The Best Jewelry Moments from the 2026 Met Gala
Over 200 celebrities and fashion mavens walked the red carpet at Monday night’s event to celebrate the theme “Fashion is Art”
The annual Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art funds the beloved Costume Institute, but its red carpet is at the center of the public whirl. It’s a glittering opportunity to see some of the most fabulous haute jewelry and couture worn creatively in the wild. This year’s theme was “Fashion is Art.”
The red carpet kicked off at 6 p.m. with Ragtime star Joshua Henry singing a joyful rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” on the steps with a black-tie suited chorus. The interior of the tent was decorated to resemble a Monet wisteria painting. Wardrobe-wise, a few of the many standouts were Emma Chamberlain’s hand-painted Mugler, Beyoncé’s return (with family, including an all-grown-up Blue Ivy Carter!) in Olivier Rousteing after a ten-year absence, and Gracie Abram’s Gustav Klimt-inspired Byzantine gold Chanel gown. Rihanna, shockingly, arrived before 10 p.m. this year.
Galerie is delighted to share our top jewelry moments, which range from stunning diamond collars to body-oriented pieces, elements of the spring “Costume Art” exhibit, to foretold favorites like pearls and sculptural earrings.
1. Emily Blunt’s Full-Body Mikimoto
Face-framing collars and chokers have long dominated on the red carpet, but the body-oriented essence of the “Costume Art” exhibit invited the guests to put their whole physical self in. Emily Blunt did it perfectly in a one-of-a-kind Mikimoto body necklace that draped her arms and chest in ropes of pearls. Her flair was a little bit royal Belle Époque with a dash of military courtesy of the fringe epaulet-style ornamentation on her shoulders. She accompanied it with several multi-strand pearl bracelets.
2. Beyoncé Sparkles in Chopard
Beyoncé hasn’t graced the Metropolitan’s red carpet in quite a while, but it was worth the wait when she showed up with husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy Carter in tow. She wore a sheer number studded with crystals in a skeleton motif. Beyoncé accessorized with a dazzling selection of wall-to-wall diamond Chopard: an eye-watering cuff bracelet set with a 50.99-carat emerald cabochon, two pairs of earrings (full use of multiple piercings was quite popular last night), and an 18K white “Fairmined” necklace containing over 146 carats of diamonds.
3. Rihanna in Desert Diamonds
Rihanna closed out the show as is her custom, once again with A$AP Rocky in tow. She paired her metallic Maison Margiela floor-length gown with jewels that included a set of fancy brown-yellow Glenn Spiro Natural “Old Moghul Golconda” pear De Beers diamond earrings set in rose gold (which is trendy in watches, so look out for it elsewhere soon) and titanium. The earrings together weigh in at 51.9 carats.
4. Paloma Elsesser in Bernard James: Magnificent Morganite
Paloma Elsesser’s fantastic pastel ensemble coordinated beautifully with her Bernard James jewels. She wore a bespoke 14.69 carat pear-shaped morganite ring with an 18K rose gold band. “Much of my previous work has focused on colorless stones, natural-toned desert diamonds, or richly saturated, jewel-toned sapphires. But Paloma’s look, designed by Francesco Risso, was incredibly inspiring and drew me to morganite for its soft, multidimensional pastel hues,” James told Galerie. Elessar also sported the independent designer’s diamond rivière, which incorporates a yellow diamond pendant that continues the pastels from her dress.
Morganite is a trend that Galerie previously noted for attention. Emily Blunt’s aforementioned Mikimoto featured a large morganite centerpiece, too.
5. Julianne Moore in Messika
The eternally classic actress wore the best of several interpretations seen last night of the at-the-time-daring black gown from John Singer Sargent’s Madame X. She accompanied it with a sculptural pair of earrings and a matching clip on her ears, all three elegantly executed in diamonds by Messika.
In choosing the ear cuff/clip, Moore was far from the only “Fashion is Art” guest to play with nontraditional ear jewelry. Rihanna and Rebecca Hall were among those to wear ear cuffs, a fun and non-committal way to play with self-decor higher up on the ear.
6. Suki Waterhouse Takes the Crown in Boucheron
Actress/singer Suki Waterhouse joined a glimmering group of Met Gala attendees to use their hair—a long-neglected but prime accessorization location—as a showcase for jewels when she took inspiration from laurel-crowned ancient goddesses in this gorgeous diamond pavé Boucheron tiara from their Broderies collection.
Other examples of grand use of hair ornaments at Fashion’s Biggest Night were Elizabeth Debicki’s Verdura tiara and Camila Mendes’s headband-style Manish Malhotra circlet, with its dark center stone.
7. Nicole Kidman’s Archival Omega
Omega had a great night at the Metropolitan. Their renowned Constellation timepieces encircled a real-life constellation of celebrity wrists, Colman Domingo, Connor Storrie, and Tom Francis among them. But Omega’s loveliest appearance was the watch worn by their longtime partner Nicole Kidman. It is a “Manhattan” 18K white and yellow gold model from 1982, with over 200 pretty and sometimes practical diamonds. Kidman borrowed it from the OMEGA Museum archive in Bienne, Switzerland.
8. Amanda Seyfried’s Color-Infused Tiffany Collar
Amanda Seyfried is no newcomer the Costume Institute’s signature yearly event. 2026 was her fifth outing. She honored the occasion in Tiffany & Co., picking this striking showpiece necklace in 18K yellow gold and platinum, with emerald-cut, brightly blue zircons, diamonds, and round cabochon emeralds.
9. Colman Domingo in Bold Boucheron
Bolder jewelry selections for men have been all over the place at awards shows the past few years. Men from Adrien Brody to Connor Storrie wore sparkling brooches and pins on their collars and lapels. Colman Domingo may have been the man to wear it best, grouping upcoming Boucheron gold Serpent Bohème rings—plus a stud and brooch from the same collection—with other gold rings and a generously sized Serpent Bohème Vintage cuff and link bracelet.
Men’s fashion in the Western world has been a sedate affair for most of the past two centuries. It is high time that men finally had some fun acting out with their accessories. Then again, there is nothing to stop a lady from asking Boucheron to make these attractive, glowing gold things for her, too.
10. Anne Hathaway in Bulgari
Fresh off a hurricane of promo for The Devil Wears Prada 2, Anne Hathaway showed exactly how the ever-populate bold collar necklace ought to be done. She added a Bulgari Vimini necklace in yellow gold diamond pavé from their high jewelry collection. The fanning spikes radiated above her hand-painted Michael Kors dress. That and her three other Bulgari pieces (imposing square diamond earrings, a Serpenti ring, and a playful, spiky 18K gold second earring that she wore higher up on her left ear) made clear why Hathaway had been a dream client for any luxury brand since she fully cemented her superstar status in the original The Devil Wears Prada 20 years ago, and why she and Bulgari in particular are a match made in heaven.
Looking Ahead: Are Necklaces Getting Longer?
The face-highlighting collar necklace has may always be a way to signal red carpet glamour, but there is a whole world out there of sautoirs, lariats and opera-length-plus ropes that deserve their time in the sun. Like Emily Blunt’s pearls, these longer statement necklaces bejeweled the entire body. Other noteworthy eye candy in this vein? Tyla’s Jacob & Co. diamond scarf and Princess Gauravi of Jaipur’s heirloom pearls.
Will longer necklaces make a red carpet comeback? Check back in at the Emmys in the fall, but Cannes is right around the corner.