Why the Diamond Purse Is a Coveted Jewelry Novelty
Explore the luxurious world of the diamond purse, from vintage icons to record-breaking creations.
(Courtesy of Buccellati)
A diamond purse adds a new level to wearing jewelry. An ultra-glam conversation piece, the unapologetic luxury of diamond and gemstone-embellished evening bags captured the attention of high society at the turn of the 20th century and continued to be a must-have elegant novelty throughout the 1920s and ‘30s.
Combining jewelry and fashion, gem-laden evening bags were frequently rendered in Art Nouveau and Art Deco-inspired styles. Rich velvet, silky textiles, embroidered fabric, and gold mesh bags often featured bejeweled clasps and frames thanks to skilled goldsmiths and masterful artisans.
Jewelers like Fabergé, Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, and Milan-based design house Buccellati were known for these dainty diamond purses. Mario Buccellati’s creations in particular became a must-have for ladies of luxury, who attended the opera at the La Scala Theatre in Milan, serendipitously located right next to Buccellati’s workshop.
Meet the Expert
Rebecca Selva is the Chief Creative Officer of Fred Leighton, a legendary jeweler renowned for its exceptional collection of vintage and antique pieces. She has spent the last 30 years curating period jewelry across all eras, dressing Hollywood’s brightest stars in Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco, and mid-century jewelry.
The Roaring Twenties saw the trend expand to diamond-clad cigarette cases and vanity cases. In 1917, Cartier’s famous Panthère motif even originated in the form of a cigarette case. In 1933, Van Cleef & Arpels created the minaudière after being inspired by a friend and client, Frances Gould, wife of American railroader Jay Gould, who rushed to a meeting with Charles Arpels and threw her loose necessities into a tin Lucky Strike cigarette case — using it as a makeshift purse on the spot. Arpels transformed the idea into a small, elegant, rectangular metal box crafted from precious materials, with storage compartments for cosmetics, a lighter, a mirror, and more. It was an instant hit.
Diamond purses have been trickling back into the zeitgeist. Kylie Jenner recently posted to Instagram, posing with a Diamond Hermès Himalaya Birkin, often referred to as the “Holy Grail” of handbags. The rare, high jewelry masterpiece is created with matte white Niloticus crocodile leather and a smoky gray gradient. Featuring 18-karat white gold hardware, the coveted purse is set with over 10 carats of VVS-grade natural diamonds. Jenner added custom natural diamond Lip Kit Bag Bijoux lip charms by Ashna Mehta, in honor of the King Kylie rebrand of Kylie Cosmetics.
From royal collections to record-breaking masterpieces, discover the diamond purses that defined an era and broke world records.
What Do Wallis Simpson, Ellen Barkin, and Cameron Diaz Have in Common? One Historic Diamond Purse.
“One of the most creative moments, dress-wise and jewelry-wise, was Cameron Diaz when she presented at the Oscars in 2002,” says Rebecca Selva, Chief Creative Officer of Fred Leighton, the legendary jeweler renowned for its exceptional collection of vintage and contemporary jewels in New York.
Diaz wore a soft pink, floral silk Emanuel Ungaro Couture Kimono-style wrap dress with dramatic bell sleeves and a myriad of diamond and turquoise accessories. Diaz has since revealed that her ensemble was very off-the-cuff and last-minute, but with her historic handbag, you’d never be able to tell. “The handbag she was wearing was part of the Duchess of Windsor’s collection,” Selva says. “It was incredible.”
The Art Deco diamond, ruby, and enamel bag that was previously owned by Wallis Simpson rounds out her legendary and celebrated jewelry collection. The beige, pink, and gold floral fabric clutch is completed by an Old European-cut diamond frame, enhanced by ruby beads and black enamel scrolls with a triangular-shaped pull piece, including star-set diamond and ruby accents, set in platinum.
“That was a great moment – a real expression of her style, mixing and being really free,” Selva expresses. “It was just bohemian style at its best, at its most glamorous.” Later, the diamond purse ended up in the collection of Ellen Barkin, which went up for sale at Christie’s in 2006 with the Magnificent Jewels from the Collection of Ellen Barkin auction.
With an impressive jewelry collection, Barkin had two more diamond purses in the auction’s assortment. One vintage rectangular 18-karat gold mesh purse features a gold link chain connected to a gold scrolled openwork foliate frame with a clasp set with cabochon emeralds and Old Mine-cut diamonds, crafted in 1900.
The next diamond purse in Barkin’s collection was an Art Deco vertical rectangular shape, crafted in 14-karat gold textured mesh, and adorned with square-cut sapphire and Old European-cut diamonds, crafted in 1920.
The Italian House That’s Been Bedazzling Evening Bags Since the 1920s
Renowned for the precision of its artisans, Buccellati’s high jewelry often showcases traditional codes to maximum effect. During Paris High Jewelry Week in July 2025, the storied Italian house focused on wearability, presenting a trio of high jewelry handbags.
An homage to savoir-faire, Andrea Buccellati created a capsule collection consisting of three one-of-a-kind “bejeweled bags,” calling upon traditional design codes of the past while modifying for modern times. A bit larger in size, these new styles are made to fit today’s mobile phones. This is not the first time the brand has created diamond and gemstone-encrusted evening bags. Buccellati founder and Andrea’s grandfather, Mario, made small fabric clutch bags, set with a wide array of diamonds and gemstones, embellished with rich embroidery.
A forest green quilted velvet rectangular handbag features an opening clasp, set in yellow and white gold, featuring natural diamonds and cabochon rubellite tourmaline. The second style comes in the form of a black velvet pouch clutch bag with a gold closure, decorated with natural diamonds and rubellite tourmalines, featuring a dangling diamond Opera pendant. Then, an ultra-modern spherical bag is crafted out of black stretch velvet and embellished with a double row of triangular and garland motifs with natural diamonds and a yellow gold circular handle.
The Buccellati practice dates back to the 1920s and 1930s, when Mario Buccellati realized the potential of these “bejeweled bags.” He began to elegantly embroider and decorate evening clutch bags with gold and precious stones. They quickly became all the rage as a go-to fashion accessory for high society ladies attending the La Scala Theatre in Milan, serendipitously located right next to Buccellati’s workshop.
Using oriental silks and supersoft velvet, Mario relied on the expertise of his master seamstresses to transform functional elements like closures and clasps into true pieces of jewelry, rich in creative hardware and diamond decorations. At this point, they were the must-have style essential for the highest echelons of Milanese aristocracy.
By the 1950s, Mario tapped into the tastes of the American public, reimagining creations that maintained the Maison’s signature elegance while developing more linear designs and different materials. With rectangular shapes and more rigid silhouettes, Mario immediately reworked the designs, establishing his hallmark with soft fabric surfaces and hand-engraved hardware.
Subsequently, his son, Gianmaria, began to innovate with a more geometric design, even abandoning fabrics in favor of engraved gold and silver at times. They began to refer to Gianmaria’s creations as “evening cases” rather than evening bags.
While the new capsule was influenced by Buccellati’s legacy of intricately bejeweled purses, it was also inspired by the recovery and restoration of an assortment of evening bags. In 2024, an entire room was dedicated to these luxury handbags in the exhibition “The Prince of Goldsmiths. Buccellati Rediscovering the Classics,” held in Venice, on the island of Giudecca.
With an ardent commitment to safeguarding the heritage of the Maison’s craftsmanship and the integrity of these historic clutch bags, Buccellati has recovered the style codes and intuition rooted in the past, while translating them into innovative and up-to-date styles.
The $3.8 Million Diamond Purse That Holds a Guinness World Record
Valued at $3.8 million, the Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond Purse was dubbed the most expensive handbag in the world by the Guinness World Records in 2010 and currently holds the record still. The heart-shaped purse was handcrafted from 18-karat gold, featuring 4,517 natural diamonds, totaling 381.92 carats, with 105 yellow diamonds, 56 pink diamonds, and 4,356 colorless diamonds. Designed by renowned jeweler Robert Mouawad, the blinged-out diamond purse took over 8,800 hours to create.
Whether tucked under the arm of a duchess or dangling from the wrist of a modern-day style icon, the diamond purse has always been more than just a place to stash your lipstick. From Buccellati’s velvet evening clutches to the record-shattering Mouawad masterpiece, these bejeweled bags exist at the intersection of fashion and fine jewelry. And at the heart of every iconic example is, of course, natural diamonds — irreplaceable, enduring, and impossible to imitate.
