Celebrating their 60th, or diamond anniversary, the Emmy awards went all out for their 2008 gala. The diamond themed Governor’s Ball featured floral arrangements with diamond bases and guests were even served a specially themed dinner that included such delectable dishes as a Dove Chocolates dessert called the Dark Chocolate Diamond. Faux diamond pendants were even suspended from the ceiling of the ballroom to add to the feel of the event.The diamond theme did not stop with the Governor’s Ball. The big night was star-studded as always, and the stars held nothing back as they wore extravagant diamond pieces made by all of the leading designers in the industry. The ceiling at the awards was breathtakingly decorated by a $10 million dollar diamond chandelier that used over 3,300 perfectly cut diamonds and took over five months to make.
Perhaps the most extravagant use of diamonds was the Platinum Clutch purse designed by Desperate Housewives designer Cate Adair, valued at over $500,000. Carried by Entertainment Tonight hostess Mary Hart, the bag contains over 60 carats of diamonds. The Housewives themselves showed up in diamond accents as well. Eva Longoria was beautiful in emerald cut diamond earrings, while Teri Hatcher opted for diamond hoops instead.
Other celebrities were beautifully accented by diamonds of their own, though perhaps they seemed understated next to the Platinum Clutch. Kyra Sedgwick, star of the hit drama The Closer showed up in an absolutely stunning dress that was, in keeping with the show’s theme, elegantly embroidered with diamonds. The actress also wore an Alexandrite and diamond ring that weighed in at a whopping 24.5 carats.
Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker certainly took the evening’s theme seriously, as she showed up in over three quarters of a million dollars worth of diamonds. Wearing earrings, two bracelets, and a pair of rings with a combined value of over $775,000, the actress was breathtaking and certainly hard to forget. Many of the pieces worn by Parker were vintage European, and all were quite fashionable and timeless.
Ugly Betty Star America Ferrera really stood out in her 19th century diamond flower necklace. Accenting the necklace was a pair of 2.5 carat mine-cut diamond earrings as well as a 19th century diamond line bracelet and a beautiful rose-cut diamond cluster bracelet. The actress looked stunning and certainly drew no comparison to her on-screen character. Her co-star, Vanessa Williams, set the bar high once again, as she showed up in an 11k diamond bangle set in yellow gold paired with matching diamond drop earrings and an amazing 3.24 karat green diamond ring.
The biggest winner of the evening, Tina Fey, made headlines by winning a whopping eight awards. Fey fit right in with the evening’s diamond theme, as she wore a breathtaking but understated pair of 19th century diamond pendant earrings. Perhaps the jewels brought the actress a bit of good luck throughout the evening.
The ladies of Grey’s Anatomy were as beautiful as always, and each wore beautiful diamond jewelry to celebrate the theme of the party. Sandra Oh wore amazing 6 carat diamond studs coupled with a 7 carat diamond ring with three different colored diamonds. Ellen Pompeo wore a beautiful diamond ring and necklace from the 1950’s coupled with an 11.5 carat rose cut diamond ring. Chyler Leigh, who plays Pompeo’s sister on the show, showed a real sense of flair and style in a 20 carat diamond bracelet accented by 5 carat diamond earrings.
Actresses weren’t the only stars to dress up their couture with diamonds. Entourage star Jeremy Piven was spotted wearing a diamond bezel watch while The Office’s Steve Carell was seen wearing diamond cuff links, as was Grey’s Anatomy heartthrob Eric Dane, who wore 2.5 carats on his cuffs. Even host Ryan Seacrest was in on the fun, as he wore a pair of ½ carat diamond cufflinks to the big event.
Perhaps the biggest star of the evening, however, was Debra Messing. The star of the hit show The Starter Wife showed up in over a million dollars worth of diamonds. The actress’s bracelet weighed in at 77.99 carats and contained 213 diamonds, while her diamond drop earrings contained 504 diamonds. She also wore a 4.48 carat diamond ring with 45 princess cut diamonds and 48 rough cut diamonds. The jewelry was topped off by a 3.3 carat ring that featured 86 diamonds and was set in white gold. She certainly set the bar high and managed to look absolutely stunning in the process.
In all, over 80 of television’s leading ladies and a number of leading men as well wore diamonds to Emmy’s big day. The event was a smash hit, and the jewelry was certainly enough to catch the eye of most viewers. From the Governor’s Ball to the big show, the 2008 Emmy Awards were a sight to behold and a night to remember.