Angelina Jolie and Her Gemstone Jewelry

Angelina Jolie and her gemstone jewelry are destined to occupy a place in history, alongside her acting talent, beautiful family and her patronage of the world's most needy and vulnerable. As a jewelry collector and aspiring jeweler, her acquisitions are as fascinating as they are pricey. She seems to enjoy gemstones of unparalleled quality and jewelry of expert craftsmanship.

Remember Angelina's beautiful emerald earrings from the Academy Awards? Those were real emeralds, reputedly worth $2.5 million. It's rare to come across unblemished emeralds that large, so her earrings are a big deal. The earrings and matching cocktail ring were designed by Lorraine Schwartz, who has the enviable reputation of being "jeweler to the stars" and "The Queen of Bling." (Her patrons include Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Lopez, Cate Blanchett, Mary J. Blige, Naomi Campbell, Barbra Streisand and Elizabeth Taylor, to name just a handful.) Ms. Schwartz's designs often include vast assemblages of precious and semi-precious stones, so the simplicity of Angelina's emerald earrings (and ring) appear to be somewhat of a design divergence for her. Her jewelry definitely has a whimsical side to it - one of her collection series features monkeys, for instance. She is a third-generation jeweler (her family is well-represented in the diamond trade in Manhattan) and is comfortable designing with gemstones that have a strong presence. In addition to designing jewelry, Ms. Schwartz has also designed tiaras for several royal families.

In February of this year, Ms. Jolie's jewelry made the press when she misplaced her diamond stud earrings, reputedly worth $1.6 billion dollars. She was leaving London after attending the BAFTA Awards, and apparently made it to the airport before she realized she was missing them. She frantically phoned the Dorchester Hotel, and their personnel shredded the suite until the valuable earrings were found. Angelina's earrings are from Asprey of London, which has been a "premier maker of luxury goods" since 1781. They have created such luxury goods for such celebrities as J. Pierpont Morgan, the Maharajah of Patiala and Queen Elizabeth II. Although Asprey heralds its "spirit of artistic adventure," its designs, at least to me, are traditional yet exhilarating. They utilize the best of precious gemstones, encased in elaborate and finely-wrought settings. They are regal in every sense of the word.

Angelina earlier stunned the public at the premiere for "The Changeling" wearing Mikimoto pearl earrings and ring with a strapless black dress, but no necklace. Mikimoto has been the "originator of cultured pearls since 1893," per Hamilton Jewelers (see their blog below). From Hamilton's pricing of Mikimoto jewelry, I would estimate Angelina's earrings to be worth approximately $3,000. As a bit of history, Kokichi Mikimoto was the first to commercially produce seeded pearls, succeeding in producing his first cultured pearl on July 11, 1893, and opening his first store in Tokyo's Ginza District in the early 1900's.

I believe Angelina Jolie and her gemstone jewelry could benefit from some additions of more radical bling. Angelina is a woman with a lot of self-confidence, but I would like to see her break out of the tried-and-true and wear more jewelry from less mainstream designers. I think it would suit her independent and creative spirit. She obviously draws quite a bit of inspiration from history, and it's working well for her. And I'm sure being in the public limelight puts a great deal of pressure on her, in terms of what she chooses to wear on the red carpet. Whatever jewelry she wears, I'm sure she will be a trendsetter for many years to come.

http://www.instyle.com/instyle/package/general/photos/0,,20195201_20195204_20459918,00.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100778944

http://www.exposay.com/v/27343/angelina-jolie-lost-million-diamond-earrings-hotel-suite/

http://www.asprey.com/

http://www.usmagazine.com/news/angelina-jolie-and-brad-pitt-hit-the-red-carpet

http://hamiltonjewelers.blogspot.com/2008/10/mikimoto-news-angelina-wears-mikimoto.html

http://www.mikimotoamerica.com/history/