Wedding Jewelry Trends 2008

Emeralds and Lucite Are Popular for Summer 2008

© Maire Loughran

Apr 12, 2008
emeralds set in sterling silver, amazon.com
Getting married this summer? Green gemstones and Lucite are popular additions to the traditional pearls.

Planning a June wedding? Brides have some non-traditional options to the standard pearls and blue gemstones. The good news – these trendy wedding looks in jewelry will transition well into everyday wear, making it money well spent.

Green Colored Gemstones:

The hot new trend in colored gemstones for weddings is green – it's being touted as the new blue. The green-colored gemstone of choice is emerald. Think garden weddings, the luminous flash of emerald will be quite eye catching against the backdrop of the white wedding gown and the lush garden foliage.

Keep in mind that emerald is one of the three precious gemstones. Fine specimens of emerald are more costly than diamond. So, what's a bride on a budget to do?

Cost Conscious Emerald Alternatives:

  • Consider emerald beads. Gemstone beads are made from what are considered to be castoffs. This includes inferior quality specimens and portions left over after the specimen has been cut into gemstones. When faceted, gemstone beads have an awesome amount of flash. Consider a necklace of emerald gemstone beads with a costume jewelry focal point pendant.
  • The lighter the hue of green, the less expensive the gemstone beads. Consider using a light spring green colored emerald. This hue will actually look fresher in a garden setting than a darker green.
  • An alternative to full blown emerald jewelry – chose small emerald gemstones set in sterling silver – cost effective in bracelet form.
  • Consider a semi-precious alternative to emerald. There are gorgeous varieties of Garnet whose basic color is green. Check out jewelry made with green grossular or demantoid garnet. Faceted, these gemstones have an appealing green color and plenty of flash. Also a consideration is topaz that has been irradiated then heat treated to take on a medium to dark green hue.

How About Some Plastic Jewelry?

This kind of sounds like playing dress-up bride when one was a child. Fast forward to 2008 – plastic jewelry has grown up in the form of hand-carved Lucite. While Lucite jewelry comes in an array of colors, white, clear and silver Lucite jewelry is worn in 2008 bridal magazines.

Actually Lucite jewelry was quite popular in the 1940s. Its return as a mainstream jewelry component is due in part to the design style of Alexis Bittar. His Ice Cube linked bracelet is a popular wedding choice. Hand-carved and hand painted silver links are connected with sterling silver plated bars set with Swarovski crystals.

Moderately priced at $395, this bracelet will take the wearer in style through summer 2008 and beyond.

Whatever type of jewelry chosen for this special day, it's crucial that the bride gives it a trial run to make sure it wears comfortably. The wedding day is stressful enough without having a headache from a pair of heavy earrings.


The copyright of the article Wedding Jewelry Trends 2008 in Jewelry is owned by Maire Loughran. Permission to republish Wedding Jewelry Trends 2008 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.


emeralds set in sterling silver, amazon.com
spring green emerald beaded necklace, maire loughran
green garnet, maire loughran
relatively inexpensive medium green emerald beads, maire loughran
shaded hues emerald beads, maire loughran


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