Dame Anna Wintour’s Astonishing Aquamarine Heart at the Met Gala

Last night, the annual Met Gala was held in New York, with attendees trying their best to embody this year’s “Tailored for You” dress code. I’m going to be sprinkling in a few interesting jewelry moments from the gala over the next few days and weeks, starting with a major antique brooch worn by Dame Anna Wintour.

Wintour is the editor-in-chief of Vogue and one of the organizers of the annual gala supporting the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This spring’s exhibition at the Costume Institute is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” and the gala asked attendees to wear clothing inspired by classic tailoring. Wintour wore Louis Vuitton for this year’s gala: a blue coat and silver embroidered dress. The ensemble was the brainchild of one of this year’s Met Gala co-chairs, the musician Pharrell Williams, who is also the men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton. He filled the role held by the late Virgil Abloh, and Wintour’s Met Gala outfit was reportedly inspired by Abloh’s work.

There were sparkling threads incorporated into the embroidery on Wintour’s dress, but the real glitter came from her jewels, including her signature layered necklaces and a show-stopping brooch.

Wintour layered together three necklaces that appear to be set with either diamonds or diamond-like paste stones. One of these has a floral design and has been in Wintour’s jewelry box for many years. (She’s also worn it more than once at the Met Gala, including appearances in 2022 and at last year’s Met Gala as well.) The others feature a classic rivière-style design. At least one of them was sourced from Briony Raymond New York.

But it’s that brooch that commands all of the attention. The jewel features a huge aquamarine cut in the shape of a heart. It’s suspended from a diamond ribbon ornament and can surely also be worn as a pendant. The ribbon styling makes me think that this piece could date to either the late Victorian period or the Edwardian era. Perhaps Anna’s good friends at S.J. Phillips in London helped her to acquire or borrow it? (I don’t believe it’s currently listed on their website, so it could also have been sourced elsewhere.)

Here’s one more look at Dame Anna’s necklaces and brooch at last night’s Met Gala. This was just one of a whole group of interesting jewelry looks on the attendees, and I’ll be highlighting a few more soon.