What I wore: Jane Taylor jewelry for the WJA Gala.

One of the very best things I did in NYC last week was to attend the Women’s Jewelry Association’s Awards for Excellence Gala for the very first time! It was a wonderful evening of women celebrating women – the whole room was filled with the most marvelous, supportive energy. And jewelry, of course. Lots and lots of jewelry.

Here I am with dinner table neighbor Hannah Becker of Diamondoodles, cheering wildly as Greenwich St. Jewelers accepts their award:

As soon as I accepted my invitation to the WJA Gala, I knew I’d have to bring some serious jewel power to the event. After all: what better way to celebrate women in jewelry than to showcase the work of Jane Taylor, one of my favorite jewelry-designing women?

Jane Taylor jewelry is actually a mother-daughter operation, run by founder and namesake Jane Taylor and her fabulous daughter, Cleo.

Jane and Cleo were kind enough to lend me some of my favorite Jane Taylor jewels to rock at the WJA gala. Jane couldn’t come herself, but the fabulous Cleo was basically my date for the night. Here we are posing prom-style at the beginning of the event! (Sorry if this is news to you…but I’m actually not very tall.)

Also among Cleo’s many talents: helping hapless bloggers who are caught in torrential downpours immediately before black tie events. (Trust me, I know.)

I could have gone for diamonds with my deep pink off-the-shoulder gown, but I wanted color. Which made Jane Taylor jewelry the perfect choice: glorious colored stones combined in unexpected ways is the brand’s signature style. I forgot to take many pictures during the actual event, but I’m going to give you a nice close look at all of the jewels.

First, my own jewels. I’m wearing my trusty wedding set, a late Art Deco diamond cocktail ring from Maejean Vintage, and a ChincharMaloney ring on my thumb. Everything else is Jane Taylor jewelry.

As soon as I knew I’d  be working with Jane Taylor jewelry, I knew I wanted to wear as many of her glorious long gemstone earrings as possible. I ended up with one warm-colored pair and one cool-colored pair, to simultaneously complement the warm tones of my gown and also offer some contrast.

I borrowed two pairs of earrings, since I have two sets of piercings. The first pair, shown above is are the Jane Taylor jewelry Cirque Aerial Silk earrings in 18K rose gold, with 2.86 ct precious topaz, .30 ct orange sapphire, 5 ct yellow beryl, .12 ct yellow diamonds, and .80 ct pink sapphire.

The second pair, which are an inch or so longer, are the Jane Taylor jewelry Cirque Aerial Silk earrings in 18K yellow gold, with 2.30 cts yellow beryl, .66 cts pink tourmaline, 2.0 cts green tourmaline, .31cts yellow sapphire, .39 cts magenta sapphire, .30 cts aquamarine, .59 cts yellow tourmaline.

So fabulously dramatic! So dramatic, in fact, that I decided to forego a necklace and bracelets, finishing off the look with major cocktail rings.

And oh, were the rings major.

The first one I chose was this beauty, which I’ve loved for a long time. It’s the Jane Taylor jewelry Cirque Petite Cloud Swing ring, in 18K yellow gold with 1.57 ctw indicolite tourmaline baguette, 1.13 ctw green & purple sapphire, and .35 ctw ruby cabochons.

I love everything about it, from its Art Deco vibe to its stunning gemstones and its innovative color combination. It’s bold and soft and happy and bright, and I adore it.

And ring #2 – which I affectionately nicknamed “the boulder,” as it totals about 20 carats! It’s shockingly comfortable to wear despite its heft, thanks to a well-designed setting. It is the Jane Taylor jewelry Cirque Banquine ring, in 18K yellow gold with 16.33ct lavender amethyst and 4.14ctw specialty German cut honey citrines.

It’s an extremely simple design, conceptually, but the stones used and how they’re arranged is just so gorgeous and interesting. I’m passionately in love with it.

Turns out I wasn’t the only one to borrow Jane Taylor jewelry last week – Katy Perry had the same idea for her performance at the DNC.

Thanks so much to Jane Taylor jewelry for letting me wear your beautiful jewels to the WJA Gala!! And special thanks also to Cleo, for taking so many of these photos for me, and to all of my jewelry industry friends for making the gala such a fun evening.