What is new in jewelry this season? From art deco and unusual ear fashions to jewelry that actually makes you feel better, this season’s jewelry is unusual to say the least.

Period Drama

Many innovative jewelry designers today are employing motifs or materials that recall days gone by. Victorian style influences include intricate gold work, feminine color, and nature motifs, especially flowers. The Edwardian era inspires lacy openwork in precious platinum with diamonds and pearls. Art Deco style pieces have an industrial or Cubist feel that speaks of the technology and art of the 1920s and early ’30s. The 1940s are back with retro-style jewelry that is oversize yet feminine: strands of white Australian pearls and gray Tahitians are a tribute to American style icons like Audrey Hepburn and Slim Keith. References to even the 1980s clothes were on the fall runways, the perfect backdrop for jewelry with a chunky feel, again.

Graphic Detail

As fashion flaunts geometric shapes and Pucci-inspired prints, jewelry features circles, crosses, squares, hearts, stars and spirals. Collars and cuffs add flair, while pendants and charms are symbols of personal meaning. A diamond on a woman’s left hand symbolizes eternal love, and now the “right hand ring” is declaration of independence. Cocktail rings show a pearl in a swirl, or a center shape in colored gemstone pavé. A disc or square of platinum is a graphic pendant, and a white gold chain with Tahitian pearls at either end is wrapped and worn high, or tied once, slipping into the décolletage. Finally, as an engagement ring or as a pendant to rest at the throat, diamonds cut in fancy shapes – heart, oval, pear, and marquise – add modernity.

Simply Ear-resistible

In jewelry fashion, there’s always a zone on which to focus. This season, the ears and neck have the spotlight, enhanced by dramatic earrings. The chandelier reigns, in Empress-worthy diamonds and architectural styles that utilize negative space. Pagoda earrings with tiny briolettes complement Chinoiserie styles like kimono tops. Showing the light and dark sides of passion, a pair of pearl drops offer one stormy black Tahitian and one pure white Aussie. High-karat gold adds ethnic flavor with textural detail and rich gold tassels. Platinum mesh earrings are often accented with tiny colored gemstones. Long precious metal sticks offer a pearl at the bottom or a cluster of juicy fruit gemstones. Nature offers inspiration for large-scale earrings in the shapes of snowflakes, intricate blossoms, feathers, and waterfalls.

Color As Anti-Depressant

Psychologists believe color can stimulate feelings. Light green evokes calm, and bright green is uplifting. Green gemstones include peridot, emerald, jade (often intricately carved), amazonite, fluorite, apatite and pistachio Tahitian pearls. Blue, the color of serenity and harmony, helps soothe the mind and protect the wearer. Gemstones to watch for: lapis lazuli, sapphire, iolite, tanzanite, chalcedony, Peruvian opal, aquamarine, and blue topaz. Circus red, known to escalate the pulse, symbolizes vibrance and passion with gemstones such as garnet, rubellite, oxblood coral, spinel, ruby, red beryl and red coral, especially pretty set in red or rose gold. And never undervalue the absence of color--white. Icy white diamonds, creamy white South Sea pearls, and precious platinum symbolize eternity, peace and purity.

 Timely Fashion

Wearing watches just to tell time is a thing of the past. They are one of this season’s hottest, must-have accessories. From bridal to black tie affairs, watches are no longer left behind in favor of fashion. “Women and men are flocking to buy watches that are as fashionable as they are functional,” says Amanda Berg, a spokeswoman for the Jewelry Information Center.  Watches with unique face shapes, Art Deco inspired dials, yellow gold watches and chronographs for women are among this season’s hottest trends.

Get in Shape: Simple round or rectangle? Forget it! Fun and funky watch face shapes are allowing watch wearers to show off their playful and fashion driven sides. These watches are for those who are ready to make a statement and are not afraid of drawing some attention. A watch with a different face shape has the ability of being the ultimate conversation starter. Roger Dubuis’s “Follow Me” cross-shaped watch(pictured), modeled after the Swiss flag, is a bold and colorful tribute to women as it is the first Dubuis collection designed exclusively for the female wrist. Corum has been one of the major watch manufactures that has really taken to this category. They have many different styles that are extremely popular with celebrities.

Deco Dials: Art Deco is sweeping the nation! From the big screen to the red carpet, fashion stylists are dressing celebrities in Art Deco inspired jewelry and watches. Watchmakers are using the 1920s as inspiration to create watch faces and dials that are as stylish as they are nostalgic. For most of the watches, the numbers are a familiar deco format. They are large, long numbers with no sharp or straight lines that curve around the dial with a fluid motion. The watch company Ritmo Mundo has several lines of watches with these deco inspired dials that are intricately manufactured with Italian design. Ebel’s Beluga Tonneau also has a deco dial with large markers at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 positions that are all incased inside a sleek and curvy face. For other Art Deco inspired watches look for the Seiko Premier, Ladies’ Bulova Strap, and Patek Philippe’s 10-day tourbillon.

The Golden Hour: In the 1990s, white metals began to dominate the watch and jewelry world. Now it is time for the power of yellow to make its brilliant comeback. Yellow gold watches have the ability to make an individual look established, polished, and classy. Do not mistake these watches for a mere status symbol because they are now a symbol of elite fashion. Looking for a gold watch with a more subdued feel? Look to the warmth of rose gold. Tag Heur has revamped its classic Monza watch by giving it a rose gold face and black leather band. For the classic and ever timely look of 18K, Omega has a Seamaster Aqua Terra watch that comes in 18K yellow gold with a mother of pearl face. Other 18K watches include Christian Dior’s La D de Dior solid 18K version complete with a gold face and diamond dial, Ebel’s Beluga in 18K with a diamond dial, and Bulgari’s Rettangolo watch with yellow gold case and bracelet.

Sporty Made Pretty: Millions of Americans work out each and every day. Just because people work out does not mean that they have to give up their fashion watch. Chronograph watches are now being offered in striking colors, with diamonds and color gemstones, and are sleek and eye-catching. Chronograph watches have been popular with active individuals and men because they are sporty, handsome looking, and their features allow the individual to take split second timings. Timex’s women’s chronograph, with baby blue strap and face, is an inexpensive way for the fashionable navigator to obtain this look. For other options, Ebel’s classic wave chronograph with purple strap and diamonds is sure to keep the wearer in fashion and on pace. Concord’s Colored La Scala Diamond Chronograph Collection brings color and sparkle to the chronograph category as well.