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Jewelry at the 77th Academy Awards

09/06/10

In true Oscar tradition, the 2005 Academy Awards drew attention not only to the stars and their films, but to celebrity fashion. Clearly the biggest influence on attendees' clothing and jewelry styles was the successful film The Aviator, a biopic about late millionaire Howard Huges, starring Leanardo Di Carprio and Cate Blanchett. The film is set in 1930s and 1940s Hollywood, and the characters are adorned in classic "Old Hollywood" style - a trend repeated by star after star who walked down the Oscars red carpet.
Earrings like those worn at the 2005 Oscars - click for info

Gwyneth Paltrow wore diamond earrings in a teardrop design very similar to this affordable pair by Emitations.[Offsite link]

Most celebrities attending the Oscars - especially the nominees - captured the style of the 30s and 40s with fine diamond jewelry and other big, sparkly, expensive gemstones. Ironically, most jewelry of the real Old Hollywood era, especially that manufactured during World War II, did not contain diamonds or even precious metals. It was the first true costume jewelry era, with glitzy necklaces, bracelets, brooches and earrings made with glass rhinestones and other imitation gems, often set in non-precious base metals.

The costume jewelry of the 30s and 40s typically was oversized - that is, the pieces were purposefully larger than their classic, fine-jewelry counterparts. But the 2005 Oscars saw lots of oversized 1940s-influenced designs featuring genuine diamonds and gems. According to reporter Claudia Parsons (writing for Reuters), some "jewels [were] so over the top they looked fake."

There were exceptions to the "real, not fake" rule at the awards, however. Take for example the humungous clear stone necklace worn by Beyonce in her performance of a song from the film Phantom of the Opera. This necklace was gigantic, with enormous stones in clusters surrounding her neck, with a separate (huge in itself) gemmed drop component that nearly reached her navel. Many post-Oscars commentators criticized Beyonce for wearing a "diamond" necklace that looked like a "chandelier" and was the largest "she could find."

In reality, this necklace did not belong to Beyonce and was not made of diamonds. It was custom-designed for the Phantom of the Opera film, where it was worn by actress Emmy Rossum - or by Minnie Driver, depending on the source. Its stones are Swarovski® crystal glass - not gemstones at all. According to New York Post Online Edition, the necklace was flown from its home in Paris to Los Angeles specially for Beyonce's Academy Awards performance.

Some other eye-catching jewels worn to the 2005 Oscars:

- Cate Blenchett wore a yellow diamond and emerald brooch by designer Lorraine Schwartz at the upper corner of her dress. It's reported value is $250,000.

- Drew Barrymore also wore a Lorraine Schwartz brooch with diamonds, valued at $65,000. (Drew wore the brooch on the back of her dress. Hopefully this didn't cause her too much pain when she had to sit in a high-backed chair.)

-Natalie Portman wore a diamond-encrusted head band in her hair (value not available).

-Penelope Cruz wore yellow diamond earrings, a yellow diamond ring and a pair of emerald-cut diamond bracelets by Chopard (value not available).

-Ziyi Zhang, an award presenter, wore a multi-layer Y-necklace encrusted with diamonds by Bulgari (value not available).

-Depending on the source, Scarlett Johansson donned either a jeweled 19th-century tiara by Fred Leighton - or a set of three vintage brooches in her hair (value not available).

-Kate Winslet wore long multi-diamond and coordinating wide-linked bracelets (which almost looked like cuffs), designed by Neil Lane. Rumor has it that the matching jewels adorning Kate's gown were also by Neil Lane. (According to People, the jewelry wasn't completed until the night before the Oscars ceremony.)

-Emmy Rossum wore a classically designed, yet showy, ruby and diamond necklace with matching earrings by Harry Winston (value unavailable).

- Beyonce wore gigantic jeweled chandelier earrings (probably genuine diamonds) when she arrived at the ceremony and walked the red carpet. These were designed by Lorraine Schwartz (value not available).

Beyonce wasn't the only girl at the Oscars donning oversized, glitzy chandelier earrings. Giant jeweled chandeliers in various geometric shapes, many encrusted with genuine diamonds, were everywhere. Most were long enough to dust the shoulders of their glamorous wearers. (Is this definitive evidence that chandeliers are still in fashion? Perhaps . . .).

Next week: How Jewelry Gets to the Oscars and other Celebrity Events - We'll take a look at how celebrities decide which jewelry to wear to the Academy Awards and other big, highly-publicized events - and the lengths new and established designers are willing to go to get their jewelry into the hands of those celebrities.

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