The Royal History of Florence Pugh’s Oscars Necklace
If I had been on the red carpet on Sunday I would have asked Florence Pugh about the twenty plus carat pinkish stone at the end of her diamond Louis Vuitton necklace. She might have told me that it was one of the High Jewelry pieces from Francesca Amfitheatrof’s Riders of the Knight collection, the one inspired by Joan of Arc and medieval armor.
I might have asked if she knew what the stone was, that mysterious peachy, blush-toned pink.
“Imperial Topaz!” she might have said.
Did you know I would have whispered back conspiratorially that it’s name comes from its association with Russian royalty? This rare variety of topaz was discovered in the Ural Mountains in the 19th century, and the Russian Czars claimed exclusive rights to it. It was a stone quite literally fit for a king or a queen (or czar and czarina). There is an exceedingly fine example of Russian Imperial Topaz in the collection of the Swedish royal family via an aristocratic Russian relative.
Almost two days after the Oscars this imaginary conversation continues in my head. Imperial topaz is one of jewelers most intriguing of stones and a welcome note of history and singularity on the red carpet.
I might have said that to Florence Pugh that night too.
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