From the Golden Age of the silver screen to the creativity of modern styling on Margot Robbie we explore standout jewels on screen
Flickering fantasies of unadulterated glamour, luxury and romance – the Silver Screen delivered pure escapism in its earliest days, and it was much needed during the Great Depression following the 1929 Wall Street crash.
Along with escapism came aspiration, as the burgeoning Golden Age of Hollywood Silver Screen opened a door onto a whole new world, and the movies, especially the new talkies, became not only storytellers but scintillating showcases of modern style.
Hollywood exerted a massive influence and the lavish sets, dreamy costumes, and opulent interiors shaped a new American cultural identity. Jewels, the ultimate aspiration and symbols of success, played a starring role in this identity: they were an essential element of Hollywood’s intoxicating allure.
Jewels on screen grabbed the cultural limelight, inextricably linked, now as then, to classic movie star glamour.
I came to understand how the Silver Screen had influenced jewellery style – think of Jean Harlow, with her white-blonde hair and clingy oyster-hued satin gowns and the mid-20s vogue for all white jewellery, of platinum, rock crystal and diamonds.
Now, as old-school American glamour is again having a moment, watch Golden Age movies with a keen eye on the jewellery.
Just the other day, I spotted the Cartier rock crystal and diamond bracelets, similar but not identical, worn, sumptuously stacked on Gloria Swanson’s wrist in Sunset Boulevard, 1950.
They were her own bracelets, purchased from Cartier, just as many movie stars of the time bought their own jewels, and wore them both on and off screen. Much more than surface ornament jewellery became a vital, vibrant, awe-inspiring part of their persona.
My favourite Hollywood jewel is Marlene Dietrich’s daringly dramatic ruby and diamond jarretière cuff bangle, commissioned from Van Cleef & Arpels in 1937, from gems she already owned, and often worn by the Blue Angel, including in Hitchcock’s 1950 film, Stage Fright.
A masterpiece of late ‘30s jewellery design, embodying the spirit of Hollywood, the taut, tailored silhouette, voluptuous volume and luscious expanse of rubies combine to make the perfect expression of Dietrich’s inimitable androgynous glamour, with its blend of sensuality and ferocity.
From the roll call of ravishing Silver Screen jewels, I just have to mention the Moon of Baroda, the 24 carat yellow Golconda diamond, worn by Marilyn Monroe to promote the unforgettable jewel-toting 1953 film, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
In all, what I love about the story of Silver Screen jewels is the way in which it reveals how Hollywood fuelled and nurtured a distinctive home-grown American jewellery style, extrovert, spotlight-grabbing, unashamedly uninhibited in scale and sumptuousness, hypnotic jewels to get you noticed, to embody the magic and majesty of the movies: the heart and soul of American glamour.
In the modern era of multiple, lavish red carpets per blockbuster film, the variety of design and use of iconic pieces of the past has shown jewels will always be able to steal the spotlight.
Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ film is filled with extravagant jewels and fashion to match the intended tone. The press tour has seen star Margot Robbie adorn both classic and custom pieces in reference to the themes on display.
During the UK premiere, Robbie’s dress and jewellery were inspired by a bracelet from the Brontë Parsonage museum, which is thought to be made of Anne and Emily Brontë’s hair due to beliefs that it was a common practice of the time.
As for the Los Angeles premiere, she wore a stunning Schiaparelli couture dress accompanied by a heart-shaped Taj Mahal diamond, which once belonged to Elizabeth Taylor, in a Cartier necklace.
The necklace tells a much more historical love story, as it was originally a gift from the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahangir to his wife Nur Jahan. It features an inscription in Parsee which reads “Love is Everlasting” along with Nur’s name alongside it.
Jewels have been used as their own form of storytelling throughout history on screen and in relation to cinema. With Robbie’s styling showing this through ‘Wuthering Heights’ and other ventures such as ‘Barbie’, the emphasis on jewels relating to themes and aesthetics of singular cinematic experiences seems to growing.
All of this showing that jewels on screen continue to be in the spotlight.
Like this? Read the full Vivienne’s Viewpoint in Issue 15, ‘The Movie Issue’, out now.
