For the Gardens of Time-themed Met Gala, a handful of attendees took a literal slant on the dress code, arriving in whopping gemstones forged over millennia.
Isha Ambani, daughter of India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, turned to jeweller Viren Bhagat and designer Rahul Mishra, who posted that her look was a bid to “take India to the world”. Accordingly, Ambani sported traditional haathpochas, or lotus hand bracelets, plus earrings with a parrot motif and an ethnic floral choker.
Another Indian billionairess, Sudha Reddy swept into the fund-raiser event wearing $20 million worth of white diamonds.
Dressed in white, the businesswoman also wore the Amore Eterno necklace by Farah Khan Ali, weighing an impressive 180 carats. Featuring 21 round brilliant-cut diamonds, the necklace has a drop of four heart-shaped diamonds, culminating in a 25-carat diamond at the centre. In addition, the entrepreneur and philanthropist wore two solitaire rings, one weighing 23 carats and the other 20 carats, bringing the value of the set to an estimated $20 million.
Elsewhere, Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt wore gemstones not only in jewellery form, but also as part of her opulent Sabyasachi sari. The handcrafted blouse was studded with emeralds, Basra pearls, tourmalines and multicoloured sapphires, while Bhatt's bejewelled headpiece and other pieces came from Sabyasachi's high jewellery Bengal Royal collection, with tourmalines, sapphires, emeralds and mine-cut and brilliant-cut diamonds.
The trio of Indian celebrities weren't alone when it came to raising the bling stakes, however.
Cardi B arrived in an enormous black dress by Giambattista Valli. So overstated was the dress, it took eight ushers to help manoeuvre the rapper into position for the sea of cameras to get a good shot. She completed the already-extravagant look with a white diamond and emerald set that included chandelier earrings, rings, a bracelet and a collier necklace containing a suitably vast emerald drop.
Ayo Edebiri wore Boucheron jewellery with her custom Loewe floral gown. The piece is from the French maison's Timeless high-jewellery collection, and was paired with the Bleu Infini pendant earrings with aquamarines.
British producer Bee Carrozzini, meanwhile, wore a gothic-inspired lace dress by Alexander McQueen, which she accented with vintage Briony Raymond chandelier earrings from the late 1800s.
One of this year's co-hosts, Jennifer Lopez, complimented her custom formfitting Schiaparelli gown with a delicate collier necklace, launched just a week ago by Tiffany & Co. The necklace, in yellow gold and platinum, has 75 carats of white diamonds and is from the Blue Book 2024: Tiffany Celeste Collection, while the ring is called Bird on a Rock by Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co. Set in platinum and 18K gold, it carries a four-carat yellow diamond.
Spanish actress Penelope Cruz arrived in head-to-toe Chanel, from her Goya-inspired black lace dress to Tweed de Chanel white diamond necklace, bracelet, earrings and rings. Crafted to mimic woven tweed, each piece of jewellery requires the full skill of the Chanel atelier to bring it to life.
Michelle Williams also wore Chanel, matching her off-white baby-doll-inspired look with a simple white diamond necklace worn as a headband.
Gigi Hadid matched her handmade, off-the-shoulder Thom Browne gown – that reportedly took more than 13,000 hours to create – with yellow diamond drop earrings and a necklace by Chopard. The necklace features a double stand of stones, one white diamond and one fancy yellow diamond, while the earrings are a triple drop of fancy yellow diamonds edged in white diamonds.
Demi Moore looked to Cartier, choosing an imposing high-jewellery set of white diamonds with emeralds. Shaped as flowers, the white diamonds form the petals of the strands around her neck, each with a heart of emerald. This was matched with white diamond and emerald drop earrings.
Michelle Yeoh balanced her deliberately crumpled metallic silver strapless gown by Balenciaga with elaborate platinum, gold and emerald chandelier earrings by Cindy Chao, plus a matching watch – a seldom-seen accessory for women on the Met Gala red carpet.
Nicole Kidman paired her Balenciaga gown – remade especially for her after she saw it in a vintage photograph – with an impressive Harry Winston white diamond cuff, while Kieran Culkin made a compelling argument for embracing extravagant accessories as he arrived wearing a complete set of Fred Leighton jewellery, opting for a necklace in place of a tie, along with a watch and several rings.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RECORD%20BREAKER
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
The years Ramadan fell in May
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Sunday's Super Four matches
Dubai, 3.30pm
India v Pakistan
Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangladesh v Afghanistan
Read more from Johann Chacko
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
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Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
More from Neighbourhood Watch
The five pillars of Islam
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
More coverage from the Future Forum
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The years Ramadan fell in May
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
Poacher
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERichie%20Mehta%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nimisha%20Sajayan%2C%20Roshan%20Mathew%2C%20Dibyendu%20Bhattacharya%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Bahrain%20GP
%3Cp%3EFriday%20qualifying%3A%207pm%20(8pm%20UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESaturday%20race%3A%207pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETV%3A%20BeIN%20Sports%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
More on Quran memorisation:
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
More coverage from the Future Forum
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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More on animal trafficking
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zayed Sustainability Prize
