Canal Couture: The Best High Jewellery of the Venice Film Festival 2024

It’s that time of year again when the waterways of Venice are filled with Hollywood A-list celebrities in town to promote their latest cinematic adventures. The 81st Venice International Film Festival took place from August 28 through to September 7, bringing the likes of Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and many more into the style spotlight. We took note of the best jewels the event had to offer and have analysed the trends with a jewellery editor’s eye… here are the results!

Have you been reading about the latest wave of thematic dressing on the red carpet? Look to Zendaya, who, when promoting her movie Challengers about a tennis pro, wore tennis-inspired outfits to almost every event as a nod to the movie’s concept. Another recent example is Blake Lively, who wore head-to-toe florals to shout about her film It Ends With Us, in which the main character is a florist. It was only a matter of time until this elevated ‘fancy dress’ concept took hold of luxury jewellery, too, and I think we can see some examples at this year’s Venice Film Festival. 

Symbolic Jewels

Angelina Jolie first stepped out of a sleek speedboat wearing a demure chocolate brown dress by Saint Laurent, paired with pear-shaped diamond Gypset earrings and a diamond Button Back ring by Jessica McCormack. As more was revealed about Jolie’s latest movie, Maria, which follows the life of legendary opera singer Maria Callas, she upped the ante with her jewels. First, she accessorised a simple black dress with a Cartier Collection 1971 Panthère brooch. However, this is no ordinary brooch! It is the same one once owned by Maria Callas, set with a carved white agate, onyx, and emerald in yellow gold. Callas had an impressive collection filled with pieces by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Harry Winston and many others, which were sold at auction in 2004… how this piece ended up on Angelina Jolie’s dress is anyone’s guess.

Later, the actress was seen wearing a sandy-coloured Tamara Ralph gown with more jewels by Cartier, including the Trinity de Cartier and C de Cartier diamond stud earrings, a gold and diamond Cartier Collection Maillon Panthère bracelet and a matching ring. But the star of the show was another brooch pinned to a fur shawl – a 1972 Cartier Rose Ouvrante flower brooch – in which diamond, emerald, sapphire and ruby-set petals can open and close with a special mechanism. When asked about it, Jolie seemed to imply that this, too, was part of Callas’ personal collection.

This is a wonderful example of how deeply personal jewellery can reflect the spirit of a person, who they were (or are), and how they lived. Maria Callas was a rare talent in 20th century opera, but to go beyond her public persona, to explore her private life, is something that we can do through her jewellery. 

Creative Cate

Earlier this year, we wrote about Cate Blanchett and how she stole the show at the BAFTAs with swags of Louis Vuitton pearls. Then, at the Cannes Film Festival, she wore a sleek line of repurposed pearls and precious metals, also by Louis Vuitton, draped across her shoulders. In Venice, she brought this strand of 49 Akoya pearls, 33 Tahitian pearls and 633 diamonds back for another showing at the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice premiere, this time paired with a steel-grey columnar dress. It is rare to see a celebrity re-wearing such a statement piece of jewellery – especially in less than six months since its initial showing. Later in the proceedings, Blanchett stepped out wearing a black velvet Armani Privé suit with cascading swags of pearls draped across her back… clearly, pearls are becoming her signature! She accessorised with a Louis Vuitton ear cuff, believed to be from the Seed chapter of the Deep Time High Jewellery collection, with two large champagne-coloured pearls and colourless diamonds that coiled around her upper ear. 

Stars of the Show

If we had to pick one star of the Venice show it would be Canadian actress and model Taylor Russell. There’s something about the way her looks are styled – chic, sleek, yet with unusual silhouettes – that really stands out. At the red carpet premiere of Maria, she wore a strapless cream-coloured Loewe gown with a shawl across her neck, paired with Tiffany & Co. jewellery. However, what really made this sing was the fact her jewellery was on backwards! The 11-carat pear-shaped diamond pendant hung at the nape of her neck, rather than on her chest, which even got British Vogue declaring this a new ‘backwards diamond trend’. We also admired her Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany Star Flower ear clips, crafted in platinum and 18k gold, as well as her diamond, sapphire and rubellite bracelet in the shape of fish, likely from the Tiffany & Co. Blue Book 2023 ‘Out of Blue’ High Jewellery collection.

It would also be remiss of us not to mention Venice Film Festival Jury President Isabelle Huppert, who wore a scarlet Balenciaga opera coat dress and white opera gloves. Although she must have been sweltering in the heat, there were some striking Cartier jewels of note. She wore a pair of TuttiTutti cuffs from the latest chapter in the Cartier Libre High Jewellery collection alongside a pair of three-row diamond earrings and a diamond cocktail ring. Similarly, actress Monica Bellucci stunned in Cartier, this time with the Chryseis necklace from the Nature Sauvage collection. 

Best of the Rest

An important thing to remember about events like the Venice Film Festival is that they’re multifaceted. It’s not simply the red carpets to keep track of, but the press calls, brand events, parties and other soirees that encourage celebs to change their looks multiple times per day. However, throughout all these occasions, a 2024 trend emerged… youthful diamonds. The vast majority of younger famous faces wore exclusively diamonds, often in classic tennis necklace or bracelet form, as if this is a marker of sophistication. Look to Jenna Ortega in a Bois de Rose diamond-studded necklace by Dior Joaillerie; Sydney Sweeney in a simplified version of the De Beers Midnight Aura Diamond necklace; Kaya Scodelario in Bulgari drop earrings; Emma Corrin in Cartier, and Hoyeon Jung in sleek diamond earrings by Louis Vuitton. 

Only some of the more self-assured and very slightly older women on the carpet seemed willing to push the boundaries and embrace colour. The perfect example is actress Zhang Ziyi, who wore a cool black beret with a pair of sky blue Chopard High Jewellery earrings and Julianne Moore, who combined a sparkling Bottega Venetta gold gown with oversized golden earrings – likely costume jewellery – but still fabulous. We would also like to highlight Italian model Mariacarla Boscono, who chose to wear an exclusive Princess necklace from the Pomellato High Jewellery collection (see headline article image) featuring a 53-carat oval cabochon-cut green tourmaline and more than 2,000 diamonds.

Men’s Jewellery Highlights

Finally, let’s not forget the men! Actor Ncuti Gatwa accessorised his fashion-forward black suit with a diamond earring by Messika, complete with a pear-shaped diamond drop, while Justin Theroux added a Tiffany & Co. Bird on a Rock brooch atop his Zegna suit for a dash of sparkle. According to GQ Magazine, ties are out, so we are seeing a loosening and relaxing of men’s red carpet style. Fortunately, this has also bolstered the continuing interest in lapel brooches, such as the golden sunshine-style pins worn by Italian dancer Roberto Bolle. However, we must all bow down to director Pedro Almodóvar, who wowed in a bright pink suit and an enormous golden feather brooch by Jonathan Anderson, Creative Director of Loewe, that encompassed his entire left side lapel. What a statement! 

So, what do you make of this year’s Venice Film Festival highlights? There are so many names we could have mentioned, such as Lady Gaga in sensational Tiffany & Co. diamonds, but we think part of the joy is exploring the style stakes for yourself. Dive into the jewels here, then pop over to Vogue to test your fashion knowledge. Enjoy!