At the 2025 Met Gala and the ongoing Cannes Film Festival, high jewelry reclaimed the spotlight, with archival masterpieces and heritage designs radiating prestige across the red carpet.
While contemporary gems shimmered under the flashes of photographers, it was the elusive, historically significant creations — seldom seen and never sold — that truly captivated the fashion world.
Among the standout appearances, Isha Ambani dazzled in a bespoke necklace inspired by a legendary 1930s Cartier creation made for Maharaja Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar.
The intricate cascade of diamonds paid homage to royal opulence while channeling modern-day couture. Meanwhile, singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh echoed the grandeur of Cartier’s ceremonial 1,000-carat diamond necklace — originally crafted for Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala — with his striking, chest-spanning jewel.
This reverence for the past isn’t new, but its acceleration in red carpet styling is unmistakable. When Lady Gaga donned Tiffany & Co.’s iconic 128.54-carat yellow diamond at the 2019 Oscars — a gem once worn by Audrey Hepburn — it reignited the allure of vintage glamour and positioned archival jewelry as a central element of fashion storytelling.
Luxury maisons like Cartier, Tiffany & Co., and Boucheron are now delving deep into their archives, not merely for preservation but for revival. At the 2022 Met Gala, themed “Gilded Glamour and White Tie,” Cartier reached into its heritage vault to adorn actor Emma Corrin with 1930s diamond earrings, Maude Apatow with a vintage floral brooch, and Emma Chamberlain with a 1911 diamond tiara — a regal nod to the Maharaja of Patiala.
Fashion houses are increasingly repurchasing and restoring heritage jewels, often through auctions and private collections, to dress today’s cultural icons. These rare pieces — many of which remain in the maisons’ private patrimony — are meticulously conserved and selectively lent, resulting in red carpet appearances that merge fashion with history.
This season’s awards circuit further confirmed the trend. At the BAFTAs, Cynthia Erivo wore vintage emeralds by Tiffany — a symbolic tribute to her “Wicked” character, Elphaba. At the Oscars, Mikey Madison accepted her first award adorned in a turn-of-the-century Tiffany diamond necklace, while Felicity Jones captivated onlookers in a silver gown accentuated by a Boucheron parure, including a 1927 Art Deco bracelet.
According to celebrity stylist Nicky Yates, who curated Jones’s look, these archival pieces are not just rare but essential to crafting unforgettable fashion moments. “Their rarity elevates the entire aesthetic. These jewels tell stories that modern creations can’t yet replicate,” she noted.
Boucheron’s CEO, Hélène Poulit-Duquesne, echoes this sentiment. For her, patrimony jewelry is meant to be worn and celebrated, not locked away. “We consider our archive not as a static museum, but as a living, breathing part of our house,” she remarked, underlining a shift in how luxury brands engage with their own legacies.
As red carpets continue to evolve from platforms of fleeting style to curated exhibitions of artistry, heritage jewels are reasserting their relevance. These rare creations do more than accessorize — they preserve culture, embody history, and elevate fashion into timeless narrative.
Read more:
