LEONARDO DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan may shine in The Great Gatsby, but the jewelry is the real star of the show.
Premier jeweller Tiffany & Co. collaborated with Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann and costume designer Catherine Martin to create the stunning collection of original, period-appropriate jewelry that Mulligan's character Daisy Buchanan wears in the movie adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel of the same name. The movie premiered Wednesday in Vancouver and opens in theatres today.
Tiffany's jewels factor so prominently in this American fable of wealth and betrayal that movie-goers meet Daisy's diamonds even before setting eyes on her face. In an early scene, a delicate hand rises from the couch where the fragile beauty is hidden from view, waves a languid greeting, and an extraordinary diamond and platinum ring glints in the summer sun.
Tiffany & Co., which has been America's house of design since 1837 and counts Fitzgerald himself among its earlier monied clients, made up to four versions of select jewelry featured in the film, says Rob Ferguson, Tiffany's director for Western Canada, over drinks at Hawksworth before Wednesday's movie premiere. These designs were offered for sale to Tiffany's VIP clients at a series of lavish events in New York City last month.
Already creating a buzz well before the movie's premiere is the Savoy headpiece that Daisy wears in party scenes at the Gatsby mansion. Taking its inspiration from the exuberant flapper headpieces of the 1920s, the delicate ornament sparkles with diamonds and drips with pearls. It's offered at $200,000. Daisy's lavish hand ornaments, multi-strand pearl bracelets with adjoining diamond and platinum rings, are $75,000 apiece. The 11carat diamond and platinum ring is offered at $1.8 million.
For jewelry lovers of more modest means, Tiffany has introduced the Ziegfeld Collection. Named for New York's legendary Ziegfeld Theatre of the Art Deco era and based on Tiffany archival jewelry designs from the 1920s, the jewelry captures Jazz Age glamour with freshwater cultured pearls, black onyx and sterling silver. Prices start at less than $500 for cufflinks, earrings and pendants and range to more than $1,000 for long ropes of pearls.
