‘Go big or go home’: Oscars red carpet to sparkle with bold gems and rare diamonds

At this year’s Oscars, the jewelry on the red carpet will be bold statement earrings and chunky necklaces, as well as rare natural diamonds and a more creative use of gems by male stars, according to a De Beers jewelry expert.

“For the Oscars, it’s pretty much go big or go home,” said Sally Morrison, U.S. natural diamonds lead for De Beers Group.

The journey of jewelry from the showroom to the red carpet can be an intricate dance between jewelry companies, stylists, and designers, as well as the celebrities themselves.

“We hear from a lot of the stylists. They will tell us directionally what kinds of things they’re looking for - shapes, silhouettes, perhaps color palettes,” said Morrison.

“Very often we don’t know until the person actually is on the carpet, what has been selected. So it’s a nerve-wracking time of year for us, but it’s also super exciting.”

Statement earrings and necklaces are forecast to be the rage this year, such as the large, layered diamond necklaces donned by Sarah Paulson at the Golden Globe awards.

“We’re also seeing like really substantial necklaces that include rough diamonds. This past week, Zoe Saldana wore a very big necklace with lots of green and brown and yellow rough diamonds in it,” said Morrison.

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Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet, meanwhile, has worn line necklaces and layered pieces. “He definitely pushes the envelope for diamond jewelry on men,” she said, adding that she expects to see increasing creativity from men this year.

Some celebrities prefer to stick with classics that are more simple - but still pretty special.

“This one is a little over 11 carats,” she said, pointing to one sparkly ring. “It’s D flawless, so it’s the rarest of the rare… I would expect some of these big, pure, beautiful natural diamonds to be on the carpet, too.”