Oscar 2010 - A Diamond Debbie Downer

Now that I'm re-hydrated from my champagne overload and Oscar 2010 has bid his farewell, there are a few lingering thoughts I'd like to get off my chest before we close the book on this awards season.

While many of the fashion gurus this morning threw around words like 'diamonds galore' 'daring' and 'out of the box' in their roundup coverage, I am wondering if we all saw the same telecast?

The jewelry tweeps and I were in full agreement last night as we dished our way through the red carpet coverage that not only was there little to NO jewelry to speak of - the styles we did manage to spot didn't do anything for us in the 'wow' department.

The telecast gave us Demi Moore in perhaps the night's most beautiful ensemble (minimal bling- of course), and ABC featured Kathy Ireland with the entire Cullinan mine on her chest as she screamed her way through their lackluster coverage, but I didn't gasp aloud like I did in years past. I didn't spit-take my bubbly. I didn't covet. Or croon.



And is it me or did everyone from Amanda Seyfried to Jennifer Lopez and beyond choose silver Armani Prive frocks? Silver is the new gold - I get it - but the look worked last year on Anne Hathaway and Gaga took it to the Grammy Awards this year. Let's move on, shall we?

Maybe there are just too many awards shows these days. It was hard to top this year's Golden Globes with all of the Oscar nominees plus red carpet stars like Kate Hudson, Drew Barrymore, Marion Cotillard - not to mention all the TV folks we love to gawk at.

In short - I was afraid of a snorefest and - save for the Kathryn Bigelow win and a few diamond divas (Mariska Hargitay, bless your heart) - I got a flatline.

What did you guys think? I fear I am being a 'glass half empty' jewelry hound. Where's that champage again?

WOO HOO OSCARS

WOW

I totally loved this years Academy Awards!

SO FUN, so glitzy and showy and old Hollywood!

Except it was sort of poorly dressed. Not the normal stampede of FABITY FAB.

Here are MY awards:

Best Dress:

Gabbie Sidibe-A stunning dress, and looked absolutely stellar on her.

Kristen Stewert-Beautifully made, and perfectly suited to her personality.

Hottest Older Woman: Director Kathryn Bigelow and her banger bod

Most Unfunny Jokes: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. Such great comics, such weird jokes. A few golden moments, but generally verr stiff and unnatural.

Best Entertainment piece: Neil Patrick Harris. Hilarious, handsome, great jacket, and damn what a lovely, well performed show!

Best at being an A list Ladies:

Meryl Streep- Beyond classy, you looked lovely and were so gracious.

Penelope Cruz- why must you be so damn beautiful? And your accent is beautiful. You are so poised and sexy and spanish

Kate Winslet- at one point, the camera flashed to you, and you looked like the perfect picture of elegance, I almost barfed. Your hair,

makeup, and dress were all fantastic.

Best at being an A list Sirs:

George Clooney-My belief is that you are James Bond reincarnated.

Every time the camera was on you was an awesome, entertaining moment.

(But seriously, honey, you need a haircut)

Matt Damon-Such a great actor, but you also seem like such a good dude,

with your head on straight, and just so modest.

Your accent in Invictus was entirely too desirable.

(Lovin the facial scruff, I would like to sex you up till the sun dies...)

Morgan Freeman-nuff said.

Best Presenting Pair:

Tina Fey and Robert Downey Junior-You two were HILARRRRRIOUS.

Truly golden comedic performance. But Tina, who did your hair? Go shoot them.

As for you, RDJ, loved the outfit.

Best Delicioso Gentlemen:

Taylor Lautner- I want to make naughty naughty with Taysexy quite a lot.

He looks like everything I have ever wanted in a male specimen.

(somewhere, Taylor Swift is wishing she hadn't dumped your ass...

oh and she is pissed because Cameron Diaz stole her dress.)

Ryan Reynolds- Shut up and show me where the bedroom is. You are already too damn fine, and then you wore a tux. (where was Scarlett tonight? I miss her and her ample basoomas!)

Best Tribute: To John Hughes. Because he deserved it. But uncanny tranny! Molly Ringwald was like a robot. She didn't BLINK. Also, I noticed she lost like 30 pounds for this. :( I loved your pudge.

Best Montage: James Taylor live performance during the RIP commemoration? PERFECTION.

Best WTF Moment: Oh and WHAT the eff was the clip from New Moon doing in the HORROR MOVIE MONTAGE? roflcopter.

Best AWESOME: Quentin Tarantino- You are the weirdest, most awesome freak.

Most Inspiring Moment: Gabourney Sidibe's response to Oprah's praise- You looked so lovely. And your tears of wonder were the most genuinely touching things of the

night.

Best Acceptance Speech: Sandra Bullock- You have come so far, and I have been rooting for you all the way. Your husband and you are so cute together, and your speech made me cry. Your dress wasn't great, but you got the little gold guy so who cares?

Best Surprise-but-not-really: Monique- I love you. Your speech was classy as can be, and I am just blown by your performance. Not a super big fan of the dress, but you did look lovely.

WORST WORST WORST DRESS: Zoe Saldana-You have sinned. That dress... my eyeballs are bleeding.

Thats all for now, but I will be posting more later!

Claire

Oscar Jewelry Fashion - Is Less More?

Jewelry fashion and Oscar - they usually go hand in hand, right? But as I expected, jewelry hounds, there wasn't an Angelina Jolie emerald moment to speak of on the Oscar red carpet this year. My lower jaw didn't drop once, truth be told.

The big trend we jewelry bloggers agreed on appears to be the 'less is more' minimal earring look to complement the statement dress. From Jennifer Lopez in Armani Prive to Sandra Bullock in metallic Marchesa - the A-list worked the 'wow' factor with bejeweled dresses that could only support a small earring or a layered cuff in the ice department.


Sarah Jessica Parker worked Chanel Couture - with built-in diamond necklace bling. Cameron Diaz rocked gold bejeweled Oscar de la Renta with simple circles on the ears. And everyone from nominees Anna Kendrick and Mo'nique to awards season starlets, Diane Kruger and Amanda Seyfried, sported just a splash of diamonds to make their Oscar debut.


(insert rasping gasp for air here)

To make up for the diamond draught, we jewelry hounds had to turn to our gaudy goddess, Mimi, who sported 43 carats of Chopard diamonds on the ears, and the ageless Helen Mirren, who carried 125 Chopard carats around her neck.



The night's big award winners are still unkown, but the jewelry champs in my book are Kate Winslet in a gorgeous diamond pendant necklace and Rachel McAdams in Elie Saab Houte Cuture and statement chandelier earrings. Nicely done.


More jewelry dish tomorrow. But for now? Back to the champagne.

Will the Oscars be a Snorefest?

It's what we jewelry hounds wait for all year - the Oscar red carpet coverage on E!

I love every minute of it - from Guiliana Rancic's inappropriate use of 'honey' with A-listers, dames and sirs alike (Helen Mirren? Run don't walk) to Seacrest's cleavage-staring interviews. I will miss the wild card Kathy Griffin coverage - but I suppose I can wait for the Joan Rivers roundup this year to give me a good guffaw.

But I've gotta tell you, I'm a little worried at the potential for a serious snorefest this year. Avatars are replacing Angelina. There's no Brad/Jen red carpet bump-in to anticipate. And while Mo'Nique and Anna Kendrick are certainly worthy nominees - they just don't generate the excitement of, say, an Anne Hathaway or a Kate Hudson on the red carpet.

Penelope Cruz and Sandra Bullock are both stunners, but we've so 'been there done that' all year with them, I've got to admit - I'm feeling a little bored with both.

So who is left that's going to bust out with the bling this year? What ingenues are going to give us a good Gwynnie moment? Kristen Stewart will be too busy brooding with her black eyeliner. Inglorious Basterds', Diane Kruger, is a possibility - but she doesn't have the A-list star power to make a huge impact like, say a 'Julia' or a 'Nicole' did back in the day.

Perhaps I should be happy with the possibility of the first woman getting Best Director or the adorable Gabourey Sidibe living out her dream - but a jewelry hound needs her diamond drama at the Oscars! I'm afraid this year I might have to double down on the champagne to get the giddys.

What do you all predict? Weigh in!

Don't forget to Tweet with me during the red carpet on Sunday if you're in to multi-tasking! And stay tuned for all the follow-up coverage here and on Jewelry.com all next week.

Lil' Wayne's Diamond Delay

So no one wants to go to prison - particularly if you're a gazillionaire rapper. But Lil' Wayne apparently has luck and bad dental hygiene on his side these days as the sentencing hearing for his gun possesion charge dating back to 2007 has been postponed twice - and for two bizarre reasons.

The first was emergency dental work - a whopping 8 root canals - scheduled due to decay caused by his signature blinged out grill - a diamond, gold and platinum masterpiece worth a reported $150,000! Weezy - get the floss out dude!

No word yet on whether LW will get to bring his bling in the big house (Riker's no less), as there are rules about bringing in valuables that can later be traded for cigarettes and the like.

So March 2nd was the re-scheduled sentencing date post oral surgery, but in a bizarre turn the courthouse caught on fire that morning causing yet another delay. According to Rolling Stone, it remains unclear whether Lil Wayne’s next hearing will be moved to another venue or postponed until a later date.

The Bachelor Crowns a New Princess

How do I suffer for diamonds? Let me count the ways - not the least of which is having to sit through The Bachelor finale just to get a glimpse of the rock the dude chose for his soon-to-be- ex-pseudo-fiancee.

Celebrity fav, Neil Lane, is the jeweler of choice for this series - contributing diamond rings for wedded wannabes season after season. This time, the princess-cut won the day.

Bachelor hunk, Jake Pavelka, chose a 2-carat princess-cut diamond to bedazzle his beloved Vienna, with 70 smaller stones surrounding the setting. Not too shabby.

According to Jewelry.com, the 'princess cut' is called a square or rectangular modified brilliant in many diamond laboratory grading reports, as it combines the brilliance of a round cut with an overall square or rectangular shape.

Former Bachelorette Deann Pappas chose this cut for her reality show bling, and other celebs like Kendra Wilkinson can be seen with princess-cut diamonds radiating from their ring fingers.

What do you guys think about Jake's choice (in diamonds and faux fiancee)? A princess for a princess?

Diamonds Sparkle at 41st NAACP Awards

The 41st NAACP awards at the Shrine last Friday brought out a good many of Oscar's hopefuls and a bevy of beauties who opted for over-the-top jewelry looks instead of understated elegance. Is this a harbinger of Oscar opulence on the carpet this year? Or just an excuse to get out the gaudy? You be the judge.

Escaping the gauche fest was the evening's host, Anika Noni Rose, who sported a subdued pair of diamond teardrop earrings to bedazzle her cream Ysa Makino mermaid frock. Classic. Love it.

(Click here to grab a similar pair on Jewelry.com).

Joining Miss Anika in the winner's circle was Best Supporting Actress shoe-in, Mo'nique, who sported simple Swarovski jewels with her winter white Tadashi Shoji number.

And while I am always a fan of making a jewelry statement on the carpet, these choices left me longing for simpler times. What do you guys think? Is it possible maternity leave made me 'more' hardened? Or maybe I'm just sharpening my quills for Sunday's Oscar blitz...