16 Pieces of Jewelry From Movies the Creators Worked So Hard to Make That They Deserve an Oscar
When crafting characters in film, movie creators pay a lot of attention to clothes. Clothes can help communicate characters’ traits to the audience, and sometimes indicate their development in the story on the screen. This can include even such small details as jewelry. Some of these pieces of jewelry have stories behind them that merit their own film.
We at CHEERY decided to find out what meaning certain pieces of jewelry had in some movies, and how they were created.
Diana’s pearl necklace in Spencer
In this film, which tells the story of a key moment in the history of the British royal family, Princess Diana’s jewelry plays a big role. Jacqueline Durran, the costume designer in Spencer, paid a lot of attention to the pearl necklace. It needed to look real, and the pearls had to be bigger than they had been in real life.
The company Mouawad created the jewelry for the film. According to Durran, the pearls we see in the film are real. Her necklace is a symbol of her captivity. It strangles her, closing Diana in a beautiful but tough and cold cage. This is why when she tears the necklace, she becomes free.
Patricia’s jewelry in House of Gucci
Costume designer Janty Yates has been working with Ridley Scott for a long time. When working on the look for Patricia Gucci, Yates decided to use costumes and accessories to show the changes in the character’s personality.
At first, she wears simple accessories. But after the marriage, she uses luxurious, bright jewelry that reflects the atmosphere of the 80s. To create the right look, Yates had to ask the Bulgari company for assistance. Together with Lady Gaga, they made an entire collection from new and antique pieces.
They started every day on set by looking through at least 30 boxes, working to select the right piece. It took almost an hour. There was also a team of guards that were supposed to watch over the jewelry.
In the scene where Patricia is talking Maurizio into starting the family company, Lady Gaga is wearing the necklace that belonged to Princess Yasmin Aga Khan (the daughter of Prince Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth).
Hairpins in Memoirs of a Geisha
To develop some of the jewelry for Memoirs of a Geisha, Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood worked with Robin Renzi. The women had already worked together on the set of The Mexican. Robin had only one month to create original pins.
Atwood shared her ideas and several cheap pieces from Japan, and the jeweler created unique pieces from corals, pearls, and silver. After the film was released, this style of jewelry became popular, and many stores started selling it.
Baroness Von Hellman’s necklace in Cruella
Many viewers noticed the amazing clothes Emma Thompson and Emma Stone wore in Cruella. The jewelry in this film is also very curious. The diamond necklace Baroness Von Hellman wears is an original piece that belongs to De Beers.
It’s called Arpeggia and consists of 5 diamond threads. Costume designer Jenny Beavan said that it was the De Beers necklace that highlighted the pretentious style of Baroness.
Queen Mary’s tiara in Downton Abbey
Jewelry maker Andrew Prince worked on this series. Some of the pieces were already in his collection, and some had to be made from scratch. At first, Prince secured an exact copy of the tiara the real Queen Mary wore. But several days before the filming, costume designer Caroline McCall called him to tell him there was a problem.
She said the tiara wasn’t right because it didn’t look impressive enough on camera. So, Prince had to make some last-minute changes to make the tiara bigger. He was able to complete the request in just 24 hours.
Queen Ravenna’s collar in Snow White and the Huntsman
Costume designer Colleen Atwood wanted to create an unusual look for the evil Queen Ravenna. When developing the costumes for her, she used different animalistic references to highlight her dark nature. The Queen is terrified of aging, which is reflected in her clothes and jewelry. The more scared she is, the more often you can see references to the inevitable end in her clothes.
Atwood asked Stephen Einhorn to create a special collar. She even brought him a box of bugs, inspiring Einhorn to create a metal construction modelling their shapes. The collar weighted a lot, so Charlize Theron had to wear it with special pads.
Laura Henderson’s tiara in Mrs Henderson Presents
Costume designers don’t like using natural gems in movies due to the extra cost and insurance problems. Diamonds shine very brightly on the set and look too catchy on film. This is why some jewelers prefer costume jewelry.
But the tiara Judi Dench wore in Mrs Henderson Presents had real emeralds and crystals in it. To fade the shine, the jeweler covered them with graphite that was later washed off.
The necklace in Ocean’s Eight
The necklace you can see Anne Hathaway wearing in this film is a copy of a famous necklace. The original was created by Jacques Cartier in 1931 for the Maharaja of Nawanagar, which included what was known at the time as “the finest cascade of colored diamonds in the world.”
Unfortunately, Maharaja’s necklace was lost. In order to recreate it, Cartier specialist used archive photos and drafts. It was originally designed to be worn by a man, so the copy needed to be smaller, or it would look too big for Anne Hathaway.
Isabel Archer’s jewelry in The Portrait of a Lady
To create some movies, costume artists borrow jewelry from collectors. So, costume designer Janet Paterson asked her friend Pat Novissimo to help provide jewelry for the main character and some supporting characters.
All the jewelry you can see on Nicole Kidman belongs to Pat. Kidman loved the jewelry so much she even wanted to buy several pieces. Novissimo couldn’t sell some of them, but she remembers that Tom Cruise bought 6 pieces for his wife.
Barnabas Collins’ ring in Dark Shadows
The ring Johnny Depp wears during the entire movie only took 4 days to create. The director Tim Burton and Depp himself loved it so much that they asked jeweler Stephen Einhorn to make another one. So, the main character wore them in turns: one in a bigger size, which he could wear over his gloves, and one fitted for his bare finger.
Belle’s necklace in Beauty and the Beast
Belle wears this necklace for a special reason. Costume designer Jacqueline Durran had an idea that the pendant looking like twisting branches was supposed to remind us of the Beast’s castle. The architecture of the building was also changing all the time, so the necklace was made to look like a growing tree.
Aurora’s ring in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Any jewelry that appears on set has to be approved by the costume designers and the director. It’s not an easy task to create something that everyone likes. For this film, a ring that looked like a 16th-century artifact was created for Aurora.
The jeweler put a lot of time and care into choosing the right gem and the right cut for the ring. They also had to create several identical versions of the ring for Elle Fanning and her stunt doubles to wear.
Sharon Tate’s jewelry in Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood
When Margot Robbie was preparing for the role of Sharon Tate, she got to meet the actresses’ sister Debra. She approved of the way Tarantino and Robbie portrayed Tate in the film, and also gave Robbie some of the real-life Sharon’s jewelry.
This is why some of the jewelry we see in the film actually belonged to the actress. The director and the actress thought it helped create a more believable look for Sharon in the film.
Lucilla’s ring in Gladiator
Most of the jewelry pieces we see in Gladiator were created by British jeweler Martin Adams. But the ring on Lucilla’s finger was bought by actress Connie Nielsen herself.
She found it in an antique store. The ring was ancient, made around 2,000 years ago. Nielsen said it helped her feel a connection with her character, because the person who wore it lived at around the same time the film was set in.
Jewelry in The Last Jedi
Carrie Fisher had the idea of creating unusual space-like jewelry for her character. According to the director Rian Johnson, Carrie told him that they needed special jewelry. Johnson liked the idea, and some characters appeared with unusual and memorable accessories.
Linnet Doyle’s necklace from Death on the Nile
Tiffany & Co provided jewelry for the film Death on the Nile. The necklace the main character gets as a wedding gift is a copy of a famous yellow diamond. Due to safety regulations, Tiffany & Co couldn’t give the original to the movie creators, so the company produced several replicas.
The yellow diamond is unique. It was found in Kimberley mine in 1877. Charles Tiffany bought the diamond for his company. It was the first gemstone of such size to be bought for someone who was not a member of the royal family. The cutting took around a year, and after that, the gem was exhibited in the company’s main store in New York.
What jewelry from movies do you remember?