Goodbye, Oprah! I Will Miss Your Jewelry...

As a nod to Oprah’s farewell week, let’s take a look at her jewelry and her style over the years.  I just spent the weekend viewing hundreds of images of her and girrrrrllllll…….she's got some bodacious jewels.  I’m not sure I’m in total sync with her clothing stylist because her looks have been hit or miss over the years, but one thing is for sure: as she acquired wealth, she definitely got better jewelry.  







Oprah’s Earrings

 

Starting with the 1970’s look.  Not fair because we all looked like dorks back then.  Funny how we thought we looked so good. Do you suppose she still wears these peace earrings every now and then?

By the 80’s, the hair was getting bigger as were the earrings.  These were the years we ruined our ear lobes.  We all talked about getting surgery on them but few of us did.  There are lots of little lobe  backs and discs you can use to camouflage any flaw you have.  Look closely at the image above.  Her earrings look eerily like Michael Jackson’s gloves.

In the 1990’s we still had big hair and big earrings and Toontown gave birth to the smoky eye.  However, in the image above you can see she has discovered yellow diamonds.  Oprah seems to favor drops, and although I don’t know for sure, they look like they could be detachable.  Her diamond necklace is gorgeous as well.   

1997-These must be an extra pair she keeps laying around.  They are small compared to what she owns today.

2004-Chandelier earrings were new on the scene and we sold lots of them.  Oprah looks good in hanging earrings.

2006-I used to see her wear her yellow diamonds a lot but I haven’t seen them in a while.  These could be about 10 carats per ear and could easily cost over $250,000 each.

2011 - It’s really hard to estimate the carat weight of these earrings but they are huge.  Could be 5-10 carats each.   If you check out Blue Nile, you can find radiant cut diamonds at approximately 6.0 tcw, G, VS-1, and are selling for around $233,000 each, making the approximate value of Oprah’s earrings close to a half million dollars.

I was really surprised not to find any definitive information on the size and value of Oprah's earrings, or of the diamond house that sold them to her.  I found very general estimates of “10 carats," but they did not indicate whether or not that was total weight for one earring, or the total weight for both. In my opinion, the bottom of one earring (one pear stone) could be as much as 10 carats.  And, of course, Oprah would only have the best quality diamonds available. On eBay right now in the loose diamond category, a 7.89 carat, pear shaped, D-IF, GIA certified loose diamond (D-IF is the top quality you can buy) is selling for $1,922,004.  If you want to sacrifice a little clarity, you can find a 12.15 carat, pear shaped, D-VVS2, GIA certified loose diamond for $1,321,876.  This gives you some idea of how much just one stone can cost.  The thing is, you must find four equally matched stones to create these earrings, and that is not easy to do.  So as you can imagine, Oprah has a very special pair of earrings.

Oprah’s Watches

Considering how much she spends on her diamonds, I’m surprised by her watches.  You don’t see her wear one in many photos, but she is very faithful to Philip Stein.  Oprah gave them away on her Favorite Things shows in 2003, 2005 and 2010.

In 2010, Philip Stein commemorated her 25 years on TV with a special edition diamond and non-diamond version.  The two and the five are highlighted to recognize 25 years on the Oprah Show.  We carry Philip Stein in my store and I remember when these watches came in right before the holidays.  We only got one diamond and one non-diamond version as they were limited editions.  No sooner had we put them in the case when someone came in for the diamond watch.  She was a true Oprah devotee, and although her head didn’t exactly spin 360° around, and she looked like Susan Boyle, pre-makeover, she was damn happy to get this watch.

TAGS: Oprah, Diamonds, Philip Stein, Watches,Earrings