With only a few days to go until the infamous ‘First Monday in May’, we take a closer look at the sparkling jewels we expect to see gracing the red carpet at The Met Gala 2025 – AKA Fashion’s Biggest Night Out.
When is this year’s Met Gala?
Following a tradition that dates back almost 25 years, the Met Gala always takes place on the first Monday in May (also the title of the 2016 documentary of the event), which this year falls on May 5th. Held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the ‘Met’ in Met Gala), the event is the annual fundraiser for the museum’s Costume Institute (which specifically focuses on fashion and costume design) and is accompanied by a months-long exhibition on the same theme as the Gala night.
For 2025, the theme is ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’, inspired by the work of Monica Miller, a leading scholar of contemporary African American and Afro-diasporic literature and culture, and her 2009 work, ‘Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diaspoic Identity’.
Previous themes have ranged from ‘China: Through the Looking Glass’ (2015) – which examined the influence of Chinese art, film and culture on Western fashion – and ‘Camp’ (2019), to ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’ from last year’s event.
What were the standout jewels from last year?
As in previous years, the 2024 Met Gala provided plenty of sparkling eye candy for jewellery and watch lovers.
In keeping with the garden theme of the event, Wicked star Cynthia Erivo dazzled onlookers with an embellished dragonfly brooch by accessories designer Jennifer Behr, which she wore on the back of her head.
British supermodel Cara Delevigne, a veteran Met Gala attendee, collaborated with designer Stella McCartney on a custom hooded and backless bodice embellished with over 500 carats of and lab-grown diamonds by specialist company, Vrai.
Not one to be outdone, Jennifer Lopez accessorised her custom-made Schiaparelli gown with some brand new high jewellery pieces from Tiffany & Co, including a bird-shaped necklaced with an incredible 20-carat oval-cut central diamond.
Champion F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, who is a renowned jewellery admirer and collector, looked dapper in a suite of jewels inspired by the story of John Ystumllyn, one of Britain’s first Black gardeners. These pieces included Burberry’s Thorn Pave necklace and bracelet, as well as fancy yellow diamond cluster earrings, an ‘étoile’ diamond triple wrap ring and a vintage 1980s unheated yellow sapphire and diamond ring from Briony Raymond, and an ‘Asteroid’ ring by Alex Moss.
This year, Hamilton will be acting as co-chair of the Met Gala, alongside actor Colman Domingo, multi-hyphenate singer Pharrell Williams, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, and honourary co-chair, the athlete LeBron James.
As befits an event that was themed around time, there were also plenty of great watches to be seen on last year’s red carpet. Chris Hemsworth sported a classic Alpine Eagle model by Chopard, Lil Nas X went for a vintage Piaget timepiece, while Jeff Goldblum opted for a Tiffany cocktail watch, and Jeremy Strong chose a more avant-garde looking RM UP-01 model by Richard Mille. Ben Simmons even turned up with a watch-themed Thom Browne briefcase, to match the elegant Patek Philippe Aquanaut watch on his wrist.
Which jewels could make an appearance this year?
With a quintet of certified watch and jewellery lovers co-chairing this year’s Met Gala, there is sure to be plenty of precious sparkle on display.
Hamilton, who always puts plenty of research and thought into his met Gala ensembles, is likely to be wearing a vintage or custom piece by a respected Black jeweller, in keeping with the theme of this year’s event. Indeed, the event is likely to be a spectacular showcase for incredible Black jewellery design talent – such as the British designer Emefa Cole, who outfitted the 2023 Met Gala co-chair, Michaela Coel, in an array of single-mine origin gold jewels for the gala, including an ornate coral inspired headpiece.
Pharrell Williams, who has previously collaborated very closely with Tiffany & Co (including on a new unisex fine jewellery line with pearls) is likely to wear something eye-catching from the New York jeweller, perhaps even a special custom piece of his own design.
Incredible men’s brooches are now also a red carpet mainstay, and we’re predicting a slew of shimmering lapel pieces again this year – especially on all the co-chairs, as well confirmed brooch fans like Jeff Goldblum (who is partial to a bit of Tiffany & Co), and Oscar-winner Adrien Brody, who is a long-time collaborator of the artist-jeweller Elsa Jin, whose elaborate brooches often explore the concept of time.
Being a world-famous platform, the Met Gala is also used to showcase one-of-a-kind antique jewels and museum-worthy archive pieces that would otherwise never be seen in public – perfect for celebrities in search of a completely unique (not to mention show-stopping) outfit for the event.
In 2023, for example, Dua Lipa hit the red carpet adorned in the unbelievable ‘Lucida Star’ diamond necklace from Tiffany, worth over $10 million. The piece featured a central stone known as the ‘Legendary’ diamond, which weighs over 100 carats and has 82 facets. That same year, Priyanka Chopra arrived wearing a necklace set with the rare Bvlgari Laguna Blu Diamond, which was later sold by Sotheby’s for over $25 million.
With the summer’s big jewellery sales at international houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s due to take place in June, perhaps a spectacular one-off sparkler (or two) could make an appearance in New York on its way to auction..?
Like this? Discover 12 of the most iconic Met Gala jewellery moments.
