Celebrity Jewelry

Judge the Jewels: Were Julia Garner’s Belperron Met Gala Jewels Just Gorgeous, or Were They Also a Silent Protest?

The actress attended the 2023 Met Gala in a white Gucci silk gown, dramatic pink-lined black cape, and magnificent gold and emerald jewelry.

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11 months ago

May 31, 2023

Becky Stone

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The sighting: Actress Julia Garner attended the 2023 Met Gala in a white Gucci silk gown, dramatic pink-lined black cape and magnificent gold and emerald jewelry.

The jewels: Garner’s gorgeous jewels were all Belperron — a fantastic start to any ensemble. The actress had a pair of gold Belperron Corne earclips on her ears and three bracelets stacked together on one wrist: two Belperron Couronne cuffs with emeralds and with a Belperron saddle cuff in gold in between them for a high-voltage asymmetrical look.

The trends: Emeralds are popular right now (when are they not?) but this look also reflected the recent red carpet tendency for celebs to choose earrings and bracelets over statement necklaces. The chunky gold earrings were right on trend, too.

What do we think? This was my favorite Met Gala jewelry look, hands down. No contest. Belperron is a jewelry legend for good reason, and these were some of the only jewelry pieces at this year’s Met Gala that actually represented innovative jewelry design, rather than just high price tags. Wearing the three cuff bracelets stacked together with the emerald fringe facing outwards was a striking and powerful styling choice.

Aesthetics aren’t the only reason I applaud Garner for choosing Belperron for the Met Gala. Both Karl Lagerfeld and Coco Chanel herself were known to have expressed antisemitic views at various times throughout their lives. In contrast, Suzanne Belperron went to great lengths to try to protect her Jewish business partner, Bernard Gerz, from the Nazis during World War II and was a member of the Resistance movement in Paris.

Almost no celebrities chose to speak out about Lagerfeld’s distasteful views during this event held in his honor, but I like to think that some of the night’s sartorial choices – like Garner’s Belperron – stood as silent opposition to the honoree’s prejudices.

Judgement: 18/10 for truly inspired and gorgeous jewelry choices!

This Third-Generation Jeweler Was Ready for Retirement. He Called Wilkerson

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