JEWELRY Trend for diamond divas has a familiar ring to it

This year designers have focused on the right hand and the ears.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Fine jewelry trends change at a glacial pace.
After all, who wants to sink hundreds or even thousands of dollars into something that will look dated next season? No one in their right mind. So jewelry designers, retailers and manufacturers have to work harder to generate excitement about their bangles, baubles and bright shiny things.
"There is a campaign now for diamond right-hand rings," says Robert Moorman of Carroll's Jewelers in Fort Lauderdale.
"I was at the Independent Jewelry Organization convention in Orlando this past July and that was all the buzz. The idea is that so many women are single now and control their own destiny. They don't have to wait until a man buys them an engagement ring for their left hand. They can buy their own diamond for the right hand."
So far, the powers that be in the jewelry game have pushed their right-hand rings to the public via the ready-to-wear runway shows in New York.
At the spring 2004 shows in New York last September designers Carmen Marc Valvo, Alvin Valley, Badgley/Mischka, Ralph Lauren and others all featured right-hand diamond rings from the likes of Fabrikant, Fred Leighton, Harry Winston, Jacob Arabo ("The King of Bling" for hip-hop stars) and Chopard.
"We had diamond rings in various gorgeous shapes as the only adornment to suggest a different, more personal approach to jewelry," Mark Badgley commented at the time.
And on the hit TV show "Sex and the City," the overtly style-conscious stars all sport diamond right-hand rings on and off the set. Julia Roberts, Debra Messing and Cameron Diaz also have been caught right-handed.
Stars shine
But stars at events like the 55th Emmy Awards were also sporting fine jewelry's other hot ticket this holiday season: chandelier earrings. Working dangling ears that September evening were Jennifer Aniston and Patricia Heaton, and the trend has shown no sign of stopping, according to jewelers.
"This year the focus is on the ears," says Jeffrey Josephson, president of Raymond Lee Jewelers in Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
"Women will be wearing upswept hairstyles to show off the dramatic earring styles that are quickly gaining in popularity. After several years of seeing tiny studs and hoops, earrings are getting bigger and longer."
Women want the most glamour and glitz for their dollars, says Thomas A. Andruskevich, chairman and CEO of Mayors Jewelers.
"Women are definitely getting their bling-bling on. You only have to look at that Gap commercial with Madonna and Missy Elliott to see how women are wearing their diamonds today. These are women with children and careers. They don't need permission to buy anything. They are lots of diamond divas out there."
Other hits this year include the use of colorful gemstones.
Not for wallflowers
"My designs are for that segment that likes the colorful and fashionable," says Laura Munder, whose Palm Beach-based company is a favorite of socialites and the stylists at InStyle and Harper's Bazaar magazines.
"You can't be a wallflower and wear these pieces. My customer likes fashion and is confident when it comes to jewelry. They understand that my signature is a bold use of color; you see less of the metal and more of the stone."
Josephson confirms the link between the direction of ready-to-wear and the advent of brilliant color in fine jewelry.
"The dramatic colors we've been seeing in clothing for the past several seasons are also showing up in jewelry," Josephson says.
"Color is present on everything from gold to gemstones. The bold looks of turquoise and coral are making a comeback, and pastel-colored pearls are giving the jewelry classic a new look."