'Go big or go home': Oscars red carpet to sparkle with bold gems and rare diamonds

On Oscar Sunday (March 2) the red carpet will dazzle as celebrities adorn themselves with some of the most exquisite and rare gems and stones.

“For the Oscars, it's, it's pretty much go big or go home,” said natural diamonds lead, U.S, for De Beers, Sally Morrison.

Each year the De Beers Group, which dates back to 1888, contributes its fair share to the sparkle as one of the main suppliers of diamonds to jewelry companies. The company also has its own retail store, De Beers London.

The journey of jewelry from the showroom to the red carpet can be an intricate dance involving stylists, designers, and the celebrities themselves.

“We hear from a lot of the stylists. They will tell us directionally what kinds of things they're looking for - shapes, silhouettes, perhaps color palettes. We obviously submit imagery of special pieces that we keep for the red carpet season, and haven't necessarily been seen yet that year… But, you know, very often we don't know until the person actually is on the carpet. What has been selected. So, it's, it's a nerve-wracking time of year for us, but it's also super exciting,” explained Morrison.

This year the “it” styles include bold statement earrings and necklaces. Sarah Paulson jumped on the look at this year’s Golden Globe awards layering bold line necklaces.

“We're also seeing like really substantial necklaces that include rough diamonds. This past week, Zoe Saldana wore a very big necklace with lots of green and brown and yellow rough diamonds in it," said Morrison.

The Oscars offer celebrities a platform to make daring fashion statements, as evidenced by a single necklace worn differently by both Colman Domingo and Joey King.

Actor Timothée Chalamet is another trendsetter, using jewelry to craft his unique fashion moments.

While being cutting-edge is thrilling, some celebrities prefer to stick with timeless simple solitaire diamond classics that still turn heads.

“This is a beautiful emerald cut ring. It's about ten and a half carats. It's fantastic. And then we have here a very special oval. This one is a little over 11 carats. It's D flawless, so it's the rarest of the rare… So, I would expect some of these big, pure, beautiful natural diamonds to be on the carpet, too.”

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