When Mariah Carey walked on stage at the San Siro Stadium in Milan for the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, decked in white feathers and a plethora of sequins, the lights bounced off 88 diamonds strung around her neck. If you weren’t focused on her lips (there have been accusations of lip syncing) then you will have been eyeing up the 185-carat diamond necklace worth £15 million.

Created for her by Ali Khalil, founder of Levuma, a high jewellery maison based in Antwerp, the full set of necklace, earrings and a bracelet featured more than 300 carats of diamonds in total. “Clean lines, precise portions and an architectural setting allow the diamonds to take centre stage,” Khalil, 40, explains. “Each diamond was individually selected not only for colour and clarity, but for harmony and how the stones interact, how they sit on the body, and how they respond to light.”