Asked to describe the moment that made him happiest while working on the film Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro's music composer, Christopher Young, remembers the day he arrived on set with the Wade Necklace. This is a historic diamond and platinum necklace made by Tiffany & Co. in 1900 for Ellen Garretson Wade, a wealthy woman from Cleveland. Her husband, Jeptha Homer Wade II, had commissioned it. The necklace has more than 40 carats of old mine-cut diamonds arranged in a detailed floral design. Until that day on the Frankenstein set, it had never been worn by any woman except Ellen Wade.
Mia Goth, who plays Elizabeth in the film, wore the Wade Necklace.
When Young put it on her, he thought maybe some small changes would be needed. But the necklace fit her perfectly, and no adjustments were needed. Young, who is the vice president and creative director at Tiffany & Co., says that Mia seemed affected by wearing it. She sat up differently, and the diamonds sparkled in a new way because the scene was lit with candlelight, which can't be done with fake materials. Guillermo del Toro noticed this and changed the scene's framing.
Tiffany & Co. got involved in the film because of costume designer Kate Hawley, who had worked with del Toro on previous films like Crimson Peak and Pacific Rim.
When Hawley first talked to Young about using Tiffany pieces, he wasn't sure at first. He said that when you think of Frankenstein, you imagine Boris Karloff and a dark castle. But when he saw the designs Kate made, he realized the film would be perfect for using historical Tiffany artifacts.
Tiffany & Co. has a long connection with Hollywood.
One famous example is Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. More recently, they worked on The Great Gatsby. For Sweet Home Alabama, a scene was filmed in their New York flagship store. But the jewelry used in Frankenstein was even more special. These pieces rarely see the light of day.
One of the pieces Mia Goth also wears is a scarab necklace from 1914.
It was made by Louis Comfort Tiffany's artisans, Meta Overbeck and Julia Munson. This necklace, like the Wade Necklace, has never been used in a film before. Young feels it's a great connection between the past and present, with the necklace being worn by Mia, who is starring in a film based on a novel by Mary Shelley.
Other Tiffany pieces in the film include a pocket watch worn by Charles Dance, who plays Leopold, Victor Frankenstein's father.
It's not a historical piece but a replica of a 19th-century design with the Frankenstein crest engraved on it.
Both del Toro and Young found the process of including Tiffany's jewelry in the film amusing.
Del Toro joked that the jewelry had more security than the stars. Young added that the jewelry had its own trailer.
Now, these jewels are on display in Tiffany & Co.'s Fifth Avenue windows as part of a collaboration with the film.
Del Toro helped design the window displays using some of the miniatures from the film. The windows are an immersive experience with digital elements, lighting, animation, and the film's score by Alexandre Desplat, who also worked with del Toro on The Shape of Water. The best time to see them is after 7 p.m., when the elements combine into a special experience that happens every 10 minutes.
Young says del Toro wanted to create something for the windows early in the filming process.
He said del Toro is a very hands-on artist and liked the idea of using the miniatures from the film's special effects in the window displays. The windows are open at 727 Fifth Avenue in New York until November 3, and a second display will be at Selfridges in London from October 17 to November 9.
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