 Los Angeles–While fashion designers showing their Fall 2009 apparel collections on runways this year tended to focus their jewelry wardrobing on the necks and wrists, stars on the red carpet at the 36th annual Daytime Emmy Awards showed ears the love, favoring drop and hoop styles as the accessories of the night.One of the evening’s biggest winners, bubbly television host Rachael Ray, snagged her “Entertainment Talk Show” nod while wearing a pair of yellow gold hoops that matched the beaded necklace detail of her gown.
And soap opera veteran Judith Chapman hit the red carpet in oversized hoops featuring layer upon layer of concentric circles. But it was drop styles that got the most play at the Sunday evening event, which honored the best in talk shows and soaps, among other daytime programs. From classic diamond styles to pearl and gemstone numbers, the style proved to be an understated, flattering look, drawing attention upwards to the face. Classic diamond versions abounded, with everyone from Ugly Betty’s Vanessa Williams to Better off Ted’s Portia de Rossi to the actress called “Daytime’s Leading Lady,” Susan Lucci choosing them. Neil Lane was among the favored designers for the evening, with General Hospital’s Julie Berman and Kirsten Storms, 90210 actress Jenny Garth and Entertainment Tonight correspondent Thea Andrews each choosing diamond and platinum pieces from the go-to designer. Michelle Stafford, AKA Phyllis Summers on The Young and the Restless, chose white gold, diamond and crystal floral earrings from Spanish brand Carrera y Carrera to match the motif of her black and white gown. The Young and the Restless alum Heather Tom, currently starring on The Bold and the Beautiful, went with pearls in her drop earrings. Though she did a quick-change from a short flapper-style number on the red carpet to a long silver gown to present on stage, Tom wore the same silver-tone Yvel pearl earrings and ring. Emmy winner Tamara Braun, who received a nod for her role on Days of Our Lives, chose color for her drops, selecting Neil Lane’s coral earrings also featuring black and colorless diamonds set in platinum. The most common companions for earrings were bold cocktail rings or diamond bracelets, with many stars choosing to balance their looks with a single large ring. Breaking from the evening’s trends, yet right on trend with the runways, was talk show host Tyra Banks, who scooped up an Emmy for “Informative Talk Show.” The former model triumphantly raised her award while wearing a single metal cuff bracelet on each wrist. |
Fine Jewelry: The current economic downturn has proven to be extremely challenging to most industries, and the diamond industry is no exception. The demand for diamonds hit its highest levels in early 2008 and mining operations increased their productivity to keep up with this demand; the recent downturn hit the diamond community right in the face.The first six to seven months of the crisis were the most difficult for the wholesale industry. Diamond dealers delayed or stopped all orders from diamond manufactures (diamond cutting firms). Diamond manufactures stopped purchases of rough diamonds from mining corporations. Diamond miners stopped digging and the wholesale community sat in limbo and watched prices fall sharply. Without continuous cash flow the goods are too expensive to mine, too expensive to cut and too expensive to hold. Some of the weaker, or more highly leveraged, firms were forced to pay down loans and liquidate inventory. However, some firms found themselves in a great situation, those with strong cash positions, were able to exploit this opportunity and buy diamonds at greatly reduced prices.Although most wholesalers stopped purchasing goods, the retail public did not stop buying. Young men and women were, and still are, getting engaged. Men are still telling women they love them, and women still love diamonds. The continued retail support and the lack of new diamonds in the pipeline have led to a nice bounce in the wholesale price of diamonds. Prices are stabilizing and cash flow is improving; in turn diamond-cutting factories are back in operation, mines are coming back online and the diamond community is moving again. This past month, a magnificent 7cts blue diamond sold for almost $9.5 million at auction set a new price record. I am not suggesting that the industry is yet able to run, but it is back on its feet and moving at a reasonable pace.Though the bubble has broken and prices were effected sharply, demand and market realities have helped diamonds bounce back.
