The best jewelry at the 2026 Met Gala did not disappoint. Fashion’s biggest night returned on the first Monday of May with its most dramatic, most bejeweled, and frankly most unhinged red carpet in recent memory. And the jewelry was every bit as extraordinary as the clothes. The theme, “Costume Art,” invited guests to treat their entire look as a work of art, and the jewelry houses obliged magnificently: hundreds of carats of Chopard diamonds on Beyoncé’s return after a decade away, Old Moghul Golconda earrings on Rihanna, a Boucheron tiara in Suki Waterhouse’s hair, and a $1 million Wempe necklace on Keke Palmer’s neck, among many other spectacular moments.
If there was a single overarching message from the jewelry on this year’s Met Gala red carpet, it was this: more is more, and then more again. The 2026 Met Gala best jewelry ranged from deeply personal heirloom pieces worn by Isha Ambani to entirely new high jewelry commissions, from sculptural statement necklaces that doubled as art installations to tiny, perfectly placed brooches that rewarded close attention. Whatever your definition of jewelry dressing, someone on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art was doing it at the absolute highest level on Monday night.
The Night Itself: Fashion Is Art in Full Force
The 2026 Met Gala’s dress code was “Fashion is Art,” hand-in-hand with the exhibition theme “Costume Art”—a celebration of the complex interplay between artistic representations of the body and fashion as an embodied art form. The co-chairs set the tone immediately: Venus Williams, one of the evening’s co-chairs, leaned into statement jewelry from the first moment she arrived, while Nicole Kidman brought her daughter Sunday Rose to what was the teenager’s first Met Gala.
The most talked-about moment of the night belonged to Beyoncé, who made her first Met Gala appearance in ten years. Serving as one of the night’s co-chairs, she arrived among the last on the carpet in a sheer gown covered in sparkles outlining a skeleton, with a feathered coat with a train as long as her list of hits. Making the night a family celebration, she was joined by husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy (Blue’s first-ever Met Gala appearance at the age of 14). The internet, predictably, lost its mind. Other viral moments included Irina Shayk arriving in an outfit made entirely of jewelry—watches, rings, and necklaces in place of traditional fabric, designed by Alexander Wang—and Bad Bunny, who wore Zara and prosthetics to appear several decades older. As statement-making choices go, that one was hard to top for sheer audacity.
The Best Jewelry Looks at the 2026 Met Gala
Beyoncé in Chopard
The queen arrived, and she brought the diamonds to prove it. Beyoncé wore a Chopard necklace from The Garden of Kalahari collection, featuring a 6.41-carat brilliant-cut central diamond with 140 carats of additional diamonds set in 18-karat white Fairmined gold, alongside a bracelet with two emerald-cut diamonds of 21 and 14.7 carats each. A second cuff bracelet from the 2026 Red Carpet Collection featured a 50.99-carat cabochon emerald, 55.58 carats of marquise-cut diamonds, 16.08 carats of round-shaped diamonds, and 10.79 carats of pear-shaped diamonds. The Garden of the Kalahari collection takes its name from a single exceptional diamond of over 342 carats, and wearing it on her long-awaited return, Beyoncé made the whole thing feel entirely appropriate.
Rihanna in Glenn Spiro
Rihanna arrived (shockingly, before 10 p.m. this year) in a gilded Maison Margiela gown by Glenn Martens, and the jewelry she chose was every bit as considered as the dress. She wore a pair of exceptionally rare old Mughal Golconda fancy brown-yellow diamond earrings by Glenn Spiro, featuring two pear-shaped natural diamonds totaling 51.9 carats. She also wore three Briony Raymond diamond ear cuffs, reverse pavé diamond ear cuffs by DYNE, a Victorian rose-cut diamond bangle from Joseph Saidian and Sons, a 1930s diamond ring by Suzanne Belperron with a 3-carat diamond center stone, and custom metal pin curls by Jennifer Behr. No single jeweler. No single era. All Rihanna.
Isha Ambani in Lorraine Schwartz and Family Heirloom Jewelry
Isha Ambani made the styling of diamonds an art form in itself, wearing her own diamond jewelry featuring approximately 150 carats of old mine-cut diamonds, including a four-strand necklace and chandelier earrings, while also incorporating diamonds sewn directly into the bodice of her sari to represent significant moments in her life. In a night full of borrowed jewelry, the decision to wear heirloom pieces of personal significance, and to literally build them into the outfit, was quietly one of the most meaningful jewelry statements of the evening.
Keke Palmer in Wempe
Keke Palmer wore a Wempe authentic necklace worth $1 million, made with over 1,200 diamonds and a total diamond weight of 211 carats, a piece that took over 300 hours of handcrafted work to create. Palmer was the first person to wear it publicly. Paired with a bright red off-the-shoulder mini dress with a long train, it was one of the most visually arresting jewelry moments of the night.
Anne Hathaway in Bvlgari
Anne Hathaway wore a Bvlgari Vimini necklace in yellow gold diamond pavé from their high jewelry collection, whose fanning spikes radiated above her hand-painted Michael Kors dress, alongside imposing square diamond earrings, a Serpenti ring, and a second earring worn higher on her left ear. The custom Michael Kors gown was inspired by ancient Greek pottery and hand-painted by artist Peter McGough. Hathaway and Bvlgari are increasingly looking like the fashion partnership of the moment.
Lisa of BLACKPINK in Bvlgari
Lisa arrived in a white beaded Robert Wun gown with an attached veil and mannequin arms draped over her shoulders, a look that generated immediate conversation online. Her Met Gala jewelry choices matched the theatrical ambition of the dress perfectly: a Bvlgari high jewelry diamond, emerald, and sapphire necklace with matching earrings, plus Bvlgari Serpenti jewels wrapped around the mannequin arms, dangling above her head. Drama, fully committed to.
Suki Waterhouse in Boucheron
Suki Waterhouse took inspiration from laurel-crowned ancient goddesses, wearing a diamond pavé Boucheron tiara from the house’s Broderies collection, one of the best examples of a trend toward hair as jewelry at this year’s event. It was elegant, unexpected, and thoroughly deserving of its place among the 2026 Met Gala best jewelry moments.
A$AP Rocky in Chanel
Rocky arrived alongside Rihanna in a pink Chanel wool jacket with black satin lapels, wearing diamond Tweed de Chanel earrings and a pink sapphire and diamond Chanel brooch, plus pieces from his Pavē Niteō collaboration with Codognato. Fashion expert Maggie Gillette noted that A$AP Rocky rounded out an evening of gentlemen in brooches. He did it best.
Tyla in Jacob & Co.
Tyla’s custom intricately embroidered Valentino gown by Alessandro Michele featured a plunging neckline that existed, one suspects, specifically to display her dramatic Jacob & Co. Diamond Scarf necklace, a cascading diamond statement piece teamed with a diamond ring, a yellow gold ring, and pear-shaped diamond drop earrings. The longer statement necklace bejeweled her entire body in a way that collar necklaces simply cannot achieve.
Doechii in David Webb
Doechii brought vintage glamour to the 2026 Met Gala best jewelry conversation with a selection of David Webb pieces, a house beloved for its bold use of color, enamel, and sculptural goldsmithing. In a night dominated by diamonds, the David Webb aesthetic offered a welcome counterpoint.
Kim Eun-Jae and Venus Williams in Swarovski
Both Kim Eun-Jae and co-chair Venus Williams wore Swarovski, proving that the crystal house continues to hold its own on the highest-profile red carpet in the world. Williams, as co-chair, was one of the most photographed guests of the evening, and the jewelry traveled with her through every frame.
Jewelry Trends Spotted on the Red Carpet
The 2026 Met Gala best jewelry was not just a collection of individual moments. It was a snapshot of where fine jewelry is heading. Several clear themes emerged. Ear cuffs dominated the ear, with Rihanna and Rebecca Hall among those treating the upper ear as prime real estate. Hair jewelry made a significant comeback, from Suki Waterhouse’s Boucheron tiara to Elizabeth Debicki’s Verdura alternative. Long, body-length necklaces—seen on Tyla, Emily Blunt, and others—continued the drift away from classic collar placement.
Personal and heirloom jewelry, epitomized by Isha Ambani’s diamond-sewn sari, brought genuine emotional resonance to the carpet. And colored diamonds, such as warm, yellow, and fancy brown-yellow tones, appeared in force, from Beyoncé’s emerald cabochon cuff to Rihanna’s Old Mughal Golconda earrings. The message from fashion’s biggest night: the most interesting Met Gala jewelry tells a story, and in 2026, the stories were extraordinary.
Featured image: TISHA BRENEE’ via @ciara/Instagram (Ciara in Celia Kritharioti and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry)
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