The quality of the cast is not all that glitters in director Robert Altman’s latest work, Gosford Park, a comedy of manners cum mystery set in the 1930s. Actress Kristin Scott Thomas, who joins an incredible line-up of top British talent including Maggie Smith, Richard E Grant, Clive Owen, Helen Mirren and Michael Gambon, also sparkles in a fabulous 87-carat Chanel diamond “Fountain” necklace.
The English Patient star Kristin personally selected the platinum earrings and necklace set with 550 diamonds, teaming them with an 850 diamond-studded “Cosmos” bracelet for her role in the period drama. The tassel-style Chanel necklace, which took eight months to make, is part of a collection the legendary French designer unveiled in 1932, the same year in which the movie is set. (For more on impressive gems, check out HELLO!'s special on diamonds.)
Intended to help revive luxury during a period of severe economic depression, the stunning pieces were first shown almost 70 years ago at Coco Chanel’s private town house. At the time the designer explained: “If I have chosen diamonds it is because they represent the greatest value in the smallest volume. And my love of things that glitter has inspired me to combine elegance and fashion through the medium of jewellery.”
Gosford Park, which has been described as a blend of Upstairs, Downstairs with an Agatha Christie murder mystery, tells the tale of a shooting party who gather at a magnificent English country estate. The audience, which enters into the action accompanied by one of the great house’s servants, soon discovers that all is not as it seems either above or below stairs.
The movie, which premiered at the London Film Festival on November 7, is due to go on general release on February 1 in the UK and in the US in January, with exclusive openings in LA and New York on December 26.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
