Anywhere Julia Roberts goes, her famous smile lights up a room. But on Friday, March 8 in Los Angeles, Roberts could be seen sporting a different kind of glittering accessory: a set of chandelier earrings, a round statement ring, and a cascading necklace, all done in emeralds, turquoise, and cherry-red rubellites. She paired the pieces with a black ruffle skirt and a crisp white shirt, both from Carolina Herrera.
The actress was in town for a very special dinner at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood—a celebration of the parure she was wearing and the brand that created it. The trio set comprises a capsule collection Roberts designed with Chopard, where she has been a brand ambassador for the past year and a half. The actress worked closely with the French jeweler’s artistic director and co-president, Caroline Scheufle, on the pieces—which are a colorful ode to turquoise, a stone that Roberts has loved since she was young.
“Turquoise was one of the first stones that ever attracted my eye,” Roberts told W after posing for photographs on the carpet ahead of the Chopard dinner. “I saw how many different versions there were of it—there were blue ones and green ones and you would see threads of things through it. It seemed so interpretive and magical. When talking about incorporating something that I really loved into this collection, I said turquoise—and I love that they were into that.”
A guest of honor like Julia Roberts is sure to bring along some starry friends; on Friday night, it was Elton John who joined the Oscar winner at the party. “She’ll be lucky if she leaves the dinner tonight with that necklace on, because I’m sitting next to her,” the musician told the crowd. “I’ve got my eyes on it.”
An impromptu fashion show during dinner featured couture dress designs by Scheufle (the executive is also a bespoke designer) and scores of jaw-dropping diamond and emerald pieces—literally. John and Roberts, who had their heads together all night long, were agape as the models strutted by.
Still, the actress is no stranger to standout pieces of any kind. Roberts may have spent the better part of her life wearing high jewelry and haute couture on red carpets, but the first piece of jewelry she received as a gift was much more on the modest side.
“It was a ring from my dad when I was maybe seven years old,” she recalled. “It had a little gold band with my birthstone—October, but it wasn’t opal, it was a little pink gem.” (For the record, she no longer has it in her possession, and laments its absence.)
The most prized piece in her jewelry collection is just as simple but significant as that bauble her father gifted her years ago. “That would be my wedding ring,” she said.