Forget the gowns. This year’s Met Gala was basically a walking jewelry vault.
Blinged-Out Art
Fashion’s biggest night turned into a major diamond takeover as celebrities hit the carpet in jaw-dropping pieces worth millions.
The event, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, had the theme of “Costume Art,” which explores the relationship between clothing and the human body as an artistic medium.
Keke Palmer nearly shut it down with a $1 million diamond necklace from Wempe. The massive piece was stacked with more than 1,200 diamonds.
Meanwhile, Emily Blunt came through layered in pearls and diamonds. Her body necklace, which was valued at around $500,000, featured thousands of Akoya pearls and a whopping 46 carats of diamonds.
Venus Williams donned a custom piece inspired by Wimbledon that nodded to her legendary tennis career, telling a story in diamonds. Williams, who served event co-chair with Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Anna Wintour, wore a custom Swarovski look.
Her Wimbledon-plate-inspired necklace was inspired by the 2022 painting “Venus Williams, Double Portrait” by artist Robert Pruitt, originally commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery.
The Swarovski necklace reimagined the Venus Rosewater Dish, the iconic trophy awarded to Wimbledon women’s singles champions. It honored Williams’ five Wimbledon singles titles while also including nods to her family, her long-standing fight for equal pay in tennis, and the legacy of early Black champions like Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe.
“It reflects not just my journey but the legacy of those who came before me — especially pioneers like Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe, who paved the way,” Williams told Vogue. “It felt like a personal way to connect with ‘Costume Art’ — using fashion to tell a story about legacy and progress and honoring those who made it possible.”
Then there was Beyoncé. Her entire look doubled as jewelry, which included a 6.41-carat diamond necklace. Her crystal-covered skeletal look designed by Olivier Rousteing was a nod to the theme’s human body as an artistic medium. The superstar, who arrived fashionably late alongside Jay-Z and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter, wore an outfit of 300 carats of natural diamonds from Chopard along with a bedazzled headdress. She was also adorned with the legendary Queen of Kalahari necklace, crafted from a rare 342-carat rough diamond. While the full necklace is estimated at $50 million, Beyoncé opted for a modified version, still featuring a stunning 6.41-carat center stone surrounded by an additional 140 carats of diamonds, according to The New York Post.
On her wrists were massive diamond bracelets, including pieces featuring emerald-cut stones, marquise diamonds, and even a large cabochon emerald. She topped it all off with multiple diamond hoop earrings.
Indian billionaire Isha Ambani wore more than 1,800 carats of diamonds and gemstones.
Wearing a custom creation by Gaurav Gupta, styled by Anaita Shroff Adajania, the couture piece required over 50 artisans and more than 1,200 hours to complete. She layered more than 1,000 precious stones, including rare emeralds, polki diamonds, and heirloom pieces from her mother Nita Ambani’s private collection.
