Jewelry at the Oscars

Gaga over this diamond

The Yellow Tiffany Diamond worn by Lady Gaga at the 2019 Oscars has a rich history

Here’s a coincidence. I watched the Oscars last Sunday night, my heart a-flutter each time a star appeared in fabulous red carpet jewelry. Lady Gaga’s yellow diamond necklace looked familiar. I had visited the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts that afternoon to see the two exhibitions about jewelry designer, Jean Schlumberger.

 Schlumberger started out designing buttons for Surrealist fashion designer, Elsa Schapparelli and then jewelry for Tiffany. He provided eye popping brooches, clips, necklaces and all kinds of jewelry, home décor and garden art for the rich and famous, including Jackie Kennedy, Slim Keith and Audrey Hepburn. Much of the exhibit was filled with pieces owned by Bunny Mellon of the Mellon Bank family.

One item missing from the exhibit was the 128.54 carat Tiffany Yellow Diamond. Schlumberger designed several different settings for this large yellow diamond.  It was worn by Audrey Hepburn in publicity shots for Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I actually looked for it at the museum. Alas, there was only a picture of Hepburn wearing the famous diamond necklace.

 Maybe there was a reason for the omission. Turns out that the necklace worn at the Academy Awards by Lady Gaga was, in fact, the same Tiffany Diamond redesigned in another setting. She is only the third person to wear it.