Academy Awards 2016 - diamonds rule down the red carpet

The Oscar's are always a glittering affair - this year they were particularly so with a heavy dose of diamonds on ears, wrists, fingers and even occasionally necks.   There were a few little splashes of colour, mostly green, blue or pink/red,  but the star's stylists definitely showed their preference for the colourless gem.   Earrings were often large, following this year's trends and while there were many bare necks, necklaces did make the odd appearance - more noticeably so at the pre and after parties than down the red carpet itself.

Necklaces of note down the red carpet included Naomi Watts in Bulgari - she can often be relied upon for a necklace and this year's stunning necklace was quite fabulous.    Charlize Theron (top photo) has also been known to don a spectacular necklace regularly and this year wore Harry Winston diamonds to a value of $3.7million with the long sautoir matching her plunging neckline.  

Olivia Wilde wore a diamond collar by Neil Lane that suited her swept up hair and gave a Victorian air ... if you discount the contemporary gown. 

Jennifer Lawrence didn't wow with her jewellery but she did wear a fine chain of diamonds by Chopard, its just unfortunate that they could hardly be seen - a good case for choosing colour or even black to go with her dress.  

Sophie Turner (above) wore Tiffany diamonds around her neck and tsavorite garnet and diamonds on her ears and Tina Fey (below) bucked the diamond trend by selecting a blue sapphire and diamond necklace by Bulgari.  

I loved Saorise Ronan's (above) choice of green jadeite, emerald, diamonds and pearl earrings by Chopard.   They were the same length, but a different combination that caught attention and highlighted her shimmering green dress.  I applaud her jewellery adventures this awards season and hope to see her down the red carpet next year too!

Priyanka Chopra must have worn the most expensive jewellery on the night - Lorraine Schwartz diamonds valued at $7 million!    They were certainly big stones.

Sophie Vergara often chooses bold jewellery and this year went with Lorraine Schwartz blue sapphire and diamond vine earrings.

 Jennifer Garner went for a classic look in emerald and diamond earrings by Neil Lane.

Jessica Biel also went for emeralds and diamonds, hers are by Piaget.

Heidi Klum wore Lorraine Schwartz white and pink diamonds.

Brie Larson chose Niwaka pearl and diamond earrings and wore more diamonds in her hair.  There was no note if the belt was gems and pearls...

Jennifer Jason Leigh wore Piaget earrings that included 200 diamonds, 22 freshwater cultured pearls and 374 pink sapphires.

Alicia Vikander wore Louis Vuitton diamond earrings.

 Cate Blanchett wore Tiffany diamonds.

 
Julianne Moore went for Chopard diamonds for earrings a cuff bracelet.

Kate Winslet chose Nirav Modi diamonds for her earrings and bracelet.

Kerry Washington rocked the vintage look with 60s hair and earrings (diamonds by Harry Winston 1963) and the top of her dress at least was a bit Barbarella-ish!

Lady Gaga went for serious sized diamond earrings by Lorraine Schwartz.

Emily Blunt wore Niwaka diamond earrings

Red carpet interviewer Guiliana Rancic wore massive diamond earrings by Forevermark - perhaps a bit too large.

 Maria Menounos also went with Lorraine Schwartz diamonds.

Reese Witherspoon wore Tiffany diamonds.

Daisy Ridley wore Chanel diamonds.

 Margot Robbie wore Forevermark diamond hoop earrings.



Quite a few necklaces by Pasquale Bruni were seen at Oscar related parties.  Two pairs of earrings that were pretty spectacular at one of these events were Anne Hathaway's diamond and yellow gold earrings by Irene Neuwirth and Minni Driver's diamond earrings in white and rose gold by Forevermark.

Mary J Bilge

Olivia Culpo

Zendaya

Anne Hathaway

Minnie Driver

So what were your favourites?

Lauren Bacall's Jewellery Upcoming Auction

The amazing Lauren Bacall was a favourite actress of mine for decades (that's a bit telling in the age department!), playing strong if not sassy female roles.   Starring in films for seventy years, Ms Bacall died last August and the silver screen is poorer for her passing.    

A collection of selected bronze sculptures, jewellery, decorative arts, tribal works of art, prints, and paintings is currently touring  - it has been to  Hong Kong and Paris and is currently in London, before heading to Los Angeles and finally New York - where it will be auctioned at the end of March.

I love that she wasn't afraid of colour and she favoured texture and layering in her jewellery pieces!  


Amethyst earrings by Jean Schlumberger - the gems are only attached on one side, so that they would flutter with slight movements.

Sapphire earrings and a jadeite ring by Darlene de Selde :

A gold rope bracelet which Ms Bacall wore regularly with another similar bracelet that was encrusted with diamonds.   The little camel was a favourite of hers, and Elizabeth Gage was commissioned to turn it into a brooch.

An enamel and gold bangle also by Jean Schlumberger.

This divine ring features a central stone of amethyst surrounded by diamonds and bounded by turquoise.

According to the Auction house, Bonhams, prices are expected to be reasonable... what would you fancy owning?

Till next
Annette :)

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.