An Exclusive Inside View Of The 2022 Met Gala’s Best Diamond Looks

It’s fashion’s biggest night, but for jewelry – besides perhaps the Oscars – it’s a pretty big deal, too. At 2022’s Met Gala, which returned to its regular first-Monday-in-May timeslot after a pandemic hiatus, the gemstones were out in force. Diamonds, as expected, were front and center.

Read More: Met Gala 2022: The Best Diamond Jewelry Looks from the Red Carpet

My favorite piece was worn by the actress Michelle Yeoh. As she made her way up the stairs in a glinting Prabal Gurung dress, I noticed she raised her wrist to show her watch to a reporter: a Richard Mille 051, glinting with hundreds of inset diamonds. The modernity – and the sort of brilliant brashness of the piece – worked perfectly against the ballgown elegance of her Gurung dress. 

She told the media: “I am a watch collector. Richard Mille is at the top, but I also love a Rolex Daytona.” And the necklace? “Tasaki designed with Prabal Gurung,” she said.

The diamond hits came fast and furious across the red, white, and blue carpet. Vogue and Condé Nast’s esteemed editor Hamish Bowles wore a Verdura tiara of golden garland leaves, brushed with pavé diamonds. It was gilded and glamorous, through and through. Anna Wintour also wore a tiara from the early 1900s. 

Another big moment alighted with Blake Lively’s early arrival. Her Versace fit nodded to New York City, with, for example, embroidered Zodiac signs along the skirt that mirrored Grand Central Station’s ceiling. Her jewelry had an equally architectural spirit: Nude diamonds cut and carved by Lorraine Schwartz into a geometric crown and pair of earrings. Lively was clever with her jewelry selections – she told reporters that the crown had seven raised elements, honoring the Statue of Liberty’s seven rays.

Radiant Sydney Sweeney of Euphoria fame wore a chicly subtle Boucheron necklace paved entirely with diamonds on white gold. Amber Valletta’s ornate and beautiful Buccellati necklace boasted 210 rose-cut diamonds.

Venus Williams, in cool Chloé by Gabriela Hearst, added an angular edge to her outfit with a wrapped Bulgari necklace made of emeralds and diamonds.

For the gentlemen on the steps, Dwayne Wade’s ensemble stood out; he paired a Versace suit, no shirt, and a diamond choker from Tiffany & Co. to impressive effect. 

And Kim Kardashian, perhaps the most glamorous of the night in Marilyn Monroe’s pale champagne-hued Jean Louis dress from 1962 (yes, the one Monroe wore when serenading President Kennedy with “Happy Birthday”), complemented her throwback knockout with understated – but no less exquisite for it – dangling diamond Cartier earrings. Brava, Kim.