In the realm of jewellery, the year 2023 finally delivered the oft discussed Roaring Twenties revival. In the spring, King Charles III’s Coronation saw the spectacular Crown Jewels on full display. But, as always, it was the Princess of Wales who stole the show, this time by choosing a crystal headpiece over a more predictable tiara. The Met Gala naturally delivered a few jaw-dropping jewellery moments, as one would expect given that the theme was an homage to the larger-than-life fashion character that was Karl Lagerfeld. And once the SAG-AFTRA strikes ended, the stars returned to the red carpet en masse—and brought their sparkliest jewellery with them.
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Zoe Saldaña in a gold and diamond capelet by Cartier
The look Zoe Saldaña chose for the Vanity Fair Oscars party could, at first glance, have been dismissed as a simple one: a long black pencil skirt paired with a gold cropped top. But said top was actually made by Cartier, using 18-carat gold. More precisely, it was the result of two years of work, and comprised 67,000 hand-assembled chain mail links, 150 diamonds, and 14 zippers tipped with faceted onyx pendants, which, by opening in different ways, allow for the creation of multiple styles.
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The Princess of Wales’s Coronation headpiece
The new King ordered modesty, which meant no tiaras. But just as the public was growing accustomed to a procession of demurely dressed guests, in swept the Princess Of Wales with a regal robe and her hair adorned with a silver floral headpiece custom made by Jess Collett for Alexander McQueen. A real princess always knows how to leave a lasting impression.
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Beyoncé in a Tiffany & Co. diamond dress on the Renaissance tour
No, the bedazzled dress Beyoncé wore in Toronto during her Renaissance World Tour was not made of crystals. Those were real diamonds by Tiffany & Co. To be precise, the dress comprised over 150 feet (or 45 metres) of Diamonds By The Yard—one of the house’s iconic designs—and took more than 200 hours to create. It was a prominent example of jewellery maisons’ ongoing flirtation with fashion, which has recently seen Chopard unveil a line of couture gowns.
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Blackpink’s Lisa wearing her Bulgari bracelet over her sleeve
Asia has a rich tradition of jewellery worn over clothing, and Lisa, a member of the phenomenally successful K-Pop band Blackpink, reminded the world of the elegance of this style during her recent appearance at Bulgari’s exhibition, Serpenti: 75 Years of Infinite Tales, at the Kujke Gallery in Seoul. Lisa wore a full diamond and emerald Serpenti parure, accessorising the trumpet sleeve of her white silk gown with a large Serpenti cuff. Consider this trend one to keep an eye on.
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Boucheron More Is More High Jewellery
For Boucheron’s annual Carte Blanche collection, creative director Claire Choisne doesn’t so much think outside the cultured, refined Parisian jewellery box as disregard it altogether. Inspired by the 1980s Memphis Group’s mantra, “form follows fun,” Choisne rocked the millennia-old concept of the jewellery parure composed of matching necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings to its core with Boucheron’s More is More collection. In its place Choisne proposed the pairing of an oversized, cartoonish spherical cuff studded with neon-green tsavorites and a magnetic jewellery pocket striped in diamond and onyx to attach to any garment. Boucheron’s reputation as the enfant terrible of the Place Vendôme remains unchallenged.
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Rihanna’s watch choker at the Louis Vuitton men’s show
From A$AP Rocky’s grills to Rihanna’s beanie brooch, there’s a lot of bling in this picture. But look closely, and you’ll notice that choker around Rih’s neck is not actually a necklace, but a watch. It was custom made for her by the jeweller Jacob & Co.
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Priyanka Chopra Jonas in Bulgari’s Laguna Blu diamond at the Met Gala
The 11.16-carat fancy vivid blue Bulgari Laguna Blu was already an exceptional stone. But Sotheby’s thought that adding a bit of pixie dust in the form of a public appearance around the neck of an A-list star would magnify the magic. Ahead of the Magnificent And Noble Jewels Auction, Bulgari reset the stone (unseen since the 1970s), in a diamond necklace to adorn the throat of the radiant Priyanka Chopra at the Met Gala. The subsequent halo of glamour helped the stone sell for £20 million later in May.
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Malala Yousafzai in Fred Leighton and Santi jewels at the Oscars
For her first appearance at the Oscars, Malala Yousafzai chose her jewellery carefully. She wore diamond briolette pendant earrings and a 19th-century ring by Fred Leighton that had once belonged to Queen Soraya Tarzi of Afghanistan, who championed women’s freedom and education in the country in the early 20th century. She also wore an emerald ring by Indian jeweller Santi, which echoed the hues of Pakistan’s flag, making it clear that the activist’s presence in Hollywood was all about sending a message.
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Michaela Coel wearing Emefa Cole’s earrings
Besides paying homage to Karl Lagerfeld’s bold gold Chanel creations from the 1980s, the British actor Michaela Coel wanted her Met Gala jewellery to raise awareness about how ethical jewellery practices benefit African communities. The brushed gold studs Coel wore with her Schiaparelli gown can be traced back to the Endeavour Ity mine in Côte d’Ivoire and were a bespoke creation by Emefa Cole, an independent artist jeweller and ardent supporter of ethical metal sourcing.
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Kim Kardashian’s anklet in Puglia
Kim Kardashian’s look for Dolce & Gabbana’s couture and high jewellery extravaganza in Puglia was all about timeless, Old Hollywood glamour. She wore a burgundy organza gown, elegantly short at the front, with a décolleté that revealed a stunning 44.36-carat rubellite. The detail that really stole the spotlight? Kim’s delicate diamond anklet.
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Jennifer Lopez in Gucci high jewellery at the LACMA Gala
For the 2023 LACMA Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, Jenny from the Block wowed in an ethereal see-through dress, accessorised with a gigantic 161.4-carat pink tourmaline selected from Gucci’s latest high jewellery opus, Allegoria. She made the conversation around tourmalines a lot more interesting.
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Julia Roberts in Chopard high jewellery
At the London premiere of Leave the World Behind, the world’s favourite pretty woman chose to pair a six-figure diamond choker by Chopard with a pastel pink short suit that (certainly not by chance) happened to match her sparkling shoes—genius.
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Louis Vuitton’s high jewellery show in Greece
Once upon a time, high jewellery presentations took place in the utmost secrecy behind closed doors. Not anymore. Nowadays, they have turned into lavish affairs designed to make a splash on social media. If they gave out Oscars for the most extravagant extravaganza, the 2023 winner would be Louis Vuitton. Artistic director for watches and jewellery Francesca Amfitheatrof summoned guests from around the world to Greece to take in the beauty of her bold creations framing gargantuan gems.
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Timothée Chalamet’s custom Cartier necklace
Playing the bonkers chocolatier Willy Wonka in Wonka gave Timothée Chalamet a crazy idea: asking Cartier to create a bespoke necklace to wear for the premiere. The necklace, a mesh of saturated pink, green and blue beads, is reminiscent of the house’s iconic Tutti Frutti style favoured by heiress to the Singer sewing machine fortune Daisy Fellowes, yet contemporary and very much in line with Chalamet’s joyful brief.
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Kate wearing the Strathmore Rose tiara
We witnessed a meaningful choice from the Princess of Wales at the recent state banquet at Buckingham Palace in honour of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee. The Strathmore Rose tiara, unseen for a century, was summoned from oblivion and fashioned as a tiara rather than a bandeau, as the Queen Mother had previously worn it. This selection and style reflect the Princess’s growing interest in the Royal Jewels, not to mention her increased confidence.
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Doja Cat as a diamond-encrusted cat at the Met Gala
While Karl Lagerfeld’s beloved Choupette was not at the Met, Doja Cat was easily the next best thing. Her look’s inspiration seemed to come from The Aristocats’ Duchess (a long-haired purebred white Turkish Angora who was never without her diamond necklace). On the red carpet, Doja wore a headpiece set with a 17-carat pear-cut diamond, diamond rings and bracelets, as well as a custom-made diamond armpiece, all by French jeweller Messika.
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Princess Diana’s Attallah Cross
Garrard’s Attallah Cross, adorned with square-cut amethysts and circular diamonds and famously worn by Princess Diana in 1987 over a purple Catherine Walker gown for a charity gala in London, made an unexpected appearance at a Sotheby’s auction in early 2023. The piece found a new home with none other than Kim Kardashian, reigniting interest in this beloved symbol of 1980s decadence, worn once more by Madonna during her Celebration tour.
This article was originally published on British Vogue.
