Design Art and Photography

Los Angeles—The music industry was singing the blues when it came to fashion at last night’s 50th Annual Grammy Awards, with crooners such as Rihanna, Beyoncé and Nelly Furtado donning blue-tinted gowns.

In terms of jewelry, however, the stars hit a high note, with bold cuffs and drop earrings studded with diamonds taking first place as the top picks of the night.

Though cuffs have played a major role in red-carpet jewelry-wardrobing for some time now, the latest incarnations of the trend reveal sculptural forms that diverge from the ubiquitous smooth, circular, wrist-hugging style.

Natasha Bedingfield wears diamond earrings with 22-karat gold drops by Amrapali of Jaipur. Grammy-winner Rihanna donned Chopard’s aptly named “Barrel” cuff, a 27-carat diamond stunner that clung to her wrist at both ends but ballooned out in the center; American Idol alum Fantasia wore H. Stern’s textured, snaking “Celtic Dunes” cuff in 18-karat Noble gold and diamonds; and Beyoncé, who shimmied onstage alongside Tina Turner, chose jagged-edged diamond cuffs by Lorraine Schwartz to anchor her tulle, sequined confection of a dress by Elie Saab.

When it came to earrings, music’s leading ladies chose to keep the baubles short, framing their faces at chin-length or even higher.

Miley Cyrus dons diamond and shell earrings by Bochic. Beyoncé dazzled in chandelier earrings featuring pear-shaped diamonds by Lorraine Schwartz; Alicia Keys sparkled in 36.33-carat “Sodwana” hoop earrings by Diamond in the Rough, which featured a wavy 18-karat gold design studded with 30 rough diamonds in varying shades of cognac, azure, canary and rose; “Unwritten” singer Natasha Bedingfield matched a purple Reem Acra gown with diamond earrings featuring 22-karat gold drops from Amrapali of Jaipur; and teen queen Miley Cyrus went full-on with organic jewelry, donning shell earrings with diamonds by Bochic to go with her mermaid-like locks.

While necks (minus a conspicuous gold coil number worn by Nelly Furtado) were for the most part ignored in favor of accents for the wrists and ears, right hands got a lot of love at last night’s show.

Jay-Z chose diamond pins and diamond dress buttons by Neil Lane. Fergie donned a diamond “Dome” right-hand ring by Cartier; Lisa Rinna wore H. Stern’s pavé diamond “Golden Stones” right-hand ring; Natalie Cole wore Chopard’s ashoka-cut fancy-yellow-diamond right-hand ring with pavé diamond band; and Rihanna went with Chopard as well, donning the brand’s “So Happy” diamond right-hand ring.

Men weren’t immune to the call of diamonds either, with Chris Brown, Akon, Ludacris and Ne-Yo all choosing to accessorize with diamond studs. Jay-Z took the bling one step further, wearing diamond pins and diamond dress buttons by Neil Lane.