With the Oscars last month rounding out the season's biggest awards shows, one thing I've been wondering lately is what the placements mean for the jewelry designers who are almost 100 percent of the time lending their multi-thousand dollar jewels?...
With the Oscars last month
rounding out the season's biggest awards shows, one thing I've been wondering
lately is what the placements mean for the jewelry designers who are almost 100
percent of the time lending their multi-thousand dollar jewels?
On one hand, I'm a firm
believer that the jewelry category as a whole profits from such big-time
exposure. (Think of all the stars wearing chandelier- and drop-style earrings
and stacked bracelets—easily imitable looks that magazines such as People and InStyle translate for consumers at entry-level price points.) Yet in terms of
those uber-luxurious, multi-thousand dollar pieces that the celebrities
actually wear on Grammys or Golden Globes night, what sort of profit comes back
to the designer?
Well a recent Women's Wear
Daily article answered the question for me, and according to the article, there
is quite a bit of moolah to be made.
While it's somewhat uncommon
for the stars to buy the jewelry themselves, there are consumers out there who
are willing to shell out thousands, and even millions, to share in the glamour.
From Oscars night, designs
worn by Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Diane Lane and Kate Winslet have
either already been sold or the designers are in talks with clients.
According to the article
(titled "Red Carpet Jewels Can Turn Into Green"), the emerald Lorraine Schwartz
suite that Jolie wore to the Oscars sold for $2.5 million, an $85,000 Kwiat
diamond bracelet worn by Natalie Portman is on hold for a client, and Neil
Lane—who outfitted Diane Lane—is in talks to sell the actress's Oscar night
vintage diamond fringe necklace, a piece valued at more than $100,000.
But even if you have a few hundred thousand
to shed, some pieces just can't be had. Remember the diamond and turquoise
stunner Eva Mendes wore to the Golden Globes? Though client interest was
strong, Van Cleef & Arpels won’t part with it. One of just 400 pieces in
the brand's museum collection and estimated between $700,000 and $900,000, the
piece will be sparkling within the company's lauded vaults.
