The world’s largest yellow diamond sets sail in Kenneth Branagh’s new film, here’s what you need to know.
Gal Gadot wearing a replica Tiffany diamond in Death on the Nile, based on the 1937 novel by Agatha christie
Resembling a transparent nugget, the virtuoso fancy yellow 128ct Tiffany Diamond is the largest yellow diamond in the world. It was last worn by Lady Gaga on the Oscars red carpet in 2019, and prior to her, Audrey Hepburn when publicizing Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961; now its exact replica is making its silver screen debut in cinemas worldwide this December.
The Tiffany diamond.
Death on the Nile, based on Agatha Christie’s 1937 mystery novel that recounts a murder and misadventures aboard a glamorous river steamer, sees it woven into the screenplay.
The film stars Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French and is directed by Kenneth Branagh, a five-time Academy Award nominee who also plays the lead as detective Hercule Poirot. Reed Krakoff, Tiffany & Co. chief artistic officer, considers the central role “deserving of our priceless diamond,” which has rarely made an appearance outside its vault since it was process.” Delgado waxes poetic on how the jewelry brings an added dimension to a character.
Agatha Christie.
Proposed sketches for the Tiffany diamond’s setting
“The Tiffany Diamond’s color and beauty are quite extraordinary; it’s a hypnotic piece,” he says, describing how the jewelry offers a new layer of beauty and quality to the costumes. To wit, if Benning’s character is glamorous and eclectic, avant garde jewels and particularly bracelets, pulled from the Tiffany Jean Schlumberger collection, help to balance the aesthetic.
The jewelry will not only highlight the costumes but also glisten against an exceptional Egyptian landscape. Death on the Nile is filmed against the grandiose Giza pyramids, the sparkling Nile River, and expansive desert. And while the diamond is a replica, for both protection and comfort’s sake, its fiery glow and ambitious girth will garner as many gasps from the audience as the numerous turns of Christie’s mystery.
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Originally published in the November 2020 Issue of Vogue Arabia
