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The 'Protector Collection'

Asprey has unveiled Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's latest foray into jewelry design. What do you think? Do these snake-inspired designs have you charmed?

I've got my eye on the tiny "Children's/Adult's Snake Rings," and I love the animated snake on the "Sterling Silver Tooth Box." While its function makes a whole lot of sense for the Jolie-Pitts and their young brood, I'd fill mine with some small pieces of jewelry.

         

Left: The "Fine Jewelled Rings" feature bright cabochon-emerald eyes, with jeweled "scales" that are smooth to the touch.

Center: The "Fine Jewelled Double Twist Bracelet" is a flexible but solid platinum bracelet depicting two intertwined snakes.

Right: The "Children's/Adult's Snake Earrings" feature 154 faceted gemstones. The "tail" is both a part of the design and a fitting to secure the earring.

       

Left: The gemstone versions of the "Children's/Adult's Snake Pendants" feature 104 stones, while the gold version has been buffed to a smooth, polished surface.

Right: The tiny "Children's/Adult's Snake Rings" sparkle with fully faceted precious gemstones, as minute as 1 millimeter each, and set by hand.

   

Left: The cup and coiled snake of the "Sterling Silver Eggcup" were separately polished and then soldered together, before being hand polished as a final piece.

Center: A guilloche technique gives texture to the base of the "Sterling Silver Tooth Box," whose contents are protected by the snake on top.

Right: The handle of the "Sterling Silver Spoon" was carved in wax by Asprey's master model maker, and then molten sterling silver was poured into the mold to form a solid sculpture. The scales were then refined and hand chased. The spoon's bowl was hammered from a sheet of silver.

Want (what might be) Penelope Cruz’s ring?

Rumors have been swirling for the past few weeks that Penelope Cruz and boyfriend Javier Bardem are engaged. The notoriously private couple has yet to confirm anything, but one jewelry company is already offering a replica of what is supposedly Cruz's engagement ring.

The Nine actress has been spotted out and about sporting on her left ring finger what seems to be a large sapphire surrounded by small diamonds, and now The Natural Sapphire Co. is offering up its own take (rendering seen above and below).

Up for grabs, at the price of $11,500, is a 2.58-carat natural blue sapphire circled with a halo of colorless diamonds.

It's a gorgeous ring, and I love the idea of brides doing something different and diverging from the diamond. I'm not so sure, though, that I'd love to look down at my engagement ring and think, “Penelope Cruz has the same one,” no matter that I think she's a dynamo on the big screen.

Perhaps it's just the "replica" wording that has me uneasy. But one cool thing that The Natural Sapphire Co. does is make any design changes or customizations via computer renderings before the piece is cast. That has me resting easier, and I think they've gone a smart route: bringing attention to their company (or to colored stones in general) via an event currently in the news, but allowing customers to make the piece their own.

What do you think? Would customers go for it?

Live from Hollywood

Each month, I compile National Jeweler's "Star Sightings" page, a selection of images highlighting the jewelry celebrities are wearing on the red carpets and out and about. It's a fun, easy-to-digest page, but it also has a serious impetus: providing readers with information about the most au courant trends.

As a consumer, I definitely do my share of tearing out pages from magazines and taking style tips from editorials and the celebrities chronicled in the publications I pick up. Recently, I spent some time in Los Angeles scoping out the behind-the-scenes of how jewelry makes it onto the red carpet and into those very magazines.

If you haven't already had a chance, check out "Access Jewelry" on NationalJeweler.com for the inside scoop. Below you'll find the accompanying photos.

Above left: Stylists and celebrities visiting D’Orazio & Associates select jewelry from the likes of Amrapali, Le Vian and Sutra, among others, in a private showroom high above Beverly Hills, Calif.

Above center and right: Airy, openwork cuff bracelets, like these from Siera, are much requested at the D’Orazio showroom.

Among the biggest trends seen on the red carpets and easily imitable for every day are stacked bracelets and hoop earrings. Angelina Jolie wore 22-karat yellow gold hoops to the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, as did Halle Berry at the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival. Berry also stacked her 22-karat yellow gold bangles high and topped off the look with a 22-karat gold ring. All jewelry is from Amrapali. Photos: Courtesy of D’Orazio and Associates

The hefty Zorab cocktail ring featuring kunzite and diamonds that singer Katy Perry wore to the 51st Annual Grammy Awards was sold soon after its red-carpet debut. The kunzite weighs in at 80 carats. Photo: Courtesy of D’Orazio and Associates

Among jewelry designer Neil Lane’s favorite memories from his years of dressing Hollywood’s leading ladies was the time he outfitted actress Catherine Zeta-Jones in layers and layers of diamond chains and a diamond pendant necklace.

Mad Men actress January Jones, who topped many a best-dressed list the day after the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards, wore this Neil Lane “Diamond Leaf” bracelet and diamond drop earrings to the awards show.

At the launch of Tacori’s new “18K925” collection, Heroes actress Ali Larter, seen above left with Paul Tacorian, donned several pieces that were later auctioned via Clothes Off Our Back to benefit The Art of Elysium, a nonprofit that encourages artists to dedicate their time and talent to children battling serious medical conditions.

Mad Men actress Christina Hendricks was among the surprise celebrity guests attending the launch of Tacori’s new “18K925” collection. A day after the Sept. 15 event, Hendricks was seen in an E! online video taped on Tacori’s blue carpet.

Star Sighting: Rachel Bilson

 A few months ago, actress Rachel Bilson’s home in Los Angeles was broken into, with thieves making off with a trove of designer clothing, jewelry, shoes and handbags estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Though the actress cut her teeth on the hit TV show The O.C., she’s even more well known for her sharp fashion sense—something the thieves were obviously well aware of.

As reported by People, among the stolen items was her collection of jewelry, including pieces handed down to her by her grandmother.

Bilson was reportedly devastated, quite understandably. Even though she’s a designer darling and most likely gets gifted pieces round the clock, I don't feel anything can quite replace an heirloom.

People often say that if their house was burning down and there was one thing they could save it would be photographs. I think the next thing I would make a run for would be some of the jewelry worn by my family or gifted by loved ones, things that have very specific memories connected to them.

But onto happier thoughts…Bilson, engaged to actor Hayden Christensen, is picking up the pieces and is already looking like her usual fabulous self. On June 15, she helped to fete the one-year anniversary of fashion designer 3.1 Philip Lim’s Los Angeles store, where she stepped out perfectly styled with an Yvel pink sapphire and diamond cocktail ring.

Star Sighting: Marisa Tomei

While watching the film The Wrestler for the first time the other night, I couldn’t help but comment to my fiancé that I felt like I’d recently seen actress Marisa Tomei au natural more often than clothed, what with her performance in that flick, combined with her notorious role in Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead.

So maybe it’s a testament to her acting chops that I always find myself a little surprised to see her looking so full-on glamorous on the red carpet, where it becomes obvious that she’s a lady who also looks very good in clothes.

At the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s recent Costume Institute Gala, Tomei channeled a glam, tan Bianca Jagger in her Studio 54 days, all dressed up in Halston with plenty of places to go.

Tomei opted for a 1940s vintage Adrian gown plus vintage jewelry from Van Cleef & Arpels, including the 1967 Estate diamond-center earrings featuring twisted yellow gold, and a 1958 Estate bracelet with an 8-carat cabochon sapphire and 4.5 carats of diamonds.
 
Photo: Courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels

Star Sighting: Miley Cyrus

Attempting to pair face-framing gemstone jewelry with an already embellished top or frock can inspire a bit of a wardrobing conundrum, but teen sensation Miley Cyrus pulled off the look with aplomb for her appearance at the Academy of Country Music Awards held on Sunday. 

The singer, Disney queen and soon-to-be movie star—with Hannah Montana: The Movie on the verge of hitting big screens—showed up on the red carpet in earrings from the Diane von Furstenberg by H. Stern collection. Crafted in yellow gold and set with diamonds and assorted gemstones, the earrings are the perfect complement to the multicolored beads on Cyrus’ Monique Lhuillier gown.  

Does red-carpet jewelry make cents?

With the Oscars last month rounding out the season's biggest awards shows, one thing I've been wondering lately is what the placements mean for the jewelry designers who are almost 100 percent of the time lending their multi-thousand dollar jewels?

On one hand, I'm a firm believer that the jewelry category as a whole profits from such big-time exposure. (Think of all the stars wearing chandelier- and drop-style earrings and stacked bracelets—easily imitable looks that magazines such as People and InStyle translate for consumers at entry-level price points.) Yet in terms of those uber-luxurious, multi-thousand dollar pieces that the celebrities actually wear on Grammys or Golden Globes night, what sort of profit comes back to the designer?

Well a recent Women's Wear Daily article answered the question for me, and according to the article, there is quite a bit of moolah to be made.

While it's somewhat uncommon for the stars to buy the jewelry themselves, there are consumers out there who are willing to shell out thousands, and even millions, to share in the glamour.

From Oscars night, designs worn by Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Diane Lane and Kate Winslet have either already been sold or the designers are in talks with clients.

According to the article (titled "Red Carpet Jewels Can Turn Into Green"), the emerald Lorraine Schwartz suite that Jolie wore to the Oscars sold for $2.5 million, an $85,000 Kwiat diamond bracelet worn by Natalie Portman is on hold for a client, and Neil Lane—who outfitted Diane Lane—is in talks to sell the actress's Oscar night vintage diamond fringe necklace, a piece valued at more than $100,000.

But even if you have a few hundred thousand to shed, some pieces just can't be had. Remember the diamond and turquoise stunner Eva Mendes wore to the Golden Globes? Though client interest was strong, Van Cleef & Arpels won’t part with it. One of just 400 pieces in the brand's museum collection and estimated between $700,000 and $900,000, the piece will be sparkling within the company's lauded vaults.

Star sighting: Alicia Keys

Watching the 2009 Academy Awards, I found it hard to look past the proliferation of cream-colored gowns without adding quite a few of them to my favorites list (Penelope Cruz in vintage Balmain, Taraji P. Henson in glam Roberto Cavalli and Anne Hathaway in sparkling Armani Prive, to name a few). Yet it was almost a breath of fresh air to look out at the sea of neutrals and spot a few dashes of color.

With all the colorless diamonds and nearly white gowns, it’s no wonder critics gave kudos to Natalie Portman in a pink Rodarte frock and routinely called out Angelina Jolie’s stunning emerald drop earrings by Lorraine Schwartz. 

One of the looks I’m loving is this sunny style on singer and actress Alicia Keys. Keys hit the red carpet in lilac Armani Prive, and then did a quick-change for Vanity Fair’s Oscar party. Her “Champagne Bubbles” earrings and bracelet, plus “Orielle” flower ring, are all from Diamond in the Rough and feature more than 139 carats of micropave diamond accents and natural rough diamonds in a pale yellow hue.

Star sighting: Sheryl Crow

Rings have always been a sort of friendship symbol for me, and they've also always been among the most demure jewelry pieces I've possessed. For years, the only ring I sported was a tiny diamond eternity band that matched one that both my sister and a cousin had. Last year, two friends and I each bought miniscule gold bands with the smallest spot of a diamond.

So it was a pretty big thing for me when after a trip to a Baltimore boutique earlier this year, I came home with a big disk-shaped number featuring a flat, round agate stone, far wider than the finger I wear it on.

Since then, I've been keeping an eye on bold finger adornments that rival the season's dramatic necklaces and cuff bracelets. When I saw this photo of Sheryl Crow at the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation's Grand Slam event held over the weekend, her ring brought a smile to my face. I mean, that's one knockout of a ring. The knuckleduster is from Bochic and it features rose-cut diamonds.

Photos: Courtesy of D'Orazio & Associates

Russell Brand waves the diamond flag

On display last night at the MTV Video Music Awards: a lucid Britney Spears, svelte Christina Aguilera and lots and lots of diamonds.

Despite bling on all ends of the stage, my eyes were on host Russell Brand, the British comedian who took a scene-stealing turn in this summer's Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

While his hosting skills might be debatable (urging kids to vote: very cool; poking fun at the Jonas brothers for wearing chastity rings: not so cool), his was the only jewelry that I openly remarked about.

Check out PopSugar for the full ensemble, and you’ll see a wrist load of bracelets, rings on both hands and a neck studded with pendants. OK, so maybe you don't want to take style tips from a guy with that hair, but at least he's got us talking, right?

Brand's skull pendants and diamond rings are from Loree Rodkin, a designer known for her medieval-style jewelry and a favorite of rockers such as Marilyn Manson and Avril Lavigne.