With September issue cover in the hands of the Oscar-winning auteur , it’s no surprise the resulting spread story unfolds with a lush tale of star-crossed lovers. Presented like a type-written screenplay, the photos tell the story of a glamorous Monte Carlo cat burglar (Blake Lively) slipping through the fingers—like a diamond riviera necklace—of an undercover Interpol officer (Hugh Jackman), who is out to catch the thief. Or rather, , as the photos are largely inspired by Hitchcock’s 1955 ultra-classic flick starring Grace Kelly and Cary Grant.
“It turns out that our thief is, in fact, to use an old term, a ‘femme fatale,’” says Luhrmann of his inspiration.“It was all about finding an imagined role for Blake, that perhaps we’d all like to see her play.” Starring alongside Lively and Jackman was a couple of necklaces with so many carats they’re on par with these Hollywood heavyweights.
One necklace, named Tanabata, shines with a hulking 37.27-carat oval-shaped diamond inspired by the path of a comet. The other? A resplendent necklace with eight cushion and oval-shaped faceted Burmese rubies possesses quite the provenance—it belonged to .
“And I had Elizabeth Taylor’s necklace!” says in September issue cover story. “Elizabeth Taylor’s necklace in my I have to show you. So there were these people there that had these rubber covers on their fingers, and I had a foam mat below me in case the necklace fell.
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” In the famous fireworks scene of , Kelly’s character sports a sparkling costume necklace in a fruitless attempt to dangle danger in front of the man she suspects to be the notorious cat burglar. “You know as well as I do this necklace is imitation,” says Grant’s character. While Hitchcock indeed filmed Kelly wearing a paste necklace, Luhrmann, on the other hand, opted for the real deal.
In the latter's modern-day telling of the story, the necklace was one that Taylor’s third husband, film producer Mike Todd, bestowed upon her whilst vacationing in the South of France in the spring of 1957. So the story goes..
. was in the pool swimming laps wearing a diamond tiara her new husband had already given her when he appeared with more red leather in hand. In of the moment, she’s seen being lavished with the Cartier ruby necklace Lively wears in her September issue spread.
The necklace features a tiara fitting, allowing it to be worn as a head ornament; brilliant, baguette, and fancy-cut diamonds; eight rubies, including one at the clasp, and was crafted by Cartier in 1951 as a larger necklace that originally sparkled with a whopping 19 rubies. It was then sized down in 1953 before being gifted to Taylor in 1957. She’d wear it several times with Todd, notably in London in July 1957.
Todd was premiering his film and Taylor turned up in a red Dior frock and her glittering suite of ruby jewels. Though their marriage was tragically cut short when Todd died in a plane crash in 1958, Taylor held on to the ruby piece, no doubt a symbol of their short union, and, every once in a while, was photographed in the necklace. In September of 2001, attending a concert honoring Michael Jackson at Madison Square Garden in New York, Taylor accessorized with the Cartier set.
Upon Taylor’s passing in 2011, the necklace, along with its matching bracelet and earrings, were as part of Christie’s The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor: The Legendary Jewels, Evening Sale. The piece sold for $3,778,500—we understand, then, why Luhrmann thought it the perfect object of Lively’s sly affection..
