If the first thing you noticed was a handful of gold rings on Nicole Kidman in the six-part series The Undoing, you have all the makings of jewelry enthusiast, (read: you are jewel obsessed). During my own binge watching extravaganza of the first five episodes, my first question of course was “who designed the symbolic rings that Nicole Kidman’s character Grace wears throughout the series which helps to define her character?” And who was the masterful costume designer who created the entire sumptuous chic bohemian style in this HBO psychological mystery thriller?” Of course, I wanted to know ‘whodunit’, but my jewelry sleuth took over and I delved deeper into the mystery of the rings and the one pair of earrings worn which you can see beneath Kidman’s curly long locks of hair. The series was written and produced by David E. Kelly and directed by Danish director Susanne Bier.
Just a little background before we get to the gold, the six-part series is based on the 2014 novel You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz, and premiered on HBO on October 25, 2020. It stars Nicole Kidman as Grace Fraser a psychotherapist and her husband Jonathan Fraser a pediatric oncologist played by Hugh Grant. It’s a dark, spine chilling murder mystery with a few twists and turns that will have you questioning your instincts. It ended on Sunday night –reportedly the end was kept a secret from the crew and cast and I now understand why since I watched the ending.
Signe Sejlund, Costume Designer for The Undoing
Signe Sejlund, costume designer for the series has worked for 25 years with Bier on feature films but it was her first time working with Kelly and Kidman. “Kelly is an amazing writer. At the start of the project, both he and Susan provided me with so much information without ‘giving the mystery away’ to get to know the characters and what makes them tick and what jewelry and clothes would further their development or depict who they are,” says Sejlund.
She adds, “Nicole was a dream to work with as well. She has these long beautiful expressive fingers so I knew that I wanted to use rings to help define Grace. Jewelry is such a big part of a woman’s persona and I wanted to get it right,” she continues, “Grace comes from an old-moneyed Upper East Side background but she is different than her friends. She is private, she’s strong, her own woman who seems to make her own choices and she is complex, “ she continues, “I remember Nicole sitting in makeup and I came in with these rings and started putting them on her fingers and she was happy with them—which made me ecstatic.”
Rebecca Elbek Jewelry Designer for The Undoing
The rings are designed by Rebecca Elbek, a Danish goldsmith. “We had a mutual friend in common who was one of Rebecca’s clients and I loved her jewelry. After a few phone conversations about the series, eventually, the two met and began tweaking some pieces in the collection and creating new ones.” Sejlund explains.
Rebecca Elbek explains, “Imagine hearing you are going to be working with this amazing cast, writer, director and costume designer? It was like a dream come true and Signe and I worked extremely well together. She already knew my style and thought it was appropriate so then there was just some more sketching and tweaking and making sure that the pieces she wore really reflected her even if the audience didn’t get the symbolism right away. Signe, Nicole, David and Susan all did and that was important—especially Nicole as Grace, since the pieces reflected her needs, beliefs, and the person she was on the inside and out.” All pieces were created in 18K gold. What she wound up wearing from the jewelry that went out to Signe was a scarab ring surrounded by diamonds on her index finger, an owl on her ring finger and Elbek’s Nomad rings on her pinky.
“Grace needed protection which was the reason for the scarab; the owl represented how wise and clever she was in her work and when she needed to be strong. The Nomad rings represent wandering and Grace was private and liked to be alone and walk around NYC –so these were perfect for that side of her. I created one pair of earrings which are named ‘Secret Woman’ with woman’s faces at the top. It’s more difficult to see those with Nicole’s hair but there are a couple of scenes where you can get a glimpse of them,” says Elbek.
Sejlund and Elbek worked at getting these pieces right and both felt the symbolism was imperative to have in a character whose world is turned upside down and who is trying to keep it together. They are her talisman in the film. “On her other hand, she wears a diamond Cartier wedding band which shows the world where she comes from.” says Sejlund.
Is it true that Kidman fell in love with one of the rings and had to own it? “She was very partial to the scarab and her husband came back for it once the series was over. She also purchased a bracelet for him.” Elbek says.
For those of you who are hankering for a new symbolic ring or one like Nicole Kidman wears in the film, you can find them on Rebecca Elbek’swebsite, which also has a lion ring that is thought to be worn in the film but is similar to the owl yet is equally eye arresting and has the meaning of strength.
Forbes 2020 – The Undoing
A HANDFUL OF GOLDEN RINGS REFLECTS NICOLE KIDMAN’S CHARACTER IN ‘THE UNDOING’
In December 2020, Rebecca Elbek and Signe Sejlund were interviewed by Forbes about Nicole Kidman’s clothing and styling in the HBO series The Undoing. This post is a copy of the original article, posted on Forbes the 1st of December 2020.
If the first thing you noticed was a handful of gold rings on Nicole Kidman in the six-part series The Undoing, you have all the makings of jewelry enthusiast, (read: you are jewel obsessed). During my own binge watching extravaganza of the first five episodes, my first question of course was “who designed the symbolic rings that Nicole Kidman’s character Grace wears throughout the series which helps to define her character?” And who was the masterful costume designer who created the entire sumptuous chic bohemian style in this HBO psychological mystery thriller?” Of course, I wanted to know ‘whodunit’, but my jewelry sleuth took over and I delved deeper into the mystery of the rings and the one pair of earrings worn which you can see beneath Kidman’s curly long locks of hair. The series was written and produced by David E. Kelly and directed by Danish director Susanne Bier.
Just a little background before we get to the gold, the six-part series is based on the 2014 novel You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz, and premiered on HBO on October 25, 2020. It stars Nicole Kidman as Grace Fraser a psychotherapist and her husband Jonathan Fraser a pediatric oncologist played by Hugh Grant. It’s a dark, spine chilling murder mystery with a few twists and turns that will have you questioning your instincts. It ended on Sunday night –reportedly the end was kept a secret from the crew and cast and I now understand why since I watched the ending.
Signe Sejlund, Costume Designer for The Undoing
Signe Sejlund, costume designer for the series has worked for 25 years with Bier on feature films but it was her first time working with Kelly and Kidman. “Kelly is an amazing writer. At the start of the project, both he and Susan provided me with so much information without ‘giving the mystery away’ to get to know the characters and what makes them tick and what jewelry and clothes would further their development or depict who they are,” says Sejlund.
She adds, “Nicole was a dream to work with as well. She has these long beautiful expressive fingers so I knew that I wanted to use rings to help define Grace. Jewelry is such a big part of a woman’s persona and I wanted to get it right,” she continues, “Grace comes from an old-moneyed Upper East Side background but she is different than her friends. She is private, she’s strong, her own woman who seems to make her own choices and she is complex, “ she continues, “I remember Nicole sitting in makeup and I came in with these rings and started putting them on her fingers and she was happy with them—which made me ecstatic.”
Rebecca Elbek Jewelry Designer for The Undoing
The rings are designed by Rebecca Elbek, a Danish goldsmith. “We had a mutual friend in common who was one of Rebecca’s clients and I loved her jewelry. After a few phone conversations about the series, eventually, the two met and began tweaking some pieces in the collection and creating new ones.” Sejlund explains.
Rebecca Elbek explains, “Imagine hearing you are going to be working with this amazing cast, writer, director and costume designer? It was like a dream come true and Signe and I worked extremely well together. She already knew my style and thought it was appropriate so then there was just some more sketching and tweaking and making sure that the pieces she wore really reflected her even if the audience didn’t get the symbolism right away. Signe, Nicole, David and Susan all did and that was important—especially Nicole as Grace, since the pieces reflected her needs, beliefs, and the person she was on the inside and out.” All pieces were created in 18K gold. What she wound up wearing from the jewelry that went out to Signe was a scarab ring surrounded by diamonds on her index finger, an owl on her ring finger and Elbek’s Nomad rings on her pinky.
“Grace needed protection which was the reason for the scarab; the owl represented how wise and clever she was in her work and when she needed to be strong. The Nomad rings represent wandering and Grace was private and liked to be alone and walk around NYC –so these were perfect for that side of her. I created one pair of earrings which are named ‘Secret Woman’ with woman’s faces at the top. It’s more difficult to see those with Nicole’s hair but there are a couple of scenes where you can get a glimpse of them,” says Elbek.
Sejlund and Elbek worked at getting these pieces right and both felt the symbolism was imperative to have in a character whose world is turned upside down and who is trying to keep it together. They are her talisman in the film. “On her other hand, she wears a diamond Cartier wedding band which shows the world where she comes from.” says Sejlund.
Is it true that Kidman fell in love with one of the rings and had to own it? “She was very partial to the scarab and her husband came back for it once the series was over. She also purchased a bracelet for him.” Elbek says.
For those of you who are hankering for a new symbolic ring or one like Nicole Kidman wears in the film, you can find them on Rebecca Elbek’swebsite, which also has a lion ring that is thought to be worn in the film but is similar to the owl yet is equally eye arresting and has the meaning of strength.
Fine Scarab Ring
EUR€ 6.200,00The Secret Woman Earrings
EUR€ 3.500,00Nomad Ring, two
EUR€ 2.150,00 – EUR€ 2.800,00Owl Ring
EUR€ 2.950,00