If you watched the 2019 Academy Awards, then you already know what everybody’s talking about. Even if you didn’t watch, you know the two scene-stealers of the night were Lady Ga Ga and her eye-popping necklace. Oh, and her smoldering onstage chemistry with her “A Star is Born” co-star. That’s a topic for a different blog, however. Since one of the featured categories here on Sparkle On is the introduction to, and description of, iconic jewelry and gems, I thought I’d offer up some details on the Tiffany diamond set into the necklace worn by the Ga Ga, along with a bit of history about the various ways in which it has been set.
[bctt tweet=”The centerpiece of Lady Ga Ga’s Oscar night necklace was a yellow, cushion-cut diamond, weighing in at an astounding 128.54 carats. Mind you, that’s just the center stone.”] The necklace itself was a station style, set in platinum, with an additional 16 cushion-cut diamonds and 46 round brilliant diamonds. For my readers who are blind or visually impaired, I’ll describe a few of these details.
A cushion-cut stone is a variation of a square shape, but with softened corners. Think of a sofa cushion, and you’ll get the idea. The sides of a cushion cut stone may also be slightly softened so that the edges gracefully curve into the rounded corners. The overall shape of the gemstone is much less sharply geometric than a regular square-cut stone would be. A station necklace is a style where groupings, clusters, or individual pearls or gems are scattered over the length of the chain at regular intervals. This particular style was relatively recently called the “Tin Cup necklace,” named for the movie “Tin Cup,” where the female lead wore a chain with individual pearls stationed along the length of the chain. It’s an iconic look that has been around much longer than the movie “Tin Cup,” but giving the necklace a name with a movie reference made the style instantly recognizable for anyone who saw the star wearing the necklace throughout the film. Although, frankly, to compare the two necklaces is laughable. It would be akin to referring to the Grand Canyon as a divot, or calling Niagara Falls a babbling brook.
In the case of Lady Ga Ga’s necklace, the “stations” consisted of yellow, cushion-cut diamonds surrounded by more diamonds. It is the centerpiece diamond, however, that enjoys legendary status.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Tiffany Diamond is one of the largest cut yellow diamonds in the world. It was discovered in 1877 in the Kimberley Mines in South Africa and at the time of its excavation was a rough stone totaling 287.42 carats. It was purchased by Charles Lewis Tiffany in 1878 and cut into a cushion-shaped diamond featuring 82 radiant facets — roughly two dozen more than a round brilliant diamond. Gaga complemented the necklace with a pair of earrings featuring fancy vivid yellow and white diamonds set in platinum and 18-karat yellow gold.
One estimate puts the stone’s value at $30 million. The stone is rarely seen outside Tiffany and Company’s New York flagship location. It is often shown as the centerpiece diamond on a brooch. The stone itself is called The Tiffany Diamond, and it has never been worn on an awards show red carpet. It was last included as the center stone of a necklace for a publicity shot Audrey Hepburn did for the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
There are tons of incredible photos of the necklace, up close and personal, online, and I encourage you to check them out. Since they are all copyrighted photos, I was unable to include any of them here, but if you can magnify the images, you will be speechless at the fire and sparkle that explodes from this piece of gorgeousness. If you are a jewelry lover, as I am, then I know your heart is beating faster at just the thought of trying on a work of jewelry art of this caliber. Well, browse on, dream on, and sparkle on!
Laura