When Rihanna broke onto the music scene in 2005 with her dancehall/pop single “Pon de Replay,” few could have predicted that the Barbados-born beauty would become one of the most prolific recording artists in music history.
Fast-forward to today, Rihanna is the quintessential multi-hyphenate, adding actress, designer and CEO of the billion dollar Fenty Beauty empire to her incomparable resumé with ease. As her musical tastes and professional interests have evolved, so has her style, which has become increasingly bold and daring while also maintaining a sleek femininity punctuated with countless natural diamonds.
Rihanna’s love of diamonds comes as no surprise given that her 2012 single “Diamonds” is one of her biggest hits to date, and while there is no shortage of memorable natural diamond jewelry moments created by Rihanna over the years to choose from, we’ve selected signature looks from the last 10 years that stand out in their own way.
In honor of the global superstar’s unforgettable 2023 Super Bowl Half-Time Show, which she performed while wearing edgy and historic diamond jewelry and while pregnant with her second child, we’re taking a look back at some of her most mesmerizing natural diamond jewelry moments.
2013 American Music Awards
Rihanna’s wrapped hair at the 2013 American Music Awards (where she accepted the Icon Award) was a subtle nod and celebration of Black women hair culture, and she amplified the look—and the moment—with tons of diamond jewels. There were diamonds everywhere you looked, from the stacked Alexa Mika ear cuffs and black diamond cone with pearl earrings by Pristine Jewels to the rings by Nikos Koulis and Lynn Ban and diamond cuff bracelets. A diamond and platinum choker from Neil Lane brought the unforgettable look together.
2014 Met Gala
The Met Gala isn’t the same without a Rihanna appearance. By 2014, Rihanna had already attended the celebrated fashion event four times, but it was her white Stella McCartney two-piece ensemble and jewelry featuring a Jacob & Co. diamond collar where she truly started to stand out from the pack. Her look that year also included simple diamond stud earrings and diamond rings on both hands.
2017 Cannes Film Festival
Chopard and Rihanna go way back. The singer has turned to Chopard countless times for many of her headline-making red carpet looks, and she even collaborated with the brand on the Rihanna Loves Chopard Haute Joaillerie collection in 2017. To celebrate the collection, Rihanna attended a dinner in her honor held during the Cannes Film Festival, all while dripping in Rihanna X Chopard diamonds.
2017 Diamond Ball
Two diamond necklaces were better than one during the 3rd Annual Diamond Ball benefiting Rihanna’s charity (Clara Lionel Foundation), where the star stacked two Chopard diamond collars atop her black Ralph & Russo Couture gown. She finished the jewelry look with a diamond bracelet and rings.
2018 Coachella
It’s criminal that RiRi has yet to be a headline performer at Coachella, and while she has never had her on set at the music festival (despite being a surprise guest with Calvin Harris) she has certainly blessed the desert with memorable looks. One of our favorites? The brown Y/Project outfit is complete with slouchy boots and endless diamond jewelry from XIV Karats including a diamond Cuban link necklace, gold and diamond bracelets and cameo rings. The look also includes jewelry from Neil Lane and David Webb.
2018 Met Gala
We could dedicate an entire story to Rihanna’s epic Met Gala looks, but we’ll save that for another day! Until then, her Pope-inspired Maison Margiela outfit and rhinestone encrusted mitre make the list as a personal favorite. The look features The Cartier crucifix, a necklace created in 1934 by Cartier London and later re-introduced after the war in 1949. The crucifix is layered with an antique old mine diamond rivière necklace from Kentshire and finished with diamond anklets from XIV Karats. Heavenly.
2018 Ocean’s 8 Premiere
Movie star Rihanna gave us a look to remember for the premiere of Ocean’s 8, donning Bulgari’s Giardini High Jewelry earrings with an equally sculptural Givenchy gown.
2018 Diamond Ball
For the 4th Annual Diamond Ball, Rihanna wore more than 100 carats of diamonds from Chopard’s Garden of Kalahari Collection including earrings, a 20-carat D-flawless cushion-cut diamond ring and a diamond watch.
2019 Rihanna Book Release
The launch of Rihanna’s eponymous coffee table book saw the beauty in a slew of natural diamond, black enamel and yellow gold David Webb jewels. The look featuring Webb’s Cosmos Earrings, Tire Ring, Leopard Ring and an assortment of stacked bracelets was worth more than $300,000.
2021 Met Gala
Who can make an oversized coat, beanie and diamonds impossibly chic? Rihanna. For the 2021 Met Gala, the icon did just that in a Balenciaga by Demna Gvasalia ensemble and more than 267-carats Bulgari High Jewelry diamonds.
2022 Fenty Beauty Event at Ulta
Rihanna changed the look of maternity fashion forever during her pregnancy in 2022, staying true to her trademark glamorous and edgy style while she was expecting. During a Fenty Beauty event at Ulta Beauty in Los Angeles, Rihanna accented her beautiful bump with a custom Messika High Jewelry diamond belly chain in an “ode to femininity and motherhood” according to the maison. Her look also included diamond earrings from Repossi, a bracelet from David Webb, and a cuff from Hammerman Jewels.
2022 Wakanda Forever Premiere
Rihanna surprised us all when she walked the carpet at the Wakanda Forever premiere to celebrate the film—and her new single “Lift Me Up” from the movie’s soundtrack—in REZA’s Ruban Earrings. The darkened gold climber earrings with 116 round diamonds totaling 9.74 carats were a stand-out and looked perfect with the additional diamond earrings from Neil Lane and Maria Tash.
2023 Golden Globes
RiRi and partner A$AP Rocky made the 2023 Golden Globes parents-night-out! You could spot her new-mom-glow from across the room, especially in her Schiaparelli gown, a pear diamond stud from REZA, diamond Cartier High Jewelry earrings and a Cartier Sixième Sens High Jewelry necklace.
2023 Super Bowl
Rihanna brought her superstar presence and signature rock star style to the Super Bowl matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. The mogul performed her greatest hits in a fire engine red Loewe and Alaïa ensemble, Messika natural diamond ear cuffs and earrings, a ruby and diamond ring from Bayco, the Brilliant Northern Lights watch by Jacob & Co. and three vintage diamond brooches from Joseph Saidian & Sons, while also using the moment to announce that she’s pregnant with her second child.
