During the Cannes Film Festival, every evening for twelve days in a row, the hottest stars in the world walk the famous red carpet wearing the most valuable jewels on the planet. This adds up to an awful lot of jewels and only those with big safes in their hotel suites brimming with thousands of carats of jewels can play in this marathon event of extreme luxury adornment. Such is the commitment to getting jewels on the red carpet that the Cannes Film Festival is where the largest amount of the most precious jewellery in the world congregates.
Read more about the fascinating behind the scenes activities at the Cannes Film Festival here.
So far this year, the trend for earrings and bracelets has been confirmed as the matching earrings and necklace combination is irrefutably left behind. Winnie Harlow (above) chose one of the most stylish looks that worked this trending earrings and bracelet duo to full effect. The de GRISOGONO earrings and bracelets stood out against the waves of red tulle of her dress.
Bella Hadid (above and top) is another celebrity who is opting for the earrings and bracelet combinations. All eyes were on Bella Hadid as she sparked a flurry of paparazzi activity not just because of a wardrobe malfunction with her sky-high thigh-slit skirt that revealed rather more than she had hoped for. Her Bulgari earrings and bracelets were some of the most glamorous jewels on the red carpet. Bella's choice of rubies follows a growing vogue for more colourful gem choices amongst the red carpet walkers, who ten years ago would only consider diamonds worthy of the moment.
Lovers of jewellery lore will be interested to know that Monica Belluci (above) revived the past by wearing a Cartier high jewellery necklace in the form of a crocodile reminiscent of the one Mexican film star María Félix commissioned in 1975. Monica Belluci had in fact worn the 1975 original on the red carpet at Cannes in 2006.
Read more about Maria Félix’s Cartier jewels here.
The original crocodile necklace was made up of two frighteningly realistic scaled reptiles that draped around the neck of the cigar-smoking actress. Her choice of crocodiles fitted her personality: Ms Félix was so fierce that she was known as La Doña. The crocodiles detach and can be worn as two brooches. This new María Félix Suite features one large crocodile that slinks around the neck adorned with a cascade of superb Colombian beads that match the predator's eyes.
The video below features a section about the famous María Félix necklace and other Cartier animal jewels.
And if anyone doubted that lab-grown diamonds are here to stay, the sight of Penélope Cruz (below) on the red carpet in 'cultured' diamonds surely is an irrefutable sign of changing times. The Spanish actress wore earrings and a ring from her latest fine jewellery collaboration with Atelier Swarovski. The jewels feature 3 carat pear-cut Swarovski Created Diamonds, the largest laboratory-grown diamonds ever to appear on the Cannes red carpet.
Sara Sampaio (below) showed us one of the most elegant looks as she combined a silver outfit with Boucheron’s lariat-style Pompon white gold and diamond necklace. Sleek yet opulent, she wore a very simple pair of Ava ear studs to complete her look.
Another successful jewellery and couture pairing came from Taylor Hill (below) who wore Chaumet’s delicate Soir de Fête necklace with 55.37 carats of diamonds that had enough room to shine thanks to the low-cut décolleté of her highly patterned outfit.
De Grisogono was also the jeweller of choice for British singer Rita Ora, Eva Longorio and Cindy Bruna. The photograph of Cindy Bruna (below) at the Hotel du Cap, Eden Roc captures the quintessential glamour of Cannes. This little corner of the French Riviera is one of the few places where high jewellery is seen in the sunlight, against the Mediterranean Sea. See it just once, and there is no doubt that this is when jewellery really comes alive and beams its brilliance out to all corners of the world.
