Star Spangled: High Jewellery at the 2024 Academy Awards

What we love most about the annual Academy Awards is that it’s multifaceted. First, there’s the formal Oscars ceremony, dazzling with high jewellery, long acceptance speeches and occasionally funny on-stage skits. Then there are the after parties, notably the Vanity Fair After Party and the Elton John Oscars Party, which always draw much wider crowds and present many more opportunities for jewellery to shine brightly. This year’s affair was full of top-quality, high jewellery moments, so let’s spotlight some of the best examples.

Michelle Yeoh is undoubtedly the queen of red carpet high jewellery. This year, she excelled at the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 10, 2024, in a pair of beautiful Diamond Foliage earrings from artist Cindy Chao’s White Label collection. However, it was her choice of Cindy Chao jewels for the Vanity Fair after party that really wowed the crowd… but more on that later. Herein lies the challenge of reporting on ‘the Oscars’ – do we focus solely on the formal proceedings or take a deep dive into all the after-party looks, too!? This year, we’ve decided to do a little bit of both, highlighting our favourite looks from the red carpet and the after-dark parties. You will soon discover that some famous faces, like Michelle Yeoh, are masters of both arenas!

The Oscars Ceremony

Tiffany & Co. were a dominant force for this year’s formal ceremony. The brand dressed a host of famous faces, both men and women, with necklaces, brooches and earrings, often with a subtle vintage or classical twist. One of the night’s best dressed was Emily Blunt, wearing an unusual, raised shoulder dress by Schiaparelli and a sweep of diamond necklaces with more than 60 carats of diamonds. She completed the look with diamond earrings and a ring with a central diamond of more than 10 carats. Her husband, John Krasinski, also turned out in Tiffany & Co., notably a Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany Floral Arrows brooch in platinum and 18k yellow gold, set with an unenhanced purple sapphire of over 5 carats and diamonds.

Anya Taylor-Joy also cut a glamorous figure in a Dior gown and a Tiffany & Co. platinum and 18k yellow gold necklace from the 2023 Blue Book collection. The piece is set with a striking solitaire of over eight carats, which held its own against a five-carat diamond ring, a pair of earrings and a Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany Buds engagement ring. Ariana Grande brought a welcome pop of colour from the Tiffany archives in the form of a 14-carat morganite and diamond pendant, set in platinum, with matching earrings bursting with more than 34 carats of pastel pink morganites. She also wore a diamond ring with a total weight exceeding 15 carats. And the looks just kept on coming! Gabrielle Union wore a Tiffany & Co. High Jewellery necklace with an emerald-cut aquamarine of over 31 carats and 59 carats of diamonds; Robert Downey Jr. wore an Elsa Peretti Amapola brooch in 18k yellow gold with pavé diamonds and black silk, and Ncuti Gatwa picked a Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany Four Leaves brooch in 18k gold and platinum with a 41-carat pop of blue tanzanite.

Colour was also the order of the day for Pomellato, who dressed Oscar-nominee America Ferreira in the Ode to Milan Castello necklace with rubellites and diamonds and the Ode to Milan Castello ring with rhodolite garnet and diamonds. She was joined by Regina King, who wore malachite and brown diamond jewels from the same collection, and Brittany Snow, who wore a striking Catene chain-link necklace with tanzanites and brown diamonds. We saw a similar focus on colour around the neck of nominee Lily Gladstone in the form of a Bulgari Diva’s Dream High Jewellery necklace with sapphires, turquoises, tanzanites, amethysts and diamonds, and at the ears of megastar, Zendaya who wore a pair of dusky rose morganite earrings in pink gold, plus a ring with contrasting turquoise elements. Award winner Emma Stone, who suffered a wardrobe malfunction when her Louis Vuitton dress broke ahead of her acceptance speech, wore the Drift necklace from the new Deep Time Chapter II High Jewellery collection, notable for its octagonal step-cut golden-yellow sapphire of 30.47 carats from Sri Lanka.

There was also a notable influx of statement cuff bracelets on the red carpet this year, including a knockout Verdura creation worn by iconic actress Rita Moreno. She was joined sartorially by Margot Robbie in a 1980s diamond and gold twist cuff by Boivin, provided by Fred Leighton, and Jamie Lee Curtis in a cool cuff by Cathy Waterman. It was great to see such a diverse array of jewellery styles on display too, such as Fred Leighton old mine-cut diamond earrings and a 1950s-inspired Balenciaga look on Carey Mulligan, contrasted with a sleek and stylish Vhernier necklace worn by Julianne Hough. Speaking of sleek and stylish, Bucherer Fine Jewellery also shined with its Inner Fire High Jewellery collection, which was worn to beautiful effect by Eva Longoria. She picked the Inner Fire Masterpiece necklace with a smooth sweep of diamonds and a 5.57-carat pear-cut central stone.

Another big winner of the night was Boucheron, which was responsible for arguably the best look of the formal Oscars red carpet – Charlize Theron. The actress wore a Quatre Radiant Edition earrings, choker, necklace and bracelet, all with diamonds in 18k white gold. Her look also included the Vendôme Liseré bangle and ring, the Quatre Double White Edition ring, and the Quatre Double White Edition ear clip crafted with white hyceram and diamonds. 

We also appreciated the elegant simplicity of Danielle Brooks’ De Beers jewellery look, which included a De Beers Drops of Light necklace with 20.97 carats of diamonds, a pair of Talisman cocktail earrings with 26.95 carats, and further bracelets and rings with somewhere in the region of 40 carats of diamonds… talk about being dressed head-to-toe in sparkle! Let’s not forget Best Supporting Actress winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who once again turned to Moussaieff for her finery. Her drop earrings contained 18.64 carats of white diamonds, set in platinum, which are all D colour, internally flawless and marquise shaped.

Finally, a quick nod to the men! Brooches, watches and rings are in the repertoire of all stylish gents this year. Just look to Simu Liu using a De Beers Imaginary Nature brooch set with 32.61 carats of diamonds in platinum as a jacket fastener, Matthew McConaughey in a Cindy Chao yellow diamond Ribbon Brooch or Colman Domingo with a fantastic brooch studded bowtie. Another honourable mention should go to Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy, who wore a custom Sauvereign bespoke HS14 Gem brooch designed by Bertrand Mak, the brand’s founder and chief creator. The piece was conceived and created for the actor in 18k yellow gold with sunburst guilloché to recognise the world-changing physicist he played in the movie Oppenheimer. Apparently, this is the first time the Irish actor has ever chosen to wear a brooch on the red carpet, which perhaps explains its minimalism and restraint… perhaps he will be wearing a big colourful gemstone next time!

The After Parties

Remember that Michelle Yeoh look we promised you? Well, the actress turned up to the Vanity Fair Oscars Party in a duo of Cindy Chao jewels. The first is the most obvious – the Lumière Feather brooch from the Black Label Masterpieces series with a 19-carat heart-shaped diamond and 2,419 further diamonds for a total weight of 189.15 carats. She paired this with an Emerald Architectural ring from Cindy Chao’s White Label collection, set with an 11-carat oval-shaped emerald. Another star of the after parties was actress Sydney Sweeney, who wore a custom-made Messika multi-row necklace with approximately 63 carats of diamonds, coupled with a pair of brilliant-cut diamond studs. We also spotted Chloë Sevigny wearing Ana Khouri Diamond Christina earrings and the Diamond Phillipa ring, Rebecca Hall sporting jewels by EÉRA, Suzanne Kalan, and Yvonne Léon, and actress Sharon Stone in a Gismondi 1754 ring with a phenomenal 52-carat Asscher-cut diamond!

What’s amazing about the widening scope of the afterparties is that more famous faces can get in on the Oscars action without actually having to sit through the ceremony. Plus, some of the biggest brands have a second bite at the apple! A great example of this is Maison Boucheron, which adorned Greta Gerwig Hailee Steinfeld, Barry Keoghan, Diane Kruger, and Joan Smalls so they could dance the night away. There were also more showings from Tiffany & Co., including Emily Blunt in morganites, Greta Lee in Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany Shell earrings, and Gabrielle Union in a platinum necklace with enhanced yellow sapphires.

Finally, we can’t end this year’s Oscars summary without a mention of Anya Taylor-Joy’s after party look, which included a Miss Sohee dress and a bejewelled headpiece with two large pearl drops.

If standing out from the crowd is the ultimate aim of these Hollywood events, then why not do it in style! So, tell us, who was the best-dressed this year? We certainly have our favourites.