Look of the Week: The best luxury ad space? Jennifer Lawrence’s earlobes

By Leah Dolan, CNN

(CNN) — On Sunday, Jennifer Lawrence arrived at the Governors Awards in Los Angeles, part movie star, part walking advert. Her white silk dress, draped across her chest in an off-the-shoulder style with a cascading leg split, was designed by Jonathan Anderson for Dior — the French luxury label for which she has been a brand ambassador since 2012.

Many celebrities have ambassadorship roles with big brands, and are often contractually obliged to wear their designs on the red carpets and other major events. See Margaret Qualley, who often wears Chanel (much to the dismay of some social media users) since becoming brand ambassador in 2022, while longtime Louis Vuitton face Emma Stone has almost exclusively worn clothes by the French luxury house since 2017.

But Dior isn’t the only brand that Lawrence was advertising in her recent outing. In her ears were a pair of 1987 diamond clips shaped like glittering tree branches. Designed by the American jeweler Joel Arthur Rosenthal, they were worth between $300,000 and $500,000. The cost is an estimate, because these earrings are scheduled to go on auction next month at Sotheby’s in New York, where their price will be determined by a bidding war — presumably between some people who may have enjoyed seeing them on Lawrence first. In the same auction are several more of Rosenthal’s pieces, as well as a 1930s ruby and diamond bracelet from Cartier and a late 19th century necklace by Boucheron, worth between $1 and $2 million.

This isn’t the first time Lawrence has acted as ad space for Sotheby’s. Earlier this month, the auction house lent her an 18-karat gold, platinum and enamel necklace by jeweler David Webb worth between $25,000 and $35,000 ahead of its scheduled auction on December 11. The actor wore the necklace to the New York premiere of “Die My Love,” her latest high-profile film with Robert Pattinson.

Sotheby’s has lent jewels to celebrities including Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Rihanna in the past, for the 2023 and 2021 Met Gala, respectively, with the diamond Chopra Jonas wore selling for CHF 22 million (over $27 million) days later. Lawrence, meanwhile, is making sure soon-to-be-auctioned pieces are being seen beyond the first Monday in May.

Sotheby’s decision to engage with fashion marketing playbook’s may help to offset a slumped high-end art market. According to 2025 data from ArtTactic, a research firm specializing in the art market, auction sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips declined for the third year in a row, as ongoing inflation and rising geopolitical tensions have created a more cautious environment among investors.

Now, in a move that is considerably agile for a 281-year-old auction house, Sotheby’s is making use of a famous face that could potentially entice new audiences. Jewels worn by celebrities have proven to drive interest (and sales) — take the influential singer Shirley Bassey’s collection of treasures, which broke a world-record when the entire lot sold in a Paris auction for €2.2 million (around $2.5 million). Could Sotheby’s recreate some of that magic by lending lesser-known auction lots to top-of-their-game actors? When the gavel comes down next month, we’ll find out if the star power rubbed off on the final sales price.

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