In a sea of diamond drop earrings and cuff bracelets at last night's 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, a handful of stars set themselves apart in jewelry that defied convention, namely diamond necklaces, yellow gold and styles set with colored gems.
Over the past few awards seasons, drop earrings and cuff bracelets have been perennial pairings on the red carpet, and the Emmy Awards were no exception. So it was the more unusual styles and materials that proved to be the evening's jewelry standouts.
Modern Family actress Sofia Vergara was one of the evening's first presenters to step onto the evening's stage in gold, shimmering in a Carolina Herrera gold-embellished gown paired with Lorraine Schwartz's diamond and yellow gold cuff bracelet and diamond and yellow gold triangular-shaped earrings. Temple Grandin actress Julia Ormond, best supporting actress winner for her role in a TV movie or miniseries, sported yellow gold designs from Schwartz, too, dazzling in yellow gold cuff bracelets, one on each wrist, plus yellow gold pendant earrings and a yellow gold ring, all studded with diamonds.
The double-wrist bracelet look, which has lately been one favored by fashion designers showing their collections at Fashion Weeks around the globe, has also found a home in Hollywood.
Like Ormond, Glee stars Jayma Mays and Jenna Ushkowitz sported yellow gold bracelets on both wrists. Ushkowitz selected Neil Lane diamond and gold cuffs, which she paired with gold and diamond disk earrings and a large gold and diamond cocktail ring. Mays, meanwhile, donned three diamond and gold bracelets from the designer, plus a diamond and gold bangle, diamond and gold cocktail ring and diamond and gold necklace.
Another actress to test drive the double-wrist look was True Blood's Anna Paquin, who stacked Neil Lane black and gold bangles to accessorize her black and embellished gold Alexander McQueen dress.
Necklaces made for another Emmys standout, with Glee actress Lea Michele leading the way in a platinum mesh style set with multi-colored diamonds from Lorraine Schwartz. Diamond necklaces were also spotted on actress Betsy Brandt, who wore a diamond-encrusted number from Tacori; Dancing With the Stars host Brooke Burke, who dazzled in a fancy yellow diamond necklace with square-, pear- and briolette-cut diamonds; and Friday Night Lights actress Connie Britton in a diamond pavé ball lariat necklace.
Other necklace styles standing out from the pack included those worn by Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, who wore a beaded design from her own Padma Jewelry Collection, and a double-stranded pearl style worn by actress and comedian Betty White.
Aside from pearls (also worn in the form of drop earrings by Glee's Jane Lynch), a few additional gemstones stole the spotlight on Emmys night. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss's jade green, rectangular-shaped drop earrings and bracelet popped against her black gown, and Emmy winner Kyra Sedgwick looked stunning in platinum bracelets with multicolored gemstones and a platinum ring with 60 carats of rubellite. Meanwhile, Conan O'Brien's wife Liza O'Brien, and Mindy Kaling of The Office both selected geode designs from designer Kimberly McDonald.
Among the freshest of diamond jewelry designs were black diamond designs or colorless diamond designs set into blackened metals, both prevalent looks on last night's red carpet.
30 Rock's Tina Fey paired her gown with a black diamond tassel bracelet from Lorraine Schwartz, while Damages actress Rose Byrne wore a black diamond and yellow gold cuff bracelet on her wrist. Another black diamond aficionado, Kelly Osbourne, sported Martin Katz black and colorless diamond and platinum bracelets with a pair of platinum earrings swinging with 14 carats of black diamonds per each ear. Meanwhile, Dancing With the Stars host Carrie Ann Inaba's rose-cut diamond earrings and ring from Amrapali were set into blackened metal, as was the Bavna silver and 18-karat gold cocktail ring worn by Keeping up With the Kardashians mom Kris Jenner. Actress Lauren Graham selected blackened platinum and diamond star earrings, among other platinum and diamond designs from Ofira, and Kyra Sedgwick looked to Ofira, too, selecting a pair of blackened platinum drop earrings from the brand to wear with her gemstone bracelet and ring.
Other colored diamonds got play on the red carpet, too, including the Chopard platinum and brown diamond ring from Chopard worn by Glee's Jessalyn Gilsig, the platinum and yellow diamond ring from Cartier worn by Mad Men's January Jones, and the platinum and natural rough diamond ring from Diamond in the Rough worn by The Office's Jenna Fisher.
As for those most prominent of looks, colorless diamond drop earrings set in white gold or platinum and paired with colorless diamond bangles or cuffs, the style has become a red-carpet classic, one both chic and timeless. Among the stars to rock the look was Kim Kardashian in Lorraine Schwartz, Keri Russell in Cathy Waterman, Nina Dobrev in Chopard and Rutina Weslet in Martin Katz, among many others.
