The Philosopher's Stone: Wishing for Spring

I hate snow. It's beautiful when it falls, but it should disappear as it hits the ground. Because we're anticipating snow, let's talk about spring...and spring jewelry.

Bright colors feature in every Spring 12 list. Last fall, blue was expected to be the "it" color this spring, but gloomy winter is working its magic, and yellow and green are showing up.

Irene Neuwirth's jewels are hot on the red carpets right now. She uses big, colorful stones like turquoise, chrysoprase, quartz, and lapis accented with diamonds to provide a pop that will last well past spring. These are turquoise and chrysoprase in white gold with diamonds and are available at www.barneys.com.

Larkspur and Hawk's Annabell Riviere, made of sterling silver and green and blue foil backed topaz, is a modern piece modeled after Georgian perfection, available at www.larkspurandhawk.com.

Another Spring 12 trend, not so much talked about as seen, is a reinvigoration of Retro's mechanical fluidity reworked to look forward, making a sci-fi statement that avoids geekery.

Laura Bohinc's Solar Eclipse bracelet, rose gold vermeil? Plate? The site is not clear. It is a huge, gorgeous thing, available at www.rubygold.com.

Dannijo's Zsa Zsa necklace is also not for the faint of heart- oxidized brass and sterling with Swarovski crystals. The crystals give it happy colors for spring and later. Available at www.dannijo.com.

Another overall trend this year is to go either large (or tiny), or go home. There is no room for conservative sizing. Layer delicate pendants and you'll totally be in style. Collar necklaces remain on point.

Silver Service's tiny bone butterfly on a sterling chain will flutter along with other charms that mean spring for you. Available at www.myflashtrash.com.

www.odetteny.com has a large collection of dainty items to be worn together, as does www.catbird.com.

Eddie Borgo silver plate, yellow turquoise, and hematite collar necklace for sale on www.net-a-porter. Yellow turquoise can be a number of things, none of which are chemically turquoise. It is often found in turquoise mines but has a lot of iron, making it a yellow color. Sometimes it is a mixture of quartz, jasper, and serpentine. Dyed howlite is another possibility, but probably not from Eddie Borgo.

If you are longing for flowers, florals are big this year. These aren't your grandmother's florals...although those are nice too.

Lapis, pressed coral, and gold plate earrings (earring, shown twice- grrr) by Lei Van Kash at www.leivankash.com. Sigh, skulls are STILL with us this year, but these, with their flowers and celestial blue, are more delightful than most. They'll look fantastic throughout the spring, through summer, and into fall.