The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival runs through May 23, and the jewellery has already established itself as one of the festival’s defining conversations. Chopard, the festival’s official partner since 1998, has dominated the carpet with headline-making carat counts, while Boucheron and Pomellato have offered quieter, more deliberate counterpoints. From India, appearances by Amrapali Jewels, Sunita Shekhawat, Kalyan Jewellers, and Messika have placed Indian jewellery firmly within the international conversation. Here is what was worn — and who made it matter.
India at the Croisette
Alia Bhatt delivered two of the festival’s most jewellery-focused appearances. At the Opening Ceremony, dressed in custom Tamara Ralph, she wore the Golconda Rosé by Amrapali Jewels: a white gold creation featuring 168.27 carats of pink coral centred around a 5.53-carat Golconda diamond, paired with square-cut Chopard earrings and an Asscher-cut diamond ring. The Golconda provenance is significant. Originating from the historic Kollur mines in present-day Telangana, Golconda diamonds are classified as Type IIa stones — structurally pure diamonds known for exceptional light transmission and clarity. Later, at the L'Oréal Paris dinner, Bhatt appeared in custom Tarun Tahiliani wearing a bow necklace by Sunita Shekhawat from the Art Deco collection, featuring 26.43 carats of diamonds and rose-cut stones against an off-shoulder silhouette. Two Jaipur houses, two global appearances, one international stage.
Tara Sutaria leaned into old Hollywood glamour for her third Cannes appearance, pairing a pearl-white Vivienne Westwood gown with Messika high jewellery. Emerald drops, a pear-shaped centre stone, and chandelier earrings gave the look its drama. Vintage references met the precision of a contemporary diamond house.
Kalyani Priyadarshan made one of the festival’s most structurally interesting jewellery choices at her Cannes debut. Wearing a black-and-burgundy Itrh gown, she chose a back-jewel by Kalyan Jewellers crafted in 14K white gold, featuring a pear-shaped blue sapphire, pink morganites, and 945 natural diamonds. Positioned across the back rather than at the neckline, the piece required the garment itself to be designed around it, turning jewellery and couture into a single visual object. Cannes became the piece’s first international stage.
The Houses Speak
Demi Moore set the opening-night benchmark in diamonds. As a jury member, she appeared in a Chopard bib necklace featuring 226.34 carats of natural diamonds across five rows in 18K white gold, accompanied by cluster earrings, rings from the L’Heure du Diamant collection, and a total diamond weight exceeding 263 carats. At the premiere of Fjord on May 18, she returned in Chopard’s Red Carpet 2026 emerald-and-diamond choker, featuring 87 carats of emerald-cut emeralds and over 40 carats of diamonds in ethical white gold, paired with matching drop earrings. Moore’s Cannes wardrobe has effectively become a twelve-day Chopard campaign rather than a single red-carpet placement.
Georgina Rodriguez carried the festival’s highest single carat count. At the Fjord premiere, she wore a Chopard Red Carpet 2026 choker featuring 152 emerald beads totalling 215.86 carats, alongside a 13.86-carat centre stone, a pear-shaped emerald pendant, and more than 57 carats of diamonds. She paired it with a diamond watch and her widely discussed engagement ring from Cristiano Ronaldo. Altogether, the look exceeded 300 carats. At Cannes, personal jewellery and commissioned styling often occupy the same visual space.
Isabelle Huppert arguably delivered the defining jewellery image of the festival. At the Histoires Parallèles premiere, she wore a Chopard diamond-and-emerald cuff from the 2026 Red Carpet Collection over red opera gloves rather than directly on the skin. The cuff centred on a 50.99-carat Colombian emerald framed by over 82 carats of natural diamonds, accompanied by chandelier earrings in platinum and titanium. The decision to place jewellery over fabric altered the way both light and texture interacted on camera. As this year’s Godmother of the Trophée Chopard, the look felt like a visual culmination of that partnership.
Daisy Edgar-Jones wore Boucheron’s Quatre Radiant Edition High Jewellery tie-necklace at the Fjord premiere, styled in reverse so the diamonds cascaded down the back instead of framing the neckline. The construction followed the architecture of her Balenciaga gown rather than traditional jewellery placement. She wore it as a standalone statement. Anything more would have competed with it.
Jane Fonda offered Pomellato’s answer to a carpet dominated by brilliant-cut white diamonds. At the Opening Ceremony, she wore the Iconica High Jewelry necklace featuring a 46.34-carat oval cabochon-cut milky aquamarine set within a linked white gold chain, alongside two Nudo rings. Unlike brilliant cuts that maximise reflection, the cabochon surface absorbed light softly — a distinction that stood out immediately on the Cannes carpet.
Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu introduced the first public appearance of Pomellato’s 2026 High Jewellery collection at the same opening ceremony.
The Drops of Paraíba collar featured 21 pear-shaped Paraíba tourmalines arranged in an irregular raindrop formation, paired with elongated drop earrings. Paraíba tourmalines remain among the most expensive coloured gemstones per carat, prized for the copper-induced fluorescence that gives them their electric glow — an effect amplified under the precise lighting of the Palais des Festivals red carpet.