Is the big turn to bling on the way out? Is this jewelry trend seeing its final days on the red carpet?

I agree that the word "bling" is over used, but I am not sure if the idea of bling is going to be totally gone any time soon.

Of course, I could be wrong. According to this article from IHT.com, fine jewelry designs are turning to more earthy and less sparklie details:

When Bergdorf Goodman's holiday gift catalog returned from the printer last month, it was already out of date. The 89-carat diamond cocktail ring on page 32 had gone to a buyer in Beverly Hills, California, for $100,000. Costly by any reckoning, the diamond was memorable both for its size and for its utter rawness: it had been neither cut nor polished.

"It was a slate-gray, black and silvery stone," said Anjanette Clisura, president of the New York-based company Diamond in the Rough. "We didn't touch it, except to wash the dirt off."

Clisura's company sells a line of uncut diamonds colored naturally in tones of cognac, blue, pink, yellow, white and green, wrapped in delicate threads of diamond pavé and set in 18-carat white gold.

Since introducing the collection to customers in Las Vegas in June, during the jewelry industry's biggest buying week, the response from retailers in New York, Shanghai and Sardinia has been overwhelming, Clisura said.

[...] "At the moment, there's a move towards softer, more reassuring, tactile products and jewelry based on heritage, meticulous craftsmanship; something with symbolism behind it. Let's face it: We all love diamonds. That's not going to change. But the emphasis on how they're worn will."

[...] "I haven't seen a return to huge diamond pieces," said the jewelry designer Suzy Fabrikant, co-owner of M. Fabrikant & Sons, a manufacturer of diamond and gemstone jewelry with operations in 11 countries.

"Women's tastes are maturing, too. They want a ring that expresses more of them than just 'I'm rich.'"

A new generation of jewelers is prepared to honor those wishes.