When it comes to the diamond back necklace, we hate to see you go, but love to watch you walk away.
Elle Fanning poses in the IMDb Portrait Studio at the 2025 Gotham Awards. (Getty Images)
When It Comes to Diamonds, Elle Fanning Doesn’t Hold Back
Before her turn as Effie Trinket in the Hunger Games prequel hits the big screen, take a look back on Elle Fanning’s most extravagant jewelry moments.
Elle Fanning never fails to make a jewelry statement on the red carpet. From the Oscars and Met Gala to the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and film festivals in Cannes, New York, and Toronto, the actress has delivered some seriously memorable diamond moments. With acclaimed projects like A Complete Unknown, Sentimental Value, and The Great under her belt, Fanning has become a red carpet regular, and her jewelry choices rarely disappoint.
A brand ambassador for legendary jewelry house Cartier since 2021, Fanning was appointed the face of the brand’s Grain de Café collection in May 2023. Together with her longtime stylist Samantha McMillen, she’s embraced some of the most extraordinary pieces in jewelry history. She’s worn everything from the iconic Cartier Crocodile necklace and Panthère de Cartier creations to historic convertible tiaras transformed into dazzling diamond necklaces. Clearly, Fanning has a soft spot for jewelry with a story to tell.
Now, she’s preparing to embrace an entirely different kind of extravagance. Fanning will portray the beloved, famously maximalist Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, hitting theaters November 20. And considering her history of pulling off some pretty spectacular jewelry, we can’t think of a more fitting role.
2026 CFDA Awards
Elle Fanning was repping Coach and Cartier at the 2026 CFDA Awards. The actress wore a muted rose slinky silk dress, juxtaposed with a floor-length leather trench coat and a Coach handbag.
She accessorized with a large Panthère de Cartier necklace, crafted from 18-karat rose gold, rubellites, onyx, emeralds, and diamonds. Fanning packed on the rings, sporting an 18-karat rose gold, onyx, emerald, and diamond Panthère de Cartier ring, along with a diamond Trinity de Cartier ring.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping Screening
Fanning pulled an ensemble fit for the Capitol for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping screening, wearing a petal-pink Robert Wun custom couture look titled “The Pirouette.” She added Cartier jewels, including a 1998 diamond Cartier Collection necklace, set in 18-karat white gold, and a diamond Pluie de Cartier bracelet. Set to portray a younger version of Effie Trinket, previously played by Elizabeth Banks, Fanning will sink her teeth into the outrageously whimsical character in the highly anticipated prequel.
2026 Academy Museum Gala
Appearing as though she just jumped out of a fairy tale, Elle Fanning graced the red carpet at the 2026 Academy Museum Gala in a multi-colored pastel custom Valentino gown with a sparkling butterfly bodice and Cartier jewelry, as always. A global brand ambassador of the jeweler since 2023, Fanning wore a stunning waterfall diamond Cartier High Jewelry Y-necklace with the Cartier Essential Lines diamond ring.
2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party
Styled by Samantha McMillen, Fanning switched it up from her fairytale white ball gown and floral diamond necklace earlier in the evening. For the Vanity Fair Oscars After Party, the Sentimental Value actress wore a strapless black Givenchy by Sarah Burton gown with a geometric diamond and ruby necklace.
2026 Oscars
First-time Oscar nominee Elle Fanning looked like she jumped right out of a fairy tale and onto the red carpet at the 2026 Academy Awards. The Sentimental Value actress floated onto the scene in a white Givenchy by Sarah Burton ball gown, embellished with ethereal wisteria petals that matched her historic Cartier diamonds.
Fanning wore a vintage transformable diamond necklace that is over 100 years old. Made in 1903, the necklace features round, old-cut diamonds crafted into a sublime leaf motif. Madonna once wore the covetable necklace to the 2011 Met Gala, and to further emphasize the jewel’s versatility, actress Rachel Weisz wore the piece in her hair as a stunning headband at the 2019 Oscars.
2026 Golden Globes
With the help of her long-time stylist, Samantha McMillen, Fanning stunned in a floral Gucci gown and a breathtaking diamond Cartier necklace at the 2026 Golden Globe Awards.
2026 Critics’ Choice Awards
Elle Fanning took to the red carpet at the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards in a glimmering gold Ralph Lauren gown and Cartier jewelry, including diamond earrings. The star was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value.
2025 Governors Awards
Fanning wore Cartier jewelry from the Reflection de Cartier collection, including a necklace, bracelet, and ring, paired with a baby pink sequined Gucci gown, styled by Samantha McMillen. A global brand ambassador for Cartier since 2021 and the face of the brand’s “Grain de Café” collection in May 2023, Fanning is a reliable red carpet source for stunning diamonds.
Predator: Badlands Premiere
More than 50 years after it was first commissioned by Mexican actress María Félix, the Cartier Crocodile necklace remains one of the most extraordinary creations in high jewelry. Fanning sported the fierce diamond and emerald reptile around her neck at the Predator: Badlands premiere in Los Angeles.
2025 LACMA Art+Film Gala
Fanning attended the 2025 LACMA Art + Film Gala, wearing a baby blue lace Gucci gown with a matching fur coat worn off the shoulders. As a longtime ambassador for the jewelry house, Fanning wore a statement-making diamond Cartier necklace.
2025 Academy Museum Gala
At the 2025 Academy Museum Gala, Fanning wore a popping pink Balenciaga creation by Pierpaolo Piccioli with Cartier jewelry, including a diamond necklace with a pear-shaped diamond pendant.
2025 New York Film Festival
While on her Sentimental Value press tour, Fanning hit the scene at the 2025 New York Film Festival wearing classic black suiting and a black velvet ribbon choker, with a diamond Cartier Panthère attached at the center.
When we think of the black ribbon choker, many minds go straight to the nineties, when the grunge aesthetic and low-key glamour hit their peak. Tattoo bands, lace variations, and fabric versions like velvet hit an all-time high, but the ribbon choker’s journey began in response to the beheadings during the French Revolution. Now, stars like Fanning, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Margot Robbie, Isha Ambani, Amanda Seyfried, Cynthia Erivo, and far more are championing the timeless trend.
2025 Toronto International Film Festival
Fanning arrived at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, wearing a simple white one-shoulder top and a statement-making Panthère de Cartier sautoir necklace, featuring the iconic diamond panther head perched above diamond and onyx tassels, introducing a sense of unpredictable movement that feels intentional for a jeweled depiction of the apex predator.
2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party
Fanning has a habit of wearing soft white, princessy gowns for the Oscars ceremony and black, sultry gowns for the after-party, with jewels to match. At the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscars After Party, Fanning celebrated the success of her film A Complete Unknown, wearing a strapless Givenchy gown with a red ribbon across her waist. The actress finished off her look with a massive pavé diamond bombé ring and a Cartier diamond Y-necklace with a pear-shaped diamond pendant dangling from the end.
2025 Oscars
Styled by Samantha McMillen, actress Elle Fanning attended the 2025 Oscars, channeling her inner royal in a white lace custom Givenchy gown with a major vintage Cartier High Jewelry diamond choker, circa 1958. With over 700 diamonds, the necklace is approximately 49 carats.
Royal watchers swiftly began to suspect that the necklace had been a Cartier diamond tiara once owned by Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor. About ten years after she married Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor, the couple commissioned their most beloved jewelry house to create the convertible tiara that could transform into a necklace from a stock diamond necklace with a string of their personally owned emerald beads.
Simpson wore the Cartier diamond and emerald bead tiara to a gala in the mid-1950s after donning it for a legendary series of portraits taken by royal photographer Dorothy Wilding in 1950.
2025 SAG Awards
Fanning wore a black velvet corseted custom LOEWE dress to the 2025 SAG Awards. The A Complete Unknown actress kept it classic with Cartier Panthère jewelry staples, including a diamond collar necklace, the panther cuff, and a matching diamond cocktail ring.
2024 Met Gala
Elle Fanning arrived at the 2024 Met Gala, channeling her inner ice sculpture. The actress was a vision in a sculptural Balmain gown, teamed with ice of a different sort. Fanning wore Cartier diamond jewelry, including dangling diamond cluster earrings, a dazzling assortment of rings, and two Art Deco-style diamond bracelets on each wrist.
2024 Golden Globes
Elle Fanning opted for her signature poised style in an ivory vintage Pierre Balmain gown and exquisite Cartier diamond jewels, from her glistening earrings to her shining necklace and diamond and pearl ring.
2022 SAG Awards
Trading her signature gowns for a Gucci suit at the 2022 SAG Awards, Elle Fanning finished off her look with a Cartier necklace and an impressive stack of diamond rings.
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