria with diamond studs;

Jennifer Lawrence with large diamond drops; and

Amy Adams with linear drops

People's Choice Awards

A couple of days prior to the Critics Choice Awards, there was the far less dressy occasion of the People's Choice Awards.  There were a couple who glammed up in jewels anyway.  Here are a couple of highlights...
 
A stand out was Rumer Willis and her HUGE lapis lazuli drops accented with sapphire, ruby and diamonds.  I managed to find a close up of her earrings  too :)  Gorgeous cut!

 

Heidi Klum in druzy chalcedony and onyx drops.

Regina King in a white crystal drop - possibly rock crystal quartz or white topaz - that catches the light beautifully.

Jennifer Lawrence in linear onyx drops

And finally, Taylor Swift in large turquoise drops

Which is your favourite look?


Golden Globes are the next big red carpet event - I wonder what jewels will be on the red carpet then!?

Till next :)
Annette

PS.  Apologies for my extreme lack of posting, I had a lot of shows and a lot of orders to do from October through December - as well looking after the family and their extra curricular activities - that I just never found the time to post.  Hopefully I'll get myself a little more organised this year and post more frequently!

Yes, I buy jewellery too!

Now you may think that as someone who makes jewellery, I could have all I could possibly want and wouldn’t buy someone else’s jewellery .... well, WRONG!

Most artisans tend to specialise in a few different mediums and so when they find something that they don’t have the specialist knowledge of but greatly admire it (to the point of salivating LOL) then they can either teach themselves how to make something like it after months of practice, or they do what I do and just buy it!

Since I’ve been making jewellery I have specialised in gems and pearls.  Gems because they’re what I studied all those years ago when I did my Diploma of Gemmology.  I feel an affinity for them and my knowledge on formation and structure helps me to appreciate them even more.  I’ve always had a “thing” for pearls and as a organic gem, I love them too. 

However my knowledge of metalsmithing is limited.  I often make clasps and components for necklaces and earrings, but I’ve never practiced filigree, fine piercing, stone setting and so on, as my emphasis has always been about the gems in a piece, rather than the metal that may surround them – in fact many of my pieces have only a sprinkling of silver, goldfill or carat gold.

There are many artisans out there who are far more skilled in those areas and sometimes I just can’t resist owning some of these little works of art!

I often look in jewellery store windows and I’m afraid most don’t excite me as most is production jewellery, rather than artisan made.  But when I was in Venice last year, I found a number of wonderful establishments with truly stunning jewellery.

Most of these  were near the Piazza San Marco but we found one on our side of the Grand Canal, in San Polo.   While exploring and getting lost (I read that it’s one thing you HAVE to do if you go to Venice, is to let yourself get lost and it’s not that hard to achieve!) in the little byways of San Polo, we stumbled upon it -  2 big windows literally stuffed with jewels!   They were so ”me” – multistrands of scintillating fine gems, big sparkly gemstone pendants, ropes of pearls and more.   I had to be dragged away from the shop by the children, but one daughter took some photos of the windows – and here is me , just in the photo, peering at the wonderful pieces.

 Now a large majority of these pieces I could make myself (of course affording the gems in the first place might be a slight problem in achieving this aim), but I also saw a ring.  Not flashy, but different. There was no gem,  it was the design – one that gave me the impression of columns  - and after seeing all the fabulous old buildings throughout Italy this resonated with me.  I knew I'd never have the patience to make something like it.  However I resisted going in and trying it on, or even enquiring about the price.  

The next day an old schoolfriend of my husband, and his wife, had arranged to meet us for a few hours.  The wife had grown up, would you believe it, two hours drive from where we live in the central tablelands of NSW, although she looked very comfortable in her Venetian surroundings, and speaking fluent Italian.   As someone who rarely gets to a shop most of the time, I’m always up for more shopping, and so she and I wandered off window shopping. ( OK, it wasn’t  JUST “window” shopping!)   I told her about the fabulous jewellery store I had seen the day before and before I knew it, there we were!   She found a pair of earrings she loved which she bought.  I kept looking at the ring but still resisted.  

That night I tossed and turned, thinking about the ring.  Could I find my way back there?  Would we have time, before we left?   In the  morning, there was no time.  With the notoriously late opening times (given they stay open so late at night), plus with packing,  I just couldn’t imagine 5 of us dragging our suitcases with their little wheels over the bumpy paths when I wasn’t 100% how to get there.   “Oh well”, I sighed, "maybe it wasn’t meant to be".

But it was!

I repeatedly mentioned the ring to my husband as one of those “should have” moments.   After a few months, he asked if I knew the name of the store etc., and perhaps he could get the friend we had met who visited Venice regularly to get it for me.  Jumping on this possibility, I gave him all the information I could – my ring size, what it looked like from memory and so on.  

And last week it arrived ….  It took a few months since we discussed it and over a year since I’d seen it, but I’m thrilled.   

So you see, every girl needs to buy jewellery sometimes – even those of us who make it!

Oh, and if you're ever in Venice, go and see the store... Ganesha on the Ruga Rialto, San Polo.