Celebrities are a great source of fashion and style inspiration, particularly at glamorous occasions such as film premieres and awards ceremonies. It’s also at red carpet events like these where vintage jewellery really comes into its own, oozing Hollywood glamour and standing out from newer pieces.
When it comes to celebrity favourites, vintage diamonds are always a popular choice. Here are some of the most famous and high-profile lovers of vintage jewellery on the silver screen and the red carpet:
Chloe Sevigny
The New York-based actress is known for her individual, trend-setting sense of style, which may be one reason she’s drawn to vintage clothing and jewellery. One of the best pieces Chloe Sevigny has been spotted in was the vintage brooch she wore to the third annual Loveday celebration and Cartier Love Charity Bracelet launch in Los Angeles in 2008, paired with fabulous vintage earrings.
Julianne Moore
The highly respected U.S. actress has what you’d call classic, timeless Hollywood style, which makes her the perfect choice to show off vintage jewellery. She’s often spotted in vintage pieces, including Elizabeth Taylor’s famous Bulgari diamond-and-emerald necklace, given to Taylor by husband Richard Taylor.
The piece was worn by the Oscar-winning actress at the event, but was actually on sale at Christie’s auction house, where it eventually sold for an enormous $6.1 million on the night. Moore regularly chooses vintage-style pieces for the red carpet, including newer jewellery designed with that classic Hollywood glamour look in mind.
Lady Gaga
The singer, songwriter and actress was one of the most talked-about stars at the 2019 Oscars, but not just for her Best Song award for ‘Shallow’, from the film A Star is Born.
Lady Gaga also caused jaws to drop by teaming her classic Audrey Hepburn-inspired dress and gloves with a vintage necklace featuring one of the largest yellow diamonds in the world. The Tiffany & Co necklace is also believed to have been worn by Hepburn herself at a photo shoot for Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It’s a staggering 141 years old and worth at least $30 million.
Lady Gaga is a fan of statement-making jewellery such as this enormous pendant, particularly in recent years as her look has evolved from cutting-edge pop star to silver screen siren. She sported another uber-glamorous look at the premiere of her recent film, where she wore a platinum and diamond Bulgari heritage necklace and earrings with a custom Givenchy gown and her platinum hair in waves.
Rachel Weisz
The Hollywood actress loves vintage jewellery, to the extent that she wore a headband made from vintage Cartier diamond brooches to the 2019 Oscars! The Diamonds are believed to be from Paris, and the piece made around 1903, but you’d never guess that the headband used to be individual brooches. It forms a nearly seamless band from one side to the other, suggesting that an expert jeweller with an eye for detail was involved in its transformation.
Weisz also wore vintage jewellery in the form of a Cartier vintage diamond necklace to the 2007 Oscars, teaming it with a form-fitting Vera Wang gown.
Jessica Chastain
Just like Julianne Moore, Hollywood star Jessica Chastain has also worn some of the most famous vintage jewellery in the world, and another Elizabeth Taylor piece. The actress wore Taylor’s iconic ‘sugarloaf’ sapphire necklace, another gift from Taylor’s husband Richard Burton.
The necklace was gifted to the actress in 1972 and Taylor was pictured wearing it looped around her neck to a shorter length, while Chastain wore it to the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 at its full length. She also teamed with a ‘trombino’ ring also formerly belonging to Taylor.
Chastain is also one of three actresses known to have worn a certain piece of vintage Bulgari jewellery to the Oscars.
The 137-carat diamond necklace Serpenti necklace from the Italian jeweller’s Heritage collection has been worn by the Hurt Locker star as well as Jennifer Aniston and Ashley Judd in recent years.
When Chastain isn’t wearing actual vintage jewellery, she loves vintage-style jewellery. She’s often pictured in statement pieces and costume-style jewellery, although we don’t doubt that each piece is studded with diamonds and other precious gems.
Mary-Kate Olsen
Fashion icon, actress and designer Mary-Kate Olsen, one-half of the famous Olsen twins, is a big fan of vintage jewellery and fashion. So much so that her engagement ring from Olivier Sarkozy is believed to be an original Cartier diamond ring from the 1950s. The ring features a four-carat old European cut diamond with a highly unusual but very beautiful sapphire halo.
The whole piece is held by yellow gold petal-shaped diamonds to give it a romantic, floral feel. It’s a stunning and very unique piece, perfect for an engagement ring!
Can’t get enough of vintage jewellery? You don’t need to wear millions of pounds worth of diamonds to get that glamorous Hollywood look, nor would such dramatic pieces such as these celebrity favourites be appropriate for most occasions.
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron has a penchant for vintage jewellery icon Harry Winston, wearing Winston jewels to a number of high profile occasions. The actress wore $4.5 million worth of Harry Winston diamonds to the 2013 Oscars, then tripled the figure a year later by flashing a $15 million one-of-a-kind Harry Winston cluster diamond pendant. This unique piece is believed to feature a 31ct emerald-cut diamond of staggering beauty.
If this gets your heart pounding then you might enjoy our recent blog for advice on choosing the perfect vintage engagement ring!