Fit For Royalty! The Real Story Behind The Diamond Necklace In Ocean’s 8

 

@AnneHathaway as Daphne Kluger in the Cartier Toussaint necklace created especially for the movie Ocean’s 8. ???????????? The original necklace was designed in 1931 for the Maharaja of Nawanagar by Jacques Cartier. Although the necklace no longer exists, Cartier preserved in its archives a design drawing which was used as a reference for the Toussaint necklace. ???????????? #CartierOceans8 #Oceans8 in theaters starting June 8.

A post shared by Cartier Official (@cartier) on Jun 2, 2018 at 8:17am PDT

 

 

FYI, that “Toussaint” necklace in the hotly anticipated Ocean’s 8 movie is taken straight out of Cartier’s archives.

 

You’re probably as excited as we are to watch the all-female spin-off of the iconic Ocean’s Eleven franchise--starring some the biggest Hollywood actresses, no less! In a nutshell, the story follows Debbie Ocean (played by Sandra Bullock), sister to Danny Ocean, as she gets out of prison on parole. Of course, rather than consign herself to the quiet life she promised, Debbie assembles a team of highly-skilled women to take part in a heist. They have a few weeks to rob the Met Gala and its unwitting fashion guests; specifically, they’re out to take the $150 million dollar Cartier “Toussaint” diamond necklace.

 

READ: “The “Ocean’s 8” All-Female Squad Makes Serious Fashion Statement At The Movie’s Red Carpet Premiere”

 

The Toussaint necklace seen in the movie is a reconstruction, made by Cartier’s dedicated High Jewelry team; the project itself, which involved studying Cartier’s historic design archives, took a grueling eight weeks to complete. But the result was a near identical replica of the legendary necklace.

 

Cartier's replica of the "Jeanne Toussaint" necklace

 

The real Tousssaint necklace was designed in 1931, in honor of Jeanne Toussaint, Cartier’s Creative Director in that era. Jeanne herself was a fashion icon in her time, sporting exotic Indian fashions and jewels, as she established Cartier’s reputation as the finest jeweler of the age. The diamond necklace was intended as a gift to the Maharaja of Nawangar by Jacques Cartier himself, and he described it as “the finest cascade of colored diamonds in the world” and a “superb realization of a connoisseur’s dream.”

 

Jeanne Toussaint

 

READ: “Here’s A Look At Ocean’s 8 Fierce All-Female Cast”

 

Sadly, the real Toussaint necklace was lost through the years, which is why creating the replica was an exciting project for Cartier. The replica is said to be reduced by 15-20% in size, relative to the original, so as to fit Anne Hathaway (who plays Daphne Kluger) perfectly. Additionally, the replica is made of fine zirconium oxides, instead of real colorless diamonds (much to our disappointment!), mounted on real white gold.

 

The Maharajah of Nawangar holding the real Cartier Toussaint necklace

 

 

At the moment, the Toussaint necklace replica is on display at the Cartier Mansion on Fifth Avenue, New York. Fans can easily get a close-up of the gorgeous replica just in time for the Ocean’s 8 showing.

 

 

A post shared by Cartier Official (@cartier) on Jun 2, 2018 at 10:12am PDT

 

 

Photos are courtesy of Stores Specialists, Inc.