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| Rihanna wore a Hearts on Fire diamond necklace and Lydia Courteille ruby rings while performing on stage at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards |
MTV, the cable network that was an extraordinary success in the 1980s popularizing music videos, is now just one more channel on a cable box with a segmented audience. It rarely even plays music anymore, opting for a diet of reality and scripted TV for its teenage demographic.
MTV’s last bastion of broad popularity is its annual Video Music Awards. Its most recent edition was held Sunday at Madison Square Garden. The awards themselves don’t garner much attention. It serves more as a platform for great performances and fashion, and as a forum for outrageous public displays or battles among the entertainers.
As far as the jewels on view—whether it’s by paying performers to wear their pieces or through agencies who work with performers and their staffs—many of the pieces worn on the red carpet and during performances is similar to what one would see at the Oscars and other more establishment events. In other words far too expensive and too “adult” to be worn by those attending high school.
It seems to me that promoting high jewelry to teenagers is an extremely difficult pitch. It would be better if fashion-oriented brands would present jewels that young women can afford to wear.
As for jewelry, the two stars of the evening should come as no surprise: Beyoncé and Rihanna.
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| Getty Images |
Beyoncé and her daughter Blue Ivy reportedly wore $13 million worth of Lorraine Schwartz jewels. The Los Angeles jewelry designer is extremely popular among music industry royalty.
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| Rihanna in Harry Kotlar diamond earrings and a Lydia Courteille tsavorite and green tourmaline ring and a 36mm Chopard timepiece featuring 21.09-carats of diamonds set in 18k white gold from the “L’Heure Du Diamant” collection |
Meanwhile, Rihanna again served as a canvas for a variety of jewelry firms. Her four performances with four completely different looks were embellished with Harry Kotlar diamond earrings, a Lydia Courteille tsavorite and green tourmaline ring, a Hearts on Fire diamond necklace, Lydia Courteille ruby rings and a 36mm Chopard timepiece featuring 21.09-carats of diamonds set in 18k white gold from the “L’Heure Du Diamant” collection.
Taking into account what I was saying earlier about jewels and youth, there will always be exceptions and Beyoncé and Rihanna are the exceptions. Their star power, fashion presence, incredible talent and universal appeal put them in a class all their own, deserving of wearing the highest of high jewels.
The other notable jewels on parade at the VMAs include:
Nicki Minaj in Harry Kotlar diamond cluster earrings and a Le Vian diamond ring.
Amber Rose in a Borgioni rose gold diamond ring along with Le Vian rings and white gold/diamond bracelet.
Ariana Grande in Harry Kotlar diamond earrings.
JinJoo Lee of DNCE in Pasquale Bruni black diamond and diamond ring, Bavna black diamond earrings and rings and Le Vian white gold and black diamond rings. As an added bonus, Cole Whittle of DNCE in Pluma Italia chains.
Actress and model Shelley Hennig in Le Vian diamond earrings.
Halsey in a Noudar diamond hand chain and Harry Kotlar diamond rings.
Canadian fashion model, spokesperson and activist, Winnie Harlow in Le Vian diamond rings.
Bebe Rexha in Le Vian diamond earrings and Borgioni diamond rings.
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