DANIELLA KRONFLE

Get the Look: Mariah Carey

Now that the Mariah Carey's motherhood hiatus has ended with her accepting hosting duties on American Idol (she got 18 million dollars to participate), we are going to be seeing more of the diva. And that's a good thing.

I have always been a fan of Mariah's and of course of her lavish jewels and fabulous red carpet style. She loves jewelry and enjoys wearing it so much, she even created her own line of costume jewels for QVC. But today is not about the faux, but about some serious, serious bling. Here she is at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011 looking ravishing in white diamonds.

If you like the elegant look above, but you think it's a little too much or to impractical you don't have to wear so much jewelry at once. If you think you can pull this off, then by all means go for it. I love how good a whole lot of bling can look on the right girl. To get that white-hot diamond look above, I recommend the following from my collection.

The epitome of chic:
Fabulous chandelier style earrings dripping with diamonds,
and handmade in 18kt white gold.

Gorgeous diamond eternity bands,
handmade in white gold.

Mariah loves diamonds and butterflies, and so it is only natural to expect that delicate motif to be one of her trademarks. She has appeared more than once wearing this gorgeous butterfly diamond ring (in white gold), and I just love how playful and fun it is. I love the way it catches the eye, and how the work and craftsmanship of this beautiful piece lets the light shine through.

Butterflies are also one of my favorite themes in jewelry design. They are known to represent rebirth and strength. Here are some of my butterfly creations:

Fabulous Papillon ring in 18kt yellow gold and
sliced diamond wings. His eyes are ruby and his body
is also made of sparkly diamonds.

A gorgeous trio:
Papillon earrings in pink sapphires,
blue sapphires and tsavorite.
All three lovelies are handmade in 18k gold, with
diamond details.

From my Charmed collection, here are the fabulous butterflies:
From the top: Malachite, Cornaline and amazonite
butterfly charms surrounded by perfect little diamonds,
and suspended by delicate 18kt gold chains.

Here are the matching earrings.
They are super chic won alone too!

Jewelry shows your nature and emotional state, and sometimes celebrities take themselves too seriously. Thankfully for us, Maria is not one of those people. One of the ways she often has fun is by wearing playful and versatile diamonds hoops, like these, which she wears often for red carpet appearances and in her every day life....

Or these larger than life diamond hoops she wore at the Oscars...

Ultra feminine and glamourous, these mega hoops are not for everyone. However, there are always some alternatives to get a similar look to Mariah's hoops.

Diamond solitaire hoops, in 18kt white gold

Classic and elegant:
baguette cut diamond hoops in 18kt yellow gold

Here are my fabulous mega-hoops in
white and black diamonds. What
a great addition to any outfit.

Now, after all the research I did, I can really call Mariah the queen of diamonds. This girl does not mess around. Rarely are there any pictures of her wearing any kind of costume jewelry, semi-precious gems, or really, anything other than fabulous diamonds. She even has a diamond microphone, and her husband, Nick Cannon, gave her a pink and white diamond pacifier for one of their anniversaries. Now that's a girl after my own heart. When are you coming to Miami Mariah? I have things that will blow you away....

Long live Mariah!
Queen of Diamonds!

Now the diamond obsession don't just stop there. No sir. Take a look at this picture of her beautiful daughter Monroe Canon in her first of many diamond necklaces. If that's not enough, she's also draped in pearls. LOVE IT! This glamourous momma doesn't pull any stops for her pint-sized cutie. They don't call her a diva for nothing, and now she has her own little diva in training!

Love Always
Dani K

Celebrity Engagement Rings

With June being the beginning of wedding season here in the U.S., I've had a lot of requests for engagement rings.

Since celebrity engagement rings are all the rage, my clients often get inspiration for their lovely sparklers from them. And why not? Since Liz Taylor, celebs are known to have very desirable rocks. I did a little searching and found some incredible bling. Here are some of the most remarkable ones.

Khloe Kardashian:

For her ring, husband Lamar Odom chose this beautiful set in white gold and 12.5 carats worth of diamonds. The radiant cut solitaire alone is 9 carats. This is a beautiful and classic ring in a very ornate setting. A stone this big needs all the adornment it can get!

Reese Witherspoon:

Reese's ring from her new husband Hollywood agent Jim Toth is clean and simple. WIth fluid lines and a classic silhouette, this ring is very much like the star herself. This four carat Ashoka diamond comes to us courtesy of jeweler to the stars William Goldberg.

Miley Cyrus:

The latest girl to join to Hollywood engagement club is teen sensation Miley Cyrus. Her ring was designed by the famed Neil Lang, and her fiance Liam Hemsworth asked for something beautiful, romantic and unusual. The stone is a very special antique 3.5 carat cushion cut diamond, and the setting is intricately carved in an art nouveau floral pattern. Lane sculpted the band to fit the 1800's diamond in what he calls a "contemporary design based on vintage aesthetics." I think this trend is going to be big this year.

Penelope Cruz:

Newlywed Penelope Cruz has never confirmed her marriage to fellow Spaniard Javier Bardem, but with her gorgeous ring does all the talking. Her hot hubby chose this vintage three carat oval cut sapphire surrounded by diamonds to show his love and commitment. The diamonds are surrounded by platinum, giving the ring a beautiful scalloped floral effect. I love the idea of a non traditional ring for an engagement. Princess Diana started this trend with her sapphire ring, which is now worn by Duchess Kate.

Mariah Carey:

This ring is quite interesting because hubby Nick Cannon worked side by side with celebrity jewelry designers Jacob & Co to create this 17 carat pink diamond concoction. As precious as the diva herself, the center stone is a an emerald cut pink diamond surrounded by 58 intense pink diamonds, and two half moon diamonds on the sides. The one of a kind setting is art deco inspired, and the ring is reportedly worth 2.5 million dollars.

Gwyneth Paltrow:

This stunning sparkler is from Gwyneth's longtime rock-star husband Chris Martin, from the English band Coldplay. The asscher cut diamond is set on a halo of micropavee diamonds, which she often pairs with another micropavee halo, giving the appearance of two bands. Her ring is set in classic platinum, and is one of the most elegant celebrity engagement rings I've seen so far.

Giuliana Rancic

Not to be outdone by all the celebs she interviews, Giulianna's simple ring is quite extraordinary. This shimmering piece by Graf is a perfect ring for a modern bride. The cushion cut diamond is surrounded by smaller ones, and sits on top a triple band even more diamonds. It is set in platinum. The ring is said to worth an estimate of 100000 dollars and was a gift from husband Bill Rancic, when he proposed to her on a helicopter ride of downtown Chicago. How romantic!

Different women have different styles. Luckily there are so many choices available out there that you never has to compromise. You only needs to look as far as everyone's favorite celebrities for a bit of ideas or just to see what you don't want. The main thing when buying a ring is making sure that it comes from a certified diamond dealer, and that it has all the pertinent papers. What do you think of all the fabulous rings?

Love Always

Dani K