Marilyn Monroe's jewelry: what the film star wore in life and on the screen

The screen image of the main sex symbol of the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe, is inextricably linked with glamour, wealth and diamonds. We tell you whether the famous blonde often wore precious jewelry in her life and what was stored in her personal jewelry "box", and also recall the brightest "precious" moments of cinema with the participation of the actress.

We learned that" diamonds are the best friends of girls " from perhaps the most ironic and in every sense brilliant scene of cinema. Marilyn Monroe, who performed the song of the same name "expertly" in the film "Gentlemen prefer blondes", made this phrase not just a cult, but also turned it into an indestructible motto of many beauties who know their worth. At the same time, to the surprise of many, the main sex symbol of the 1950s could not boast of a rich personal collection of precious accessories and in everyday life she managed with ordinary costume jewelry.

We recall all the most famous jewelry of the star and tell how the legendary film star managed to maintain the image of a chic platinum blonde, bathing not only in the attention and compliments of wealthy men, but also in numerous diamonds.

As we have already noted, the" precious " collection of Marilyn Monroe was quite modest. But still, the actress had at least two particularly valuable copies. One of them was an engagement ring with 35 baguette-cut diamonds, given by her second husband Joe DiMaggio in 1954 on their wedding day.

Marilyn Monroe's Wedding Ring

Marilyn and the American baseball player met in 1952 in a small Italian restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. A year earlier, the New York Yankees centerfielder DiMaggio noticed a photo of a young actress standing with two other baseball players, and was simply fascinated. The athlete himself contacted the star and offered to meet. Two years later, they got married. Unfortunately, the marriage was unsuccessful — the couple broke up just eight months later, citing difficulties with trust and jealousy.

They say that the last straw was the most famous scene with Marilyn's skirt raised up in the air. Despite this, the actress treasured DiMaggio's gift very much. After Monroe's death, the jewelry was auctioned twice: in 1999, at Christie's auction in New York, a ring with one lost diamond went for $ 772,500, and in 2011, at the Profiles in History auction, it was estimated at $ 420,000.

Another authentic decoration of the collection was a 16-inch string of Mikimoto pearls, also given to DiMaggio as a wedding gift during their honeymoon in Japan. Unlike the wedding ring, Marilyn wore this accessory even after parting with her husband. Which is not surprising, because the 44 Akoya pearls used in the product are considered the standard of perfection in the "pearl" industry, and the founder of the jewelry brand Kokichi Mikimoto is called the King of pearls.

After the divorce, after a while, Marilyn still gave the necklace to her friend Paula Strasberg. In the end, the product was transferred to its creator — the Mikimoto company - and is regularly exhibited at field exhibitions. Today, such a Mikimoto necklace costs about a million rubles.

In the photos outside the frame, Marilyn Monroe could also be seen wearing a necklace made of uncut amber and earrings made of rock crystal. But, apparently, the mother-of-pearl gift of her husband has so sunk into the soul of the film star that pearl accessories have firmly settled in her life. And even if not all the copies of her collection were as valuable, the pearls perfectly emphasized the porcelain skin color of the actress and put the final point in creating the most feminine image. Marilyn liked to wear products in the form of a choker, a long thread in one or several rows, decorate her scarves with pearls and a variety of earrings in the form of simple carnations or extravagant massive "drops".

During the promo campaign of the film "Gentlemen prefer Blondes", Marilyn Monroe was dressed in a golden pleated dress made of lamé, designed by American costume designer William Travilla. The actress was not afraid to complement this already "radiant" image with active gold chandelier earrings and a large ring.

It is surprising that the star was equally perfect for both romantic outfits, complemented by elegant pearls, and a bright and sometimes shocking shine of gold. Interestingly, in the film, Marilyn appears in this dress only for a few seconds and only with her back to the viewer, since it was considered too frank.

In real life, the actress also preferred flashy gold jewelry to silver, because they were perfectly combined with red lipstick and blonde hair and focused attention on the star's face, not on her clothes. And also, according to Monroe, gold accessories always create a colorful atmosphere and are able to turn any ordinary day into a festive one.

Perhaps, along with pearls, Marilyn Monroe's "jewelry" box always had earrings in the form of rings. This simple and effective form is always appropriate, it will protect you from stylistic mistakes, besides, the length of Marilyn's hair was ideal for such a model. The variety of sizes and design of earrings-rings makes them suitable for almost any face shape and leaves them relevant for many years.

"Everyone deserves the right to shine" - not for nothing did Marilyn Monroe like to repeat this phrase. Despite the rather meager personal collection, the actress had a rare opportunity to wear unique jewelry from the most prestigious jewelry companies in the world, such as the legend of the diamond business De Beers. And after an unforgettable number in the movie "Gentlemen prefer blondes", Monroe became a real ambassador of beauty, glamour and elegance. She even received an award from the Academy of Jewelry with the title "Best Friend of Diamonds".

During an advertising campaign in 1953, an impressive yellow diamond pendant in the shape of a pear was flaunted on the neck of Marilyn Monroe. The actress borrowed this legendary diamond weighing 24.04 carats from the president of the Meyer Jewelry Company, Mayer Rosenbaum. The stone, which originally belonged to the Indian maharaja, has a rich history of more than 500 years, covered with legends and even a curse. The pendant was sold in 2018 at Christie's auction for US $ 1.339 million.

In addition to this one of the most famous decorations of cinema, Marilyn Monroe has many iconic "brilliant" episodes. In the cult film "Gentlemen prefer blondes", the actress sparkled literally in every frame. Special attention should be paid to the 25-carat diamond ring she borrowed for filming, ruby pendant earrings, a diamond ring with sapphires, a ring with an impressive pearl, as well as earrings with 36 diamonds in each!

In the movie "Asphalt Jungle", the star's neck was decorated with a very neat necklace with five small diamonds. This sophisticated accessory became fleetingly popular among the aristocrats of that time, and jewelers did not have time to make its replicas.

And even if the actress could not afford to wear all this splendor outside the set, and perhaps did not even strive to wear all this splendor, the screen image created by her made a significant contribution to the development of the jewelry business and to this day is an inspiration when creating jewelry collections.