Pearl Necklaces and Earrings Steal Spotlight at 2026 Actor Awards

Diamonds ruled the 32nd annual Actor Awards red carpet, where the ceremony’s first-ever theme, "Reimagining Hollywood Glamour From the ’20s and ’30s," sent many stars into archival vaults and high-jewelry houses for dramatic necklaces and chandelier earrings. Designers and jewelers from Messika to Tiffany & Co., Emily P. Wheeler, Boucheron, Chopard, and Pasquale Bruni supplied the evening’s most photographed statements.

Host Kristen Bell leaned into the period with Messika Haute Joaillerie, wearing the Collier Night Owl statement necklace, Haute Joaillerie Pendant Night Owl earrings and a Messika by Kate Moss Exotic Charm ring with a Georges Hobeika Spring/Summer 2026 Couture gown. "Bell, who hosted the show with her usual quirky humor and charm, walked the red carpet in Messika’s high jewelry Night Owl necklace and earrings and the Messika by Kate Moss exotic charm ring," capturing the Old Hollywood intent in a look Modern Luxury credited to Messika.

Kate Hudson arrived in custom Valentino wearing nearly 80 carats of bespoke Desert diamonds from Emily P. Wheeler, distributed across drop earrings, a wraparound necklace and multiple statement rings. The Emily P. Wheeler pieces provided a full high-jewelry moment that read as both archival and modern against Hudson’s Valentino silhouette.

Men’s jewelry trended more restrained, with one clear exception. Connor Storrie presented a full suite of Tiffany & Co. that E! valued at nearly $600,000: a Tiffany Victoria diamond cluster necklace totaling 6.15 carats and priced at $509,000, a Jean Schlumberger "Stitches" ring with 4.24 carats of round brilliant diamonds listed at $60,000, Tiffany T hoop earrings in white gold at $4,000 and a white-gold cocktail watch at $19,000. JCK singled out the Schlumberger ring, writing that "Our favorite piece was the Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany Stitches ring in gold and platinum with diamonds."

Sarah Paulson favored Boucheron Vendôme Liseré in white gold and black enamel, wearing three pieces including pendant earrings each set with a 3 ct. emerald-cut diamond and a ring centered by a 4.13 ct. emerald-cut diamond with pavé round diamonds. Sofia Carson chose Chopard’s Animal World ouroboros earrings, a motif tied to eternity and renewal, while Viola Davis, nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor for Air, selected Pasquale Bruni’s bold, floral-inspired diamond necklace capped by an emerald-green pear-shaped pendant and matching diamond earrings.

Other pairings across the arrivals reinforced the high-jewelry mood: Wunmi Mosaku in Louis Vuitton with Messika; Chase Sui Wonders in Miss Sohee with Tiffany & Co.; Gwyneth Paltrow in Givenchy with Belperron; and Aimee Lou Wood in custom Versace with Frank Darling. Photographic credits accompanying the coverage include Kevin Mazur/Getty Images and Amy Sussman/Getty Images for key portraits.

A few caption and credit inconsistencies surfaced in the coverage: a Getty caption listed the actress as Nana Mensah while National Jeweler’s image credit spelled the name Nena Mensah, both linked to Boucheron earrings. Such discrepancies underline the importance of precise crediting when houses and stylists lend archive and high-jewelry to high-profile red carpets.

The Actor Awards’ themed dress code made the evening a showcase for substantial diamonds and archival motifs rather than delicate pearls; the dominant narrative across Messika, Tiffany, Emily P. Wheeler and Boucheron was scale, history and high-carat impact, signaling that auction-ready and custom high-jewelry pieces remain the primary language of red-carpet glamour.