ELLE Designer Jewelry: Fashionable, Fabulous and Oh-So French

Designer jewelry collections are a dime-a-dozen these days. From Real Housewives to Bachelorettes and beyond, it seems every C-list reality star with 15 minutes of fame thinks they have the fashion smarts to design bling real women want to wear.

It ain’t that easy, folks.

So when I see a designer jewelry collection with REAL fashion street cred behind it? It’s like finding a needle in the proverbial fashion haystack – and I have to share it with my fellow jewelry hounds.

Enter the "ELLE Time & Jewelry Collection" debuting on Jewelry.com this week!

Yes, THE ELLE  - as in the iconic Paris-based, fashion magazine that started during WWII and evolved into the world’s #1 fashion publication. Not only was ELLE responsible for encouraging the ‘pants revolution' back in the 40s, freeing women from the confines of stockings and skirts (huzzah!), they were the first publication to be founded and run entirely by – women.  Love it!

I love their fashion credo even more:

 “We believe clothing without accessories is like a party with no cake” (or champagne, as the case may be...)

Long story short? If you have the ELLE fashion juggernaut behind a jewelry collection? You know you’re going to have well-designed, versatile, stylish pieces at price points every woman will find worthy of their hard-earned cash.

Here are some of my favorite pieces from the new boutique:

ELLE Butterfly Pendant in Sterling Silver. Price: $150

ELLE Retro Ring in Sterling Silver. Price: $170

Or you can check out the whole collection here. And just between us? Take this coupon code with you to get an extra 20% Off through Sunday, July 28th with code: ELLE at checkout (shhhh...).

ELLE Rose Quartz and Mother-of-Pearl Earrings in Sterling Silver. Price: $120

And, as always, weigh in with your thoughts about the line here. I love to hear the jewelry hounds bark!

Celebrity Engagement Ring Alert: Kelly Osbourne and Adam Levine Bring the Bling

There's been a celebrity engagement ring dry spell so far this summer until (drumroll....) this week two heavy hitters announced they're officially off the market: Fashion Police's purple-haired pixie, Kelly Osbourne, is engaged to vegan chef boyfriend, Mathew Mosshart, and (sorry, ladies) Maroon 5's Adam Levine proposed to his Victoria's Secret-model girlfriend, Behati Prinsloo.

Kelly Osbourne, no fashion wall-flower, designed her own engagement ring to match an earring worn by her rocker father, Ozzy.

"I designed it to look like an earring that my father wore," she gushed to Hello! Magazine. "I used to hold my finger up to his ear when I was little and say, 'I want a ring like that.' Now I have one!"

And just when you think Adam Levine is going to go for the stereotypical solitaire to match his stereotypical choice in soul mate? He throws us a curve ball by offering up a stunning vintage sparkler from the 1930s.

Says Prinsloo of her ring finger bling to Extra!,

“It’s from the 1930s. I was very giddy. I was speechless. It was a beautiful moment.”

It's hard for me to find the right words to describe how I'm feeling about your good fortune, Behati.

I WILL say that Adam Levine is on to something: Vintage jewelry is still trending after over a year on the hit list.  Check out the Very Vintage Collection I curated on Jewelry.com, which has some vintage-inspired rocks on the block that will take the sting out of yet another Victoria's Secret model having all the fun.

This vintage-inspired 1/3 Carat Diamond Flower Ring in 10K Gold doesn't come with a Maroon 5 frontman, but it also doesn't judge your singing voice and expect you to wear wings down a runway in your skivvies. AND you can drop the price from $1,279 to $299 with code PREMIER at checkout (shhhhhhh!). Celebrate!

What do you guys think of the celebrity rocks? Weigh in!

Oscar Jewelry Trends 2013: No Color, No Commotion, No Comment

While the 2013 Oscar jewelry red carpet sported stunning star looks from Jessica Chastain's elegant "Old Hollywood-inspired" Armani Prive copper dress paired with 1960s Harry Winston diamonds, to Naomi Watts also in a shimmering Armani Prive frock and 20 carats of Neil Lane, I felt like I was Dorothy stuck in Kansas - never to enter the technicolor wonderland of Oz.

No emeralds. No sapphires. No rubies. No significant gemstone moment to speak of. It's the first time tasteful diamond looks dominated on all of the nominees - as if the stylists sent a memo to keep things icy.

And Anne Hathaway, this century's 'go-to' style star had a rare miss with a last minute switch from a Valentino frock to a pale pink Prada number, with darts in all the wrong places and a Tiffany and Co back necklace that saved her look from being an all-out fashion faux-pas. 

While lovers of high fashion and classic diamond accessorizing will drool over the night's stand-out trend - the back necklace (Anne Hathaway's aforementioned Tiffany piece and Jennifer Lawrence in dainty Chopard diamonds), it was Jennifer Garner's stunning 200-carat diamond and dark platinum Neil Lane statement necklace that made my mouth water. Great Gucci dress. Great jewelry. Great (nominated!) husband. What more do you need on Oscar night?

Diamond wristwear was the other big trend of the night with nominee, Amy Adams sporting a stunning Moawad diamond bracelet,  Charlize Theron dazzling in a cuff-sized Harry Winston piece, and Jessica Chastain in a twisted diamond and yellow gold Harry Winston stunner - among many others.

Rare color statements made a splash with Renee Zelwegger sporting a rockin ruby and diamond cuff by Van Cleef & Arpels, and Jennifer Hudson dazzling in blue and green gemstone jewels by Sutra to match her skin-thin frock by Roberto Cavalli.

But gone are the Angelina Jolie emeralds and the jaw-dropping statement necklaces of Awards Shows' past. Gone are the green statements. The blue statments. Heck - even the RED statement was only represented by the biggest A-lister fashion UNDERstatement, Jennifer Aniston.

Instead Veronica Lake wavy hair and a flashy manicure seem to be the accessories of choice these days. 

And Helen Hunt did her best "Sharon Stone shocks in Gap" statement by wearing a dress by H & M (albeit with $700,000 worth of diamond accoutrements sewed in to the seams).

And then there's Jane Fonda doing her best to bring back the 80s. Neon yellow? In dress form? Yellow gold? Are those shoulder pads? Now THIS is a fashion statement. I kinda love it. You?

Weigh in with your thoughts, jewelry hounds. And be sure to check in with my sugar momma, Jewelry.com tomorrow with our 'Oscar Jewelry for Less' sale. Ba-ling!

Michelle Obama Inauguration Jewelry Predictions

Today's Swearing-in Ceremony. Dress by Reed Krakoff.

President Obama's Inauguration Weekend blowout is well underway. It's historic. It's inspiring. And SO not what we REALLY care about right now, OK?

What the 'F' will Michelle Obama wear on Inauguration Day, people! (excuse my 'f''rench, but a girl's gotta know.)

It's the quintessential day-to-night dilemma with the morning ceremony on tap first ending with the ballroom circuit. Oh..and the entire world as your audience, Mrs. O. No pressure.

Inauguration Ball 2009: Jason Wu dress, Loree Rodkin diamond jewelry

Will it be another Jason Wu white off-the-shoulder number? Will she go bold with Isabel Toledo or Alexander McQueen? OR will she continue in her tradition of giving emerging designers a moment in the sun and choose someone we have yet to hear from on the national stage?

 

The great thing about this First Lady is it's likely she will surprise us. And that's what makes her fashion choices so much more fun to follow than the classic Oscar de la Renta ballgown brigade and pantsuit parades of First Ladies' past. (Yes, I'm calling you out, Hillary and Laura! Zzzzzzzz).

All frock frothing aside - what can we look for in an Inaugural bauble? While I've seen Mrs. O rock a crazy Tom Binns statement necklace and wow us with some non-traditional Kimberly McDonald geodes, the Inaugural Ball is likely to bring out diamond basics (zzzzzzz).

State Dinner, 2012: Dress by Marchesa. Jewelry by Tom Binns

State Dinner, 2011: Dress by Alexander McQueen. Jewelry by Kimberly McDonald

I know, I know. Jewelry hounds won't be happy with this. But an outrageous jewelry statement is probably not the message our First Family wants to send at this important moment in history.

The morning ceremony, however, may bring us a surprise. She wore (gasp!) diamonds in the daytime last time, so I'll be looking for another inappropriately awesome display like perhaps a blinged out brooch (great for adding a splash of sparkle to outerwear).

Inauguration Ceremony, 2009. Dress by Isabel Toledo

What I DO know is that I'll be ready to report on the designer duds that debut tomorrow right here - so stay tuned. I also love the coverage on the blog, Mrs. O, for those die-hards who like to follow her  fashion moves on a daily basis. You know who you are.

What do you think our First Lady will wear tomorrow? And more importantly? Bangs or no bangs.  Discuss.

2013 Golden Globes Jewelry Recap: Bling, Bores and Bugs

The 2013 Golden Globes red carpet was a mixed bag of sensations, snores and surprises, with everything from a $5.7 million Harry Winston diamond necklace (or scarf as my colleague Mandy Tracy at Jewelry.com aptly called it) to barely there diamond studs to...yes...even a bug!

Here's the highlight reel for your drooling pleasure (many credits forthcoming). And, as usual, please be sure to weigh in with your favorites of the night!

1. Diamond Necklaces

Shocker! Diamond neckwear stole the show this year with stunning vintage looks from Olivia Munn in Chopard, Jessica Alba in that $5.8 million Harry Winston shocker, Sally Field's neckwear knockout to host Amy Poehler's Chopard lariat weighing in at (wait for it...) 83 carats! Ba-ling!
 

2. Earring Statements 

Julianne Hough was my first jewelry sighting of the night - and I was pleasantly surprised to know that her choice in ear candy was a riskier move than her choice to pair up with Ryan Snorecrest. That's a REAL beetle stud earring and praying mantis ear cuff - both by Daniela Villegas. Win!
 

Taylor Swift's Lorraine Schwartz statement earrings won big with the folks who participated in the head-spinning #globejewelry Live Tweet fest.

Just look at all these jaw-droppers tailor-made for looky-loos like us!

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3. Diamond Sticks and Studs

Zzzzzzzzzz......... 'Nuff Said.

4. Julianne's Bulgari Blowout

Golden Globe-winner Julianne Moore deserves her own section this year, jewelry hounds. As the former spokesmodel for Bulgari and apparently friendly enough with Tom Ford to ask him to design her something by EMAIL (jealous!), well, it just doesn't get much better than this.

6. Red, Burgundy and Ballet Pink

The A-list continues to turn out in red frocks (and safe jewels). These women are all stunning, but, I'm sorry. I just yearn for more 'outside the box' choices every now and again. But...this is a trend report and well, it's still an Awards Show staple. Wake me when it's over.

HOWEVER, a refreshing color craze helped to rouse me from my slumber....the blushy hues of ballet pink. Observe...

7. Spotlight Stealer/Meme Alert:

Move over A-Jo...

There's a new 'gam' in town.

I KNOW I've missed many other moments worth mentioning. Who wore your favorite frock and jewel combo?

And don't forget to check in with Jewelry.com later tomorrow, where we'll attempt to pair some of these jaw-dropping jewelry looks with real-world alternatives. Fun!