Swinging chandeliers

NEW YORK -- Jewelry can impart an air of sophistication, can symbolize affection in the form of a gift or, as is the case this year, can pack some serious attitude.

Whether peeking out beneath long hair or worn with a sleek updo to allow them to shine brilliantly on their own, oversize "chandelier" earrings may be jewelry's biggest trend.

The earrings, which feature three or more jeweled tiers that are wider at the bottom than the top, range in style from bling-bling to Bohemian, as do the prices.

Chandeliers with an over-the-top cascade of diamonds will set you back thousands, with the most expensive baubles boasting six-figure price tags. But it's not hard to find colorful, beaded chandeliers for less than $50 if you hit the mall instead of the jewelry store.

Whatever the price, the shape of a big earring like a chandelier can make a statement.

"You can almost change your whole presence with a pair of earrings. Because the earrings are pretty significant, they can stand on their own," says Kristen Regine, Swarovski's product manager for jewelry.

Crystal maker Swarovski has dedicated a section of its costume jewelry line to chandelier earrings in colors like jet black, red and plum that range from $55 to $135.

"It almost seemed like, the bigger the better," Regine says.

Chandeliers can serve as a head-turning accessory for formal wear, but they are equally appropriate with a more casual outfit. Thomasine Dolan, Banana Republic's jewelry design director, loves chandeliers paired with a turtleneck, which acts as a canvas for the earrings.

"There's this combination of glamorous and feminine -- they're both kind of hitting at the same time -- and that's what chandelier earrings capture," Dolan says of the earrings, which range from $32 to $38. "You can still wear jeans with it or you can still wear a messy haircut and it still looks glamorous."

What spurred the chandelier craze? Oddly enough, it all began with shoes, Dolan says.

"My take on it is that I feel like three years ago, the notch went up a little bit higher in terms of dressing up only because women started wearing high heels. Jeans and high heels became a big look, and then glamour started creeping in day by day," Dolan says.

Chandeliers' appeal also lies in their retro and multicultural reference points -- a chic, eclectic flavor that balances flashy excess.

"In some ways it really goes back to Art Deco, that period in the '30s. There was almost like a Spanish influence during that period," Dolan says. "The shapes also relate to Indian architecture, very curvy, and gem sets like the roof lines. And some cases they're like Moroccan architecture too."

Chandeliers are not new -- celebrities like Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger have been wearing them to award shows for two or three years -- but they continue to grow in popularity even as trend-watchers predict more refined choices in the coming year like long, slinky "shoulder dusters" and drop earrings, which are like two large stud earrings held together with a long wire or a string of jewels.

Like the "Y" necklaces of a few years ago, they appear to be a trend that could become a classic, Regine says.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that these chandelier earrings are no longer a trend, they're here to stay," says 29-year-old jeweler Daniel Koren, whose Daniel K line is sold in high-end boutiques. His diamond chandelier earrings start around $50,000, and he says demand for pieces in the $100,000 range remains high. "Because the way people dress is simplistic, they can accentuate their face with big earrings."

But for the trendiest of the trendy -- those whose outfits are tracked by Joan Rivers and her gang at E! -- chandelier earrings could soon be on the way out, says Carol Brodie, Harry Winston's global director of communications.

Brodie's duties for the jeweler include outfitting celebrities with jewelry for award shows, and she says it's the celebrities who will move on first. Their trend cycle spins at a faster speed, and those who have been photographed in chandelier earrings in the past won't want to repeat the same look.

"The consumers have 12 months more of it, and then I think the trend is going to go to dangling earrings. And I think the key word is going to be delicate," Brodie says.