SAG Awards Red Carpet Jewelry Roundup

Someone must have sent a memo throughout Hollywood before the SAG Awards last night. “Leave all those heavy statement necklaces at home,” this super-secret memo must have read. “Take all the bracelets you own and wear them. All at once.” How else can we explain the extraordinarily strong presence of statement-making bracelets, bangles and cuffs on last night’s red carpet? All in all, we counted 33 celebrities with fabulous diamond, gold and gemstone bracelets, from Tilda Swinton to Dianna Agron. This plethora of wrist decoration meant that no one style of bracelet can be said to have emerged as a clear trend from the night. Several bracelet styles were worn by enough well-dressed A-listers to be considered a bona-fide emerging trend. Here are the top styles:

1. Textured yellow gold. After a hiatus of several years from prominence in fine jewelry, rich-looking yellow gold has reemerged as a fashionable choice for Hollywood’s best dressers. Most of these pieces, especially the yellow gold link bracelets and cuffs that were so popular at the SAG’s, eschew diamonds and gemstones in favor of intricate shapes, textures, and oversized, sculptural design elements. Angelina Jolie wore a heavy ribbed gold cuff from House of Levande, while actress Amber Heard wore an ethereal cuff featuring delicate yellow gold wire. Bridesmaids star Rose Byrne chose a yellow gold bracelet with large, square, links, while My Week with Marilyn’s Michelle Williams sported a twisted gold bracelet that resembled a rope, courtesy of Fred Leighton. Gretchen Mol chose a stack of classic Indian-style narrow yellow gold bangles, while fashion iconoclast Tilda Swinton brandished a wide cuff of punctured yellow gold that resembled a cheese grater.

2. Contrasting metals. Fashion rules once dictated that the well-dressed woman never wear more than one metal at the same time—but no longer. Now, one of the biggest trends of the year has women piling on several diamond bracelets at the same time—the more metals, finishes, and textures, the better. Emily Blunt wore a stack of sparkling, contrasting bangles by Lorraine Schwartz, while The Help’s Viola Davis chose a single cuff that included several colors of metal in its design. Heather Morris, of Glee, played off this trend with a wide cuff that featured an unusual white material and spiky finish, while her co-star Amber Riley opted for a stack of contrasting bangles on one arm. Veteran soap star Linda Gray piled on metal bracelets with various styles of chains and links, while 30 Rock star and writer Tina Fey played it safe with three slim, simple bangles in subtly contrasting metals. But of course, this wild trend can be taken too far, as we saw with Cougartown star Busy Phillips, who lived up to her name with seven different contrasting bangles, three heavy beaded necklaces, all over a printed long-sleeved dress.

3. Gemstone-heavy bracelets. Colored gemstones, like sapphires, rubies, emeralds, onyx, citrine, and more, have been extremely popular for earrings and cocktail rings recently. While we saw plenty of those items on the SAG red carpet, we were even more impressed by a new trend that saw these sparkling gemstones being set into ornate, statement bracelets—sometimes with several colors of gems in the same bracelet. It’s a great, wearable trend, and an easy way to jazz up a simple outfit. Just look at The Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik, who made a simple black dress awards-show-ready with a heavy multicolored gemstone bracelet . Glee’s Dianna Agron combined a few trends by wearing two bangles of contrasting metals set with colored stones, while Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara matched her pink-and-purple gemstone bracelet by Lorraine Schwartz with her plum-colored gown.

4. Diamond bracelets. Trends may come and go, but diamonds, in all their forms, are forever. More than any other style, celebrities on the SAG red carpet chose tennis bracelets, cuffs, and bangles set with sparkling white diamonds. The Help star Jessica Chastain announced her new A-List status with 145 carats of borrowed Harry Winston gems, including a spectacular oversized diamond cuff. Regina King, Aimee Garcia, and Aleksa Palladino all chose rigid bangles set with diamonds, while Angela Kinsey, Kathy Bates, and Naya Rivera chose diamond tennis bracelets, whose flexible links allow them to drape over the individual wearer’s wrists. Natalie Portman, in her first red carpet appearance since the birth of her son several months ago, wore a plum-colored dress, accessorized simply with hoop earrings and a fabulous tennis bracelet (a motherhood present from fiancé Benjamin Milliepied, perhaps?). Glee stars Jenna Ushkowitz and Lauren Potter both wore statement-making diamond cuffs, but it was their co-star Lea Michele that made the biggest statement of all—with one wrist entirely weighed down with chunky bangles, and the other encircled by a dramatic, snake-like wraparound bracelet encrusted in diamonds.