Cluster earrings make a comeback
By MARYLYNNE PITZ Special to the News

Long, dramatic cluster earrings and chandelier earrings like the Sorrelli earrings above right are perfect for adding drama to prom dresses. Sorrelli Jewelry is handcrafted from genuine semi-precious stones and high quality Austrian crystals. Sorrelli Jewelers, Italian for sisters, is owned by three sisters.

At the recent Academy Awards ceremony, the new bling of choice for actresses was large, cluster earrings.

There was Kate Winslet, best actress nominee for "Little Children," who wore with her green gown cluster earrings in the shape of flowers that featured green and yellow diamonds.

And there were Penelope Cruz and Helen Mirren and Cate Blanchett.

"People like Penelope Cruz looked gorgeous with her cluster earrings," said Sandra Graham, jewelry style director for eBay.

"Helen Mirren wore them. She's beautiful to begin with, but they added that extra sparkle."

"Cate Blanchett's earrings, some say, were the most unusual. They were almost like ear jackets. They looked like wings going up her ear."

Chandelier earrings are going out and cluster earrings are coming in as we head into spring. Many jewelry lines are offering cluster earrings made of black and white pearls either in round designs or the shapes of flowers.

"Women cannot live by clothes alone. They must have ear bobs," said Graham, using the term for earrings Scarlett O'Hara spoke during "Gone With the Wind."

"Large cluster earrings are an ode to the '80s," she said, adding that they're especially effective with a strapless gown.

Celebrities particularly like them. "An old celebrity trick is to put the bling around the neck and the ears because it brings the light to the face. And photographs are usually from the waist up."

If large cluster diamond earrings don't fit into your budget, consider Lucite, a type of acrylic glass. "At the spring runways we saw a lot of big Lucite earrings and big Lucite bracelets."

Colored stones, such as rubies, emeralds, aquamarine, peridot, tourmaline and citrine, are especially popular in four-inch gold cuffs, earrings or bracelets. Another jewelry designer, Tony Duquette, produces large clip-on earrings using colorful stones.

In London, known as "a fashion forward city, a lot of people there were seen wearing one long earring and one stud, which is also very evocative of the '80s," she said , adding that the stud could be gold, diamond or a gem stone. Such a style, she said, is "for people who are willing to take chances."

Other earring trends, she added, include organic details such as leaves and branches in free-form designs.

"Flowers are also a huge trend for spring," she said, adding that gold or ceramics and gemstones are formed into the shapes of flowers.

Bows are a popular theme, too."An interpreted bow made out of small pave diamonds with a gemstone drop on them looks beautiful on the red carpet," Krodel said.

Krodel is not ready to put away her chandelier earrings.

"Some people say, 'Oh, chandeliers are out.' I think women still like to add large earrings.

"There is still something special that happens when you wear sparkle or color around your face."

Marylynne Pitz can be reached at mpitz(at)postgazette. com.