“It’s my lucky color,” Jennifer Lopez reveals about her newest treasure, an 8.5 carat natural green diamond presented by fiancé Ben Affleck. The rare jewel, valued at an estimated $8-10 million, was sourced by Ilan Portugali from Beverly Hills Diamonds, and designed in a platinum setting flanked by two white trapezoid diamonds by Tamara Rahaminov and Nicol Goldfiner of Rahaminov Diamonds.
Two decades ago, Ben presented J Lo with a Harry Winston 6.1 carat natural pink diamond engagement ring, sparking a major trend in pink diamonds throughout the industry, continuing to the present day. Although their first engagement was called off, the wedding’s back on! Will Bennifer 2.0 trigger another similar colored diamond tsunami?
If the recent Oscars are anything to go by, Jennifer’s engagement ring is right on trend! Today’s consumer palette is sophisticated, appreciative of distinctive colored gems transcending the traditional “big three” – sapphires, emeralds and rubies. Rare garnets, such as spessartite and demantoid, spinels of all colors, multicolor sapphires in every hue, Paraiba, orange and other rare tourmalines, and “pink emeralds” or morganite are ubiquitous. Colored diamonds, including yellow, pink and blue, are in demand. Natural green diamonds are amongst the rarest. Although green diamonds can be color enhanced by irradiation, natural green diamonds do exist – irradiated by nature.
Recently at the Academy Awards, Jessica Chastain complemented her Oscar on the Red Carpet with Gucci high-jewelry pieces from the house’s Hortus Deliciarum (“garden of delights”) collections, featuring lion’s head chandelier earrings with pink, lilac and light blue spinels, gold diamond-encrusted rings, one with a lion head and another with a center spinel in a stunning bubble-gum pink hue, and a statement bracelet of an impressive 44 pink spinels and diamonds. The singer H.E.R. complemented her vibrant neon minimalist yellow dress with an extravagant emerald and diamond choker and matching earrings.
And today’s Red-Carpet jewelry is not for women only! Daniel Kaluuya paired a bright green Gucci satin double-breasted jacket with Boucheron’s Wolf ring strikingly embellished with yellow sapphires in 18 karat gold. Timothee Chalamet set the bar with his black sequined Louis Vuitton suit (sans shirt) and array of Cartier jewelry, including diamond Panthere de Cartier and “Geometry & Contrast” necklaces with emeralds and onyx. It’s part of the growing gender-neutral trend we’re seeing – jewelry worn interchangeably by men and women.
After a long winter and two plus years of pandemic hibernation, spring is in full bloom! Opulence, exuberance, and romance are in the air, expressed in an explosion of color, ranging from vibrantly saturated vivids to soft pastels and themes from nature, such as flowers and animals. J Lo’s world-class green diamond engagement ring is spot on trend and may well ignite a dramatic surge of enthusiasm for colored diamond and gemstone engagement rings, especially spring green. If so, it may be a “lucky color” for all of us!
