Stars that shine

SINGAPORE (Feb 21): Arguably the year’s most glamorous ceremony, the Oscars provides a showcase for spectacular pieces of high jewellery by the world’s most prestigious luxury houses. This year – as is almost always the case – there were plenty of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds adding pizzazz to the glittering occasion. Here is a look back in pictures at the most beautiful jewels from the red carpet.

Tiffany & Co
Charlize Theron dazzled photographers with a host of diamonds, including an impressive necklace adorned with a large marquise-cut diamond and diamond rings and studs all by Tiffany & Co.

Boucheron
Salma Hayek stood out with a Boucheron Feuilles de Laurier Question Mark necklace, which she wore as a hair jewel. The white gold piece was studded with diamonds and set with mother- of-pearl and cultured pearls.

Cartier
Natalie Portman opted for Cartier with a daring yellow gold ring with a yellow diamond, black lacquer and white diamonds, which she matched with pink gold and diamond.

Harry Winston
Actress Regina King chose Harry Winston diamonds to add sparkle to her Oscars red-carpet outfit.

Bvlgari
Greta Gerwig sported a complete set by Bulgari comprising a spectacular platinum necklace set with diamonds and emeralds, white gold and diamond earrings, and a diamond and emerald platinum ring.

Damiani
South Korean film Parasite makes Oscars history with four wins. For her appearance at the ceremony, actress Cho Yeo-Jeong chose the Mimosa necklace and
ring in white gold and diamonds – inspired by the surprising harmony of the flower dedicated to the women – while her ring is from the Notte Di San Lorenzo collection.

Piaget
Two-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo was stunning in two Piaget Possession full paved diamond rings, a set of Piaget Golden Oasis high jewellery pieces, four Piaget Rose diamond rings and a pair of Piaget Rose diamond earrings.

Chopard
Oscars presenter Mindy Kaling wore a necklace featuring 78.46 carats of marquise-cut diamonds and 46.33 carats of round-shaped diamonds set in 18-carat white
gold. Meanwhile, her earrings featured 4.23 carats of pear-shaped diamonds and diamonds set in 18-carat white gold both from the Haute Joaillerie collection. To top that all off, Kaling wore a ring featuring a round brilliant- cut diamond and roundshaped diamonds set in 18-carat white gold from the Magical Setting collection.

One sparkling evening
Not only did the stars shine on the night of the 92nd Oscars on Feb 8, so did the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. It was lit up with 40,000
Swarovski crystals in clear, crystal, golden shadow and silver shade. The task of designing the stage fell to Jason Sherwood, the Emmy Award designer and creative director for live music, television, theatre and experiential productions.

For example, the Crystal Inner Spiral was a nearly 500kg structured swirl adorned with crystal curtains. Hundreds of crystal strands threaded with 12,000 precision-cut Swarovski crystals brought a lightness and luminosity to the center of the stage. The elevated Crystal Tower, which features 28,000 Swarovski crystals, weighed a staggering 600kg.

“Designing for the Oscars in 2020 is about creating a space as complex, diverse, and beautiful as the movies of the year, for a celebration of some of the world’s most esteemed artists,” Sherwood said in a statement. “My production design is a sculptural cyclone where Hollywood glamour and film-making artistry can combine visually to celebrate the impact of storytelling, and our partnership with Swarovski has allowed that vision to shine at every turn. Crystals imbue the design with the floating, magical sense of possibility, and bring an almost kaleidoscope wonder to a stage and a year of movies that celebrate the human experience.” E