Colored gemstones were everywhere at this year’s Emmy Awards. Here Eva Longoria Parker and Kelly Osbourne sport gorgeous gemstone drop earrings that complement their look.

Huge statement necklaces was also a huge trend that looked great with all the black and navy dresses on the red carpet. Both Heidi Klum and Padma Lakshmi’s dramatic necklaces give their simple, dark gowns a jolt of color.

Bangles and cuffs worked great on all the asymmetrical, one-shouldered dresses, like Emily Blunt, and the already encrusted necklines of some of the dresses, like the gowns Anna Paquin and Kim Kardashian wore, gave the appearance of bold jewelry without actually wearing any.

A lot of stars wore dropped earrings in diamond, gemstone or pearl to complement 50s and 60s inspired bouffant up-dos, like Glee’s Naya Rivera and Vampire Diaries‘ Nina Dobrev

Day 2: What’s hot and beyond
Although there are trends to consider, when doing style appointments one needs to take into account the person who is going to wear the item. Not all the “hot” trends are “hot” on everyone, and not everyone wants what’s “hot”! I started my day talking about classic black and white looks with Bob Balaban. Later in the morning Steve Carell’s stylist came by looking for items that were elegant and conservative. This afternoon Niecy Nash is looking for pieces that are light and sparkly with pink shades, and Anya Saare from Entertainment Tonight / Insider wants an important piece with plenty of color.

Michael and actor Bob Balaban	Michael showing jewelry to Steve Carrell’s stylist.	Michael and entertainment journalist Anya Saare

In order to accommodate all the varying looks that celebrity clients and stylists are trying to achieve, it’s important to look beyond trends and concentrate on style. And when you have to play both trend forecaster and editor, you must make sure to not only have all the items that are new, hot and trending, but also ensure you have enough classic pieces to give you variety. Fortunately, I’ve met some really great designers who have furnished me with everything I need to accommodate almost every need.

Syna

Color has been huge on the runways this year. Therefore I know that I’m going to need pieces that will give me various color ways in gemstones. I’ve chosen four companies to highlight this trend toward color. Syna is a company doing amazingly bold and beautiful looks with gemstone beads as multi-strands and large tassels. The look is colorful and highly fashionable. Farah Khan is a designer who I met through a friend. Her styles have real red carpet glamour to them with rich colored gemstones and diamonds.

Vachi	AGTA

Vachi has created pieces that are colorful and youthful with a boho-chic appeal that has great movement and sparkle using rose cut red and black spinels and diamonds, as well as other opaque gems. The AGTA Collection, who works with world class designers creating one-of-a-kind pieces in beautiful colored gemstone, has pulled together a collection from its designer members that runs from conservative and classic to modern and edgy. The celebrities are really loving the unique pieces that they’re seeing.

Everlon

When it comes to classic red carpet style, nothing says elegance like the simplicity of diamonds. I’ve brought Jeffrey Daniels designs for Gem Platinum for his Hollywood Glamour looks, as well as pieces from the Everlon Diamond Knot Collection with their modern take on the diamond classics. And since I’m dealing with many male celebrities I’ve turned to Cliq by Superfit for one of the most inventive new ideas for tuxedos being worn with longer ties; the tie accent fits perfectly at the bottom of the knot of the tie, omitting the need for shirt studs and giving the wearer a signature elegance that they won’t find anywhere else.

So you see, creating looks for a variety of celebrities and stylists require more thought than just what’s hot.

To celebrate this year’s Emmy Awards, we’re letting style and jewelry expert Michael O’Connor hijack our blog for the next few days to talk about his daily experience as a style expert for this year’s Emmys.

Michael is one of the leading voices on style, jewelry and accessories, and he has become the “go-to” resource for editors and producers seeking information on current trends and celebrity style. As a style expert, Michael has appeared regularly on a variety of TV shows such as The Today Show, E! News and Access Hollywood (and check out the video below to see him in action on the red carpet).

This Sunday at the Emmys Michael will be doing what he does best, and he’ll be blogging about it every day until Monday . Check out Day 1 of his Emmy diary below. Tune in tomorrow for Day 2.

Emmy Awards diary of style expert Michael O’Connor:
Day 1: Preparing to set trends

Ever wonder what goes into making a celebrity look great on the red carpet? Well it’s not just hot rollers and glue guns on Sunday morning. The weeks prior to any red carpet event are critical. Not for the celebrity, but for the stylist. A good stylist must keep up to date on the most current trends at all times.

For weeks prior, there have been numerous calls between fashion designer showrooms, makeup artists, hairstylists and jewelry designers who are all pulling the newest styles, colors and pieces together. This last week has been all about making it fit together and accessorizing it. After weeks of calls and reviewing products, I’ve pulled together a collection of jewelry and accessories from 20 designers that are current, on trend and will work for many looks. These pieces will be showcased at private appointments and at a by-invitation-only suite held in a top-secret Beverly Hills location.

My plan prior to heading out to LA is two days of personal meetings with various celebrities and stylists for overall looks, and then two days of more general meetings in the suite for accessories alone. Then Saturday, last minute appointments and emergencies. In fact, on the way to the airport I already received a call asking for a last minute private appointment to the home of a celebrity who won’t be back to LA before Saturday. So although I think that everything is set at this point, it all will change and move several times before the end of the week.

Twilight’s Nikki Reed talks about her love of rose gold bangles, while The Real Housewives of New York City’s Kelly Bensimon talks about the rise of “green” jewelry and what she’s doing to contribute.

Other famous faces include True Blood’s Joe Manganiello, Dancing With The Stars‘ Melissa Rycroft, E!’s Guiliana and Bill Rancic and, of course, Simon G himself and his family.

Other familiar faces in the video include Josh Kaufman from Martin Flyer, Rick Mulholland from Novell, Anne Storm from Peter Storm and Chris Ploof of Chris Ploof.

And for the guys, Andy Koehn from Koehn & Koehn and Ron Samuelson from Baltimore Diamonds give men some pointers on how to shop for the perfect engagement ring.

Watch the video!

If you’re currently at work and can’t watch the video because you’re supposed to be working right now, here’s a rundown of the trends featured in the video:

Celebrity engagement rings

Gumuchian suggested a gorgeous ring from their new Halo collection for Kate Middleton along with their Twin Set bands, and Sylvie Collection showed us the most gorgeous emerald cut ring for Kim Kardashian.

Stackable Rings

Gemveto shows us some colorful wedding bands, all thin and stackable.

Rough Diamonds

Natalie K shows us a gorgeous pendant made entirely of large rough diamonds in a floral pattern.

Tattoos

Novell’s new TATU collection consists of bands with cool tattoo-inspired engravings.

Rock n’ Roll

Peter Storm’s new Rock My World collection proves that jewelry can have attitude too by designing a line that has a lot of rock influences.

New Styles For Men

Chris Ploof shows us some innovative pieces for men made using the unique mokume gane technique.

Engagement 101

Episode one from Jewelry Fashion Week is the perfect introduction to the event as well as an exciting overview of all the latest bridal jewelry trends. Some familiar faces in the video include Lita Asscher of Royal Asscher, Angela Karaguezian of Kirk Kara, Jennifer Singerman of Platinum Guild International, JCK Vice President Yancy Weinrich, Tim Spanjer of Ritani, and Evert De Graeve from A. Jaffe.

So, what are some of the trends covered in the video? You’ll have to watch to find out.

>>Watch more episodes of Engagement 101 TV

Our first day during Jewelry Fashion Week we set up a set right outside the JCK Luxury show for Engagement 101 TV. All kinds of jewelry designers stopped by, including Lita from Royal Asscher, Angela from Kirk Kara, Tim from Ritani, Josh from Martin Flyer and even Simon G himself. We then hit the floor and browsed all the newest jewelry designs. We took pictures of our favorites and posted them to the blog.

Next to the JCK shows was the Couture Show, a high-end jewelry event with all the latest jewelry trends. There we saw Erica Courtney’s new bridal collection, as well as new designs from Kwiat and Ladyheart.

After that, it was back to JCK at the Venetian Hotel where we saw showgirls, attended swanky cocktail functions and even met a robot. But it wasn’t all just about jewelry. There was Simon G’s celebrity studded event, as well as glitzy party thrown by the Gold Council.

For a recap of all the jewelry trends, check out the Rings page. To learn more about this year’s new and upcoming designers, check out the Designers page. For future Jewelry Fashion Week coverage, check out Engagement 101 TV all this month.

We stopped by to chat with Ron Samuelson from Samuelson’s Jewelers. He gave us some great tips on how men should shop for an engagement ring. The interview will be featured on Engagement 101 TV later this month.

These colorful, stackable bands by Gemveto are really cute.

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Check out these gorgeous emerald cut earrings by Gumuchian. Perfect for women who want to make a bold statement.

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Danny from Prisma Express smiles for Engagement 101’s cameras.

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We interviewed Chris Ploof for Engagement 101 TV. He showed us these unique meteorite wedding bands for men, which we didn’t get a picture of, but we did get this picture of Chris Ploof himself.

Wow! This pear shaped yellow diamond engagement ring by JB Star is a whopping 36 carats!

And there’s the designer himself, Raphael.

We loved these engagement rings by Tycoon.

This engagement ring by Ms Imagines has a rose gold lace detail that’s really unique.

Here we are at the Le Vian fashion show. The swanky event is held every year, and this year Entourage’s Perrey Reeves was in attendance. And yes, she was decked head to toe in Le Vian.

Here a model shows off gorgeous jewelry by Le Vian. The theme of the show was about future jewelry trends for 2010.

That’s it! Jewelry Fashion Week is over and we’re heading back to New York, but our coverage doesn’t stop here. Tune in to Engagement 101 TV all this month to see exclusive videos from the event.

We loved these stylish, stackable wedding bands by Ila&I.

An assortment of huge engagement rings by Sakamoto.

A new and innovative bridal design by Shaesby. This particular engagement ring is a pear cut with a unique twisty band.

A whole collection of engagement rings with Todd Reed’s trademark rough cut center stones.

Here’s a portion of the Engagement 101 team at the JCK Welcome Party at Mandalay Bay Hotel.

This Victoria Secret bra made by Damiani jewelry costs $3 million!

Here’s Engagement 101 on the red carpet at Simon G’s Summer Soiree party interviewing Dancing with the Stars‘ Melissa Ryecroft and Tye Strickland.

And here we are interviewing E!’s Bill and Guiliana.

Trust us; there was much, much more! To see the rest of our red carpet interview and designer interviews, check out Engagement 101 TV.