Have you ever wondered how celebrities decide on which jewelry to wear during nation wide events such as the annual Golden Globe Awards? Some may think that celebrities are so financially well off that they choose which unique designer brand jewelry they want to wear. However, the jewelry industry is just one of many competing to sell luxury commodities. In attempt to rise above their competition, designer brands conduct “product placement” to better promote their jewelry lines. Check out this interesting article, How Jewelry Gets to the Oscars and other Celebrity Events by author Chris Franchetti.  The fashion-marketing business has obviously accumulated great success for many top designer names. Placing jewelry on well-known subjects intensifies the viewers “want” of that particular jewelry item.

We found some astonishing examples of actual prices that celebrities were paid to wear designer jewelry.  In 2005, Hilary Swank had originally borrowed jewelry from Harry Winston to wear to the Golden Globe Awards. Of course, this was before she was offered $90,000 from Chopard to show off their earrings. The Harry Winston pieces were immediately returned. However, the $90,000 check did not come close to what Ann Hathaway was paid by Tiffany & Co when she co-hosted the 2011 Oscars. According to CBS news, the actress was granted a $750,000 check to wear Tiffany & Co jewelry while co-hosting the event.  A more recent article identified that during the 2013 Golden Globe Awards, Jennifer Lawrence was paid $100,000 to wear Chopard 38 carat diamond drop earrings!

While big designers profit from these marketing strategies, others may feel that it is unfair for designers to pay celebrities to wear their jewelry items. Critics may believe that paying celebrities such large sums of money is unfair because it does not give smaller jewelry lines a chance to compete. What do you think about these designers paying celebrities to promote their jewelry?