For the Gardens of Time-themed Met Gala, a handful of attendees took a literal slant on the dress code, arriving in whopping gemstones forged over millennia.
Isha Ambani, daughter of India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, turned to jeweller Viren Bhagat and designer Rahul Mishra, who posted that her look was a bid to “take India to the world”. Accordingly, Ambani sported traditional haathpochas, or lotus hand bracelets, plus earrings with a parrot motif and an ethnic floral choker.
Another Indian billionairess, Sudha Reddy swept into the fund-raiser event wearing $20 million worth of white diamonds.
Dressed in white, the businesswoman also wore the Amore Eterno necklace by Farah Khan Ali, weighing an impressive 180 carats. Featuring 21 round brilliant-cut diamonds, the necklace has a drop of four heart-shaped diamonds, culminating in a 25-carat diamond at the centre. In addition, the entrepreneur and philanthropist wore two solitaire rings, one weighing 23 carats and the other 20 carats, bringing the value of the set to an estimated $20 million.
Elsewhere, Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt wore gemstones not only in jewellery form, but also as part of her opulent Sabyasachi sari. The handcrafted blouse was studded with emeralds, Basra pearls, tourmalines and multicoloured sapphires, while Bhatt's bejewelled headpiece and other pieces came from Sabyasachi's high jewellery Bengal Royal collection, with tourmalines, sapphires, emeralds and mine-cut and brilliant-cut diamonds.
The trio of Indian celebrities weren't alone when it came to raising the bling stakes, however.
Cardi B arrived in an enormous black dress by Giambattista Valli. So overstated was the dress, it took eight ushers to help manoeuvre the rapper into position for the sea of cameras to get a good shot. She completed the already-extravagant look with a white diamond and emerald set that included chandelier earrings, rings, a bracelet and a collier necklace containing a suitably vast emerald drop.
Ayo Edebiri wore Boucheron jewellery with her custom Loewe floral gown. The piece is from the French maison's Timeless high-jewellery collection, and was paired with the Bleu Infini pendant earrings with aquamarines.
British producer Bee Carrozzini, meanwhile, wore a gothic-inspired lace dress by Alexander McQueen, which she accented with vintage Briony Raymond chandelier earrings from the late 1800s.
One of this year's co-hosts, Jennifer Lopez, complimented her custom formfitting Schiaparelli gown with a delicate collier necklace, launched just a week ago by Tiffany & Co. The necklace, in yellow gold and platinum, has 75 carats of white diamonds and is from the Blue Book 2024: Tiffany Celeste Collection, while the ring is called Bird on a Rock by Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co. Set in platinum and 18K gold, it carries a four-carat yellow diamond.
Spanish actress Penelope Cruz arrived in head-to-toe Chanel, from her Goya-inspired black lace dress to Tweed de Chanel white diamond necklace, bracelet, earrings and rings. Crafted to mimic woven tweed, each piece of jewellery requires the full skill of the Chanel atelier to bring it to life.
Michelle Williams also wore Chanel, matching her off-white baby-doll-inspired look with a simple white diamond necklace worn as a headband.
Gigi Hadid matched her handmade, off-the-shoulder Thom Browne gown – that reportedly took more than 13,000 hours to create – with yellow diamond drop earrings and a necklace by Chopard. The necklace features a double stand of stones, one white diamond and one fancy yellow diamond, while the earrings are a triple drop of fancy yellow diamonds edged in white diamonds.
Demi Moore looked to Cartier, choosing an imposing high-jewellery set of white diamonds with emeralds. Shaped as flowers, the white diamonds form the petals of the strands around her neck, each with a heart of emerald. This was matched with white diamond and emerald drop earrings.
Michelle Yeoh balanced her deliberately crumpled metallic silver strapless gown by Balenciaga with elaborate platinum, gold and emerald chandelier earrings by Cindy Chao, plus a matching watch – a seldom-seen accessory for women on the Met Gala red carpet.
Nicole Kidman paired her Balenciaga gown – remade especially for her after she saw it in a vintage photograph – with an impressive Harry Winston white diamond cuff, while Kieran Culkin made a compelling argument for embracing extravagant accessories as he arrived wearing a complete set of Fred Leighton jewellery, opting for a necklace in place of a tie, along with a watch and several rings.
