Riley Keough stole the show on the second day of the Venice Film Festival in a sparkling Cartier necklace, in which precious sapphires are juxtaposed with the luster of yellow and rose gold. The granddaughter of Elvis Presley chose the Cartier creation to embellish the Chloé look she wore to the premiere of Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, a film in which she plays the eldest daughter of the main character (who is played by George Clooney).
“It’s really exciting to embody Cartier elegance on the red carpet,” Riley Keough told Vanity Fair. “This was my first time at the Venice Film Festival, and I felt really lucky to be able to wear such an important piece of jewelry. The Festival itself is very elegant, and the necklace reflects that idea perfectly.”
A staggering 1460 hours were required to make the masterpiece, which is known as The Cafayate Necklace. The simple yet extravagant piece of jewelry belongs to the storied jewelry house’s En Équilibre collection, in which precision is achieved not by the search for excess but by the subtle balance between symmetry and asymmetry.
Two iridescent opals—5.64 and 4.59 carats respectively—give off shades of red, orange and yellow, evoked by the color of the precious sapphires that surround them. “It was the lines of the necklace that enchanted me, along with the shape of the gemstones. Opal is one of my favorite gems ever,” Keough revealed.
Yellow and rose gold distinguish the jewel chain, in which 51 precious gems are set: so-called “umba” sapphires, named after their unique place of origin, Tanzania’s Umba Valley. Each sapphire has been specially cut to the shape of a half-moon, a cut that enhances its yellow, orange and pink hues, blending beautifully with the colors radiated by the central opals.
