If you tuned into the 2023 Met Gala there was absolutely no way you could have missed co-chair and pop superstar Dua Lipa stealing the show in a 1992 archival Chanel bridal ballgown, first worn by Claudia Schiffer before the turn of the millennium.
The textured dress and its ribboned lining and fringe were one thing, but the minimal styling led the eye to one place in particular, the glittering diamond necklace around her neck.
That necklace is actually a Tiffany & Co. design, and I took a trip down to the Sydney store to see it in person.
About The Tiffany High Jewellery Necklace
If the Tiffany necklace Dua wore looks familiar, that’s because it is! The legendary cut of the main stone is an homage to Tiffany & Co.’s eponymous and widely renowned ‘Tiffany Diamond’.
A fun piece of Tiffany trivia for you, the Tiffany Diamond is one of the largest and most celebrated stones in the world in a colour that gemologists call ‘Fancy Yellow’. It’s no small feat, at 287.42 carats when it was discovered, then to be cut and polished in a cushion-shape brilliant cut of 128.54 carats.
The ingenuity in the way the Tiffany Diamond was cut is mirrored in the diamond that Dua wore to the Met Gala, and it was then set into the company’s Lucida Star Necklace (which once housed the Tiffany Diamond).
The new diamond, this time a cushion modified brilliant cut white diamond, is over 100 carats and offers 82 facets for extra sparkle (this is 24 more facets than the traditional brilliant cut would have).
What The Tiffany High Necklace Diamond Is Like In Person
Seeing the white diamond inset on the Lucida Star necklace was nothing short of breath-taking, offering a glitter and glimmer that is unmatched in any item of jewellery I’ve been lucky enough to see.
Speaking with Tiffany & Co.’s Chief Gemologist, Victoria Reynolds, it’s clear that the brilliance and iridescence given off by these stones is the product of the expert manner in which they are cut, accentuating their glimmer.
Reynolds was down in Sydney to launch the brand’s new concept for high jewellery “Diamonds and Wonders”, inspired by the magic mother nature creates.
A team of gemologists selected the most “miraculous” stones to showcase in new designs, first debuting in Utah, United States, before coming down under.
It was also a ‘return home’ for a selection of gems within the collection referred to as the ‘Argyle Diamonds’. They’re so-called because they originate from the now-closed Argyle Diamond Mine in Australia, with the collection encompassing 35 rare fancy pink diamonds in an array of colours, from light pink to the rarest reds.
Reynolds tells us that the fancy red diamonds occur due to a deformation in the crystal lattice structure combined with pressure and stress, hence their gorgeous colour, but also their size (it is rare to find them above 1 carat in size).
We also had a glimpse of the company’s beautiful 80-carat Empire Diamond, cut in the same proportions as the Tiffany Diamond.
To celebrate the “Diamonds and Wonders” collection, Tiffany & Co. hosted a dinner and after-party at the Opera House, with the likes of Aisha Dee, Nicole Warne, Victoria Lee, Sarah Ellen, Montana Cox, Hanan Ibrahim, Carmen Hamilton and Harrison Kennedy in attendance.
