I already covered the jewelry worn by some of Hollywood's best at the Academy Awards but what about the watches. No diamonds for Leonardo DiCaprio but National Jeweler reports that Leo was wearing the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Minute Repeater for the big night. The round watch is done in platinum and has a 15-day power reserve movement that chimes the hours, quarter hours and minutes. The watch is valued at $175,000 and is a limited edition of 200 pieces. He wore the same watch to the Blood Diamond premiere in Los Angeles but he also owns a Master Compressor Geographic and the Reverso Septantieme both from Jaeger-LeCoultre. I wonder if Leo has his eye on a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Triptyque.

At the Academy Awards the blackened gold and rough diamond trend continued with many stars wearing pieces that were had a vintage feel. Last year's most amazing piece was probably the Bulgari collar worn by Keira Knightley. There weren't, in my opinion, any real showstopper pieces like that on the red carpet this time but there were definitely some major jewels being displayed.

The evening belonged to earrings and bracelets. Jennifer Hudson wore a yellow diamond necklace (picture after the jump) and a few others wore diamond necklaces but overall heavy earrings and wrists layered with diamonds were the order of the day. Cate Blanchett, Cameron Diaz, Jessica BIel and Jada Pinkett Smith all surrendered their earlobes for the evening to some beautiful and costly gems.

The extraordinary bracelets worn by Nicole Kidman were a pair of 375 carat rough diamond cuffs designed by L'wren Scott. The cuffs contain 187 "arrowhead" shaped diamonds that are known as maccles. The stones are distorted octahedrals that at some point in their growth have "changed direction" creating distinctive triangle shape and are uncut.

After the jump, some of my favorite gems of the evening.

PS (For Info and commentary on the fabulous gowns, please check out our sibling blog Styledash).

I've been feeling a bit bad for Anika Noni Rose, the third girl in the Dreamgirls trio. After all, Jennifer Hudson got the Oscar nod and the Vogue cover and Beyonce got a Sports Illustrated cover but what has Miss Rose gotten? At least she gets to wear a pair of amazing shoes. Stuart Weitzman has announced that Anika Noni Rose , will wear the Stuart Weitzman Diamond Dream Shoe to the 79th Annual Academy Awards. The shoes include 1,420 brilliant Kwiat diamonds totaling over 30 carats. The diamonds are set in platinum circles and the shoes are worth over half a million dollars.

One of the pre-Oscar events this week was the Celestial event held by the Diamond Information Center at Soho House LA. The invitation-only event was a week-long celebration for 2007 Oscar nominees and presenters. The event featured an African-inspired diamond spa with an African rough diamond ritual and massage and a warm kimberlite stone hand and foot massage. Dr. Elliot Ndlovu, a spiritual (sangoma) and medicinal healer (inyanga) from South Africa's Fordoun Spa was also on hand to preside over meditation and relaxation rituals. The star of the show however are the gorgeous diamonds on display, over $50 million diamonds from renowned jeweler Fred Leighton displayed $50 million of diamonds including many gorgeous museum-quality pieces. Guests received an Isibindi medallion from Mia & Kompany as a gift. After the jump, more unique diamond pieces.

Since the night of the Academy Awards is the most star-studded event in Hollywood, it is only fitting that it be as glamorous as possible. To give this weekend's 79th annual awards ceremony some extra sparkle, Swarovski put together a giant Crystal Curtain that will be displayed on stage during the presentations. The curtain is made with over 50,000 imported Swarovski crystals and stretches 34 feet across. It weighs over 2,000-lbs.

The full stage setup for the show won't be seen until the broadcast on Sunday night, but the curtain will be setting the bar high for the rest of the decor.

Victoria's Secret joins the Academy Awards swag parade with their annual gift to the best actress nominees. Women's Wear Daily reports that the gift includes a strapless bra that comes with a white gold chain with bearing 14 diamonds ( a total of around four carats) and a pavé diamond circle at the center of the bra and there is also a lip gloss spangled with diamonds and pink sapphires. The question I have is how does Vicky's know what bra size the nominees are?

One of the most-talked about dresses from this year's Oscars will hit the auction block. Keira Knightley' is putting her burgundy silk Vera Wang dress up for bid on eBay as part of a benefit for Oxfam. The money raised will support Oxfam's work in East Africa. Bidding starts April 21 and ends April 30. The dress is on display at an Oxfam shop in Notting Hill Gate.

[via itv.com]

A few days after any awards show, I always like to check in with Clothes Off Our Back to see what celebrity cast-offs are up for bid. It's pretty slim pickings from the Oscars thus far but if you have a hankering for Jennifer Aniston's shoes and handbag you can pick them up here. The Lana Marks Cleopatra Clutch that Jennifer Aniston carried to the 78th Annual Academy Awards is being auctioned off to benefit Cure Autism Now, Half the Sky and UNICEF's work in Darfur.

This year's fashion offered a few hits and as always some startling misses. This year the predominant color seemed to be no color at all. Many gowns were some form of beige or nude. My picks for the best and worst are below. Let me know yours in the comments.

Best
Women
1) Reese Witherspoon's elegant vintage Christian Dior.
2: Ziyi Zhang's Armani bustier and Swarovski crystal-covered skirt. As fabulously dazzling as the costumes she wore in "Memoirs of a Geisha."
3) Salma Hayek's azure satin gown by Versace. The color was gorgeous but it did show the lines of her foundation garments.
4) Jessica Alba's gold Versace gown. I'm not sure what she's doing on at the Oscars but she looks good.
5) Jennifer Garner's Michael Kors gown. Shimmering, flattering, and takes good advantage of that post-baby cleavage.


Men:
1) Ludacris's tasteful black-on-black Armani ensemble.
2) Paul Giamatti's Hugo Boss suit, tasteful, elegant and quite slimming.
3) Will Smith's midnight blue David August tuxedo. Not all men can pull off wearing a vest but it looks quite handsome on Mr. Smith.

Worst
Women:
1) Maggie Gyllenhaal's Bottega Veneta gown. It looked liked living room drapes hanging on drooping gold chains. And what's with all the gowns with pockets this year? Is there a purse boycott I was unaware of?
2) Jennifer Lopez's vintage gown from Rita Watnick at Lily et Cie. There's just too much going on here, wraps, pleats, surplus fabric. Her impressive figure looks best in simpler outfits.
 3) Michelle Williams's screaming yellow gown from Vera Wang. A beautiful girl but that color is not flattering with pale skin and the tulle frills at the top combined with the drapery over the lower half seem to draw attention to all the wrong areas. In nearly every picture the neckline is flapping up. Also the necklace which uses blackened metal is too harsh with such a delicate look.
4)Naomi Watts's shredded catastrophe from Givenchy. The color made her look washed out and the dress looked as if she had a bad run in with a lawnmower.
5) Charlize Theron's black Christian Dior. We realize she probably has to wear Christian Dior since she shills for their fragrance line but this dress would be a beauty without that giant shoulder pouf.

Men:
1) Phillip Seymour Hoffman's tuxedo. On a man of a certain girth on all black ensemble with a silver tie is not flattering.
2) Jamie Foxx: turquoise shirt and shadow-striped suit seemed like an attempt to attract attention now that it's not his year anymore.
3) Was Morgan Freeman wearing an ascot around his neck?
4) Gary Busey, ah, Gary Busey.


Most gorgeous accessories
1) Keira Knightley's Asprey Bulgari collar. It probably would have worked better with a strapless dress but it's a show-stopper of a necklace.
2) Amy Adams's aquamarine and diamond earrings (a loan from Carolina Herrera who designed her gown). They look heavy but so gorgeous with her big blue eyes.
3) Nicole Kidman's Fred Leighton bracelets. Just the right touch of sparkle with her Balenciega applique gown.
4) Jennifer Garner's chandelier earrings.
5) Jane Seymour's tiny guitar purse.

Everyone has been primped up, kitted out and gifted until their pockets overflow which means it's finally time for the Oscars. We'll be keeping an eye on the fashion and the jewels following along with the Crashing the Oscars blog. Our sibling Cinematical will also be offering an expert opinion on all things Oscar.

Details on yet another Oscar swag bag have been released. This one was put together by stylist Lash Fary as the consolation prize for the non-winning nominees. The $27,000 Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas Gift Package includes a stay at the Mirage and a variety of items that range from  a pair of $1,000 Black Diamond Havianas flip flops and a $5,800 certificate for free LASIK eye surgery to items available in your local drug store like those new Shower Soother pellets from Sucadare and a Tide Stain Remover Pen. And for those who need to stay up late to party there is Steven Seagal's Lightning Bolt Energy Drink. The Star Style Salon has the complete list. It's a good move for the Mirage which could use a bit of celebrity buzz as of late.

[Thanks, Alberto]

We've covered a few Oscar suites already the but The Envelope, the LA Times Oscar blog, has a round up of all the Oscar suites where the stars go to pick up free stuff, receive spa treatments and ogle jewelry. In the SoHo House LA, the Diamond Aquifer suite offers diamond-based spa treatments, astrological readings and plenty of jewels to try on. The Penninsula Hotel, The Four Seasons and L'Ermitage are all offering suites full of a dizzying array of items from gift certificates for Botox and Mystic Tans to jewelry and sunglasses to tempt the nominees and anyone else with the requisite star power. The list of stars attending the suites is always impressive which just goes to prove that no matter how wealthy you are, everybody loves free stuff.

Even eBay is getting into the pre-Oscar fashion game. The  eBay Fashion Suite at  Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills opens today. The suite will feature  designer clothing and one-of-a-kind diamond jewelry all  of which was purchased and available on eBay. The eBay Fashion Suite includes fashion from designers Tracey Reese, Doo.Ri Chung, Adrienne Landau, and jewelry from designer Dana*David, and from the New York/London retailer, Showroom 64.  eBay Style Director Constance White and eBay Jewelry Style Director Sandra Graham will be on site all week to offer advice.

Another pre-Oscar jewelry preview has been announced. This one is from the Platinum Guild International and will display platinum jewelry designs from 25 jewelers including Neil Lane, Jacob & Co., Erica Courtney and Peter Norman & Co. There will be more than $12 million dollars worth of jewelry will be on display at the  event March 2 and 3 at the Mondrian Hotel in Hollywood. Some of the most notable pieces include a $1 million Kothari & Co. ruby ring, a platinum and 51.50 cushion-cut diamond necklace from Jacob & Co., a platinum and diamond Vertu phone worth $44,000 and the famous 67.5 Black Orlov diamond set into a platinum necklace, valued at $2 million. As I mentioned before, the Orlov has quite a legend, including a curse which may or may not have been broken when the original stone was broken into smaller pieces . I can't wait to see who wears this to the awards.

We mentioned the heated auction for Jack's shirts from Brokeback Mountain a few weeks ago. The auction closed on February 20 and the shirts sold for $101,100.51. Gay.com has an interview with the winner, collector Tom Gregory. Gregory is the life partner of David Bohnett, founder of GeoCities and the head of the David Bohnett foundation. In the interview, Gregory says he will never separate the shirts and he won't let anyone try them on.