Clusters gather fans, deliver a fresh look to existing wardrobe
Clusters gather fans, deliver a fresh look to existing wardrobe

By Linda Miller

Published: July 1, 2007

Will cluster earrings be the next big trend?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Clusters were all over the red carpet during awards season, but glance around any jewelry display and what do you see? Chandeliers, long dangles and studs.

"Old habits are hard to break,” said Sandra Graham, jewelry style director for eBay. "For so many years, too many years, the choice has been chandeliers or studs, nothing fun in between. There is a very definite buzz that started way back last fall when the designers presented their spring runway shows. It's been slowly making its way to the public, but it is here, and I think it will continue through the holiday and even into next spring.”

Clusters look and feel so fresh, she said. "I am really tired of the shoulder sweepers tangling in my hair and the beads falling off my Boho chandeliers.”

It was 1999 when jewelry designer R.J. Graziano introduced chandelier earrings.

When Nicole Kidman showed up with a pair dangling from her golden earlobes, it wasn't long before women who weren't married to movie stars embraced the new look.

Chandeliers went to parties and black-tie events, the office and the movies, walks on the red carpet and out for ice cream on Sunday afternoons.

Like chandeliers, clusters are long on versatility.

"In colored stones, crystal or diamonds, they are great for evening. Pearl clusters are ladylike yet professional for the office. And I just got the best buy on a pair of coral flower clusters on eBay,” Graham said. "I plan to wear them with jeans or casual sundresses and flip-flops on the weekends.”

As a collector of antique jewelry, Graham said she tends to go for vintage clusters and had several pairs before the trend even hit.

"Some of my favorites are a pair of hand-painted floral bouquets and a pair of crystal and pearl clusters. I always say women cannot live by clothes alone,” she said. "They must have ear bobs, as Scarlett O'Hara called them in ‘Gone With the Wind.'”

Celebrities probably didn't call them ear bobs, but clusters certainly added a visual element to the red carpet.

"Penelope Cruz, Reese Witherspoon, Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet were among those wise enough to translate the new cluster earring trend into diamond sparklers at the Oscars,” Graham said.

"Kate's were green and yellow diamonds in the shape of flowers and a whopping 50 carats.”

After the designer shows in New York in September, clusters started showing up in magazines. Come Oscar season in February, celebrities put them in front of the world, Graham said.

Miss Jackson's in Tulsa carries both fine and fashion jewelry. Anne Sriphanya, jewelry and accessories buyer, said the store's estate jewelry vendor predicts cluster rings and earrings to become increasingly popular.

Diamond cluster earrings already are good sellers, she said, but the look seems to hit all price points, from costume to vintage to gemstones.

Samantha Meiler, editor of Life & Style magazine, said most women tend to think of clusters as more grown-up and pretty. It's an old kind of style that's coming back again, but do not mistake this look as matronly.

"Clusters are flattering on a lot of people,” she said. "People with long faces think long drops or chandeliers elongate their faces. Clusters are small and make a point without competing with the face.”

Meiler said most women probably own several pairs of chandeliers. "I think people are totally bored with them.”

However, women still like a showy earring.

"A stand-out pair of clusters can make a statement just as much as a big pair of chandeliers,” Meiler said.

Jewelry designer Kirsten Goede, a University of Tulsa graduate who lives in Chicago, agrees. "A gorgeous bundle of color draws the eye to the face and eyes.”

Take a cue from Witherspoon, who at the Oscars wore a body-hugging strapless gown, her straight hair and long bangs gently blowing in the breeze, and cluster earrings peeking out.

"It was a simple way to be sexy,” Meiler said.

And no one would accuse Witherspoon of looking matronly.