Glamour's Women of the Year Shine Bright

The 2009 Glamour Women of the Year Awards took place last night in New York’s grand Carnegie Hall, and the star power was at full wattage – despite a lack of significant jewelry bling to speak of on the carpet.

Honoree, Rihanna, dazzled in a Stephan Rollande gown and Cartier diamond studs – earning the respect of the crowd and presenter, Iman, for riding the tide of public sentiment after her high-profile beating from former boyfriend Chris Brown. Onwards, girlfriend!

Fellow honoree, Amy Poehler, followed suit in basic diamond studs that didn’t outshine her metallic sheath by Stella McCartney (also honored). And Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi showed off her baby bump with a little gold glam (most likely from her own jewelry line).

I’m loving the sleek Serena Williams style with heavy bangs and diamond cuffs – and while I prefer a brunette Catherine McPhee, her onyx and diamond deco drops from Bochic are to die for. Nice work.

The winner for me in the ‘notsomuch’ department had to be Miss Gayle King in a statement necklace that didn’t need her sequined belt’s competition. Less is more when you’ve got such a wow piece taking center stage, right?

For a full album of the evening’s top fashion moments, visit the Jewelry.com Facebook page and weigh in with your rants and raves. And visit the Glamour homepage for a full recap of the evening’s honorees (and there were many worthy women to celebrate).

Serena Swings with Bling in Australia

Diamonds have always been Serena Williams’ best friend on the tennis court. Who could forget the $40,000 diamond earring that tumbled on the asphalt during a US Open match in 2004? That’s a whole lotta ‘love’.

But the bling factor just went to “11” yesterday at the Australian Open when the nine-time grand slam winner sported an icy bauble worth a mere $3.5 million. The 27-year-old tennis powerhouse made friends with Sydney diamond designer Nic Cerrone in a visit to his boutique store in Leichhardt the day before her opening match.

According to Sydney Dailey Telegraph, when the Italian jeweler asked if she liked diamonds, Williams stated the obvious: "They're my best friends.'' Yes, Serena, dear. We know. And we love you for it.

Cut to: Serena wearing the 427-diamond necklace at her press conference following her narrow win over Australian, Samantha Stosur.

"I told the jeweler that I would wear it at the press conference because I didn't have the cash to be losing a three and a half million dollar necklace," Williams said with a laugh.

"..and if it fell off I just would have go for it..... I wouldn't care about the ball."

Nothing like a little $3.5 million-dollar double fault to keep the champion distracted down under. Sounds like her rivals have a good game plan... If you can't beat her back-hand, keep her eye off the ball with diamonds. Who is this 'jeweler' anyway?