Jewelry at the Oscars

As always, the 2011 Oscars sparkled with both diamond jewelry and star-power alike. And the lovely ladies who walked the red carpet were decked out in some pretty flashy finery this year, including, almost without fail, at least one item per actress of seriously sizable jewelry. The trend this award season seems to be large earrings, and the Oscars did not disappoint in this regard (sorry collar necklaces – you didn’t make it out of last season). But the runway was rife with a plethora of statement pieces that accented earlobes, necklines, and extremities alike. Here are some that should definitely be emulated in the future.

Chunky earrings were the belle of the ball, with several starlets embracing the trend. Annette Bening clearly dominated in this category (although she lost out on the best actress award) with huge emerald teardrops (source apparently unknown) while Gwyneth Paltrow may have gone a bit over the top with multi-colored Louis Vuitton earrings (and a matching brooch) that looked like a couple of sparkly phoenixes strapped to her head. Mila Kunis was another win with double-hooped diamond-studded drops by Neil Lane (Reese Witherspoon also sported this designer’s earrings, in the form of some gorgeous diamond and emerald drops). And Natalie Portman dazzled us even before her tear-jerking acceptance speech for best actress, as she sashayed down the red carpet, accenting her main accessory (the baby bump, of course) with a gorgeous pair of diamond and red-tasseled Tiffany earrings, a good match for her plummy Rodarte dress.

But she wasn’t the only one sporting the glass-man’s jewelry. Anne Hathaway also made a splash on Oscar night when she showed up dripping with diamonds, in the form of a collarbone-skimming Tiffany necklace studded with beefy rocks (and complimentary diamond disk earrings). In fact, Hathaway reportedly took home $750K from Tiffany to sport their jewelry with all of her looks throughout the night (and they couldn’t have found a better model). In other necklace news, Dame Helen Mirren sparkled in vintage Cartier with a platinum, diamond, and pearl necklace from 1907 that dropped straight into her décolletage. And Scarlett Johannson bucked the trends entirely by opting for only a large cocktail ring on her right hand, courtesy of Christian Louboutin (notably eschewing any tabloid-inducing jewelry on the left).