One-of-a-Kind 'Elvis' Belt

"In this collaboration, I thought carefully about which Elvis pieces to share. There are many, but one stood out immediately—the belt.

When creating Elvis, we designed the film’s opening graphic to resemble an Elvis-style belt, with the title emblazoned across it. At the end credits, a complete belt would appear. With the exciting news that 'ELVIS' had been accepted into Cannes, I thought—what if I turned the symbol of the opening credits into a good luck charm. To successfully open a film like this, the whole team would need to do a lot of work, but more importantly a considerable amount of luck. So, I turned to my friends at Mouawad, a five-generation family of master jewelers, and together we created the belt.

This belt not only appears in the opening and closing graphics of the film—it became one of the most significant objects of my creative life." - Baz Luhrmann

Created exclusively for Baz Luhrmann, this bespoke Mouawad belt made its debut on the red carpet at the world premiere of Elvis during the 75th Cannes Film Festival. Luhrmann holds the distinction of being the only director to open Cannes twice, with Moulin Rouge! in 2001 and The Great Gatsby in 2013, and his long relationship with the festival underscores the significance of this moment.

The belt itself is a striking work of high craftsmanship and a testament to Mouawad's meticulous artistry. Its black leather strap and solid gold buckle are set with 10.48 carats of black and white diamonds and 5.09 carats of pink sapphires. The strap is intermittently adorned with gold and ruby details and draped with gold chains along the lower edge. The buckle design is centered around “ELVIS” in intricately patterned ruby enamel, with black and white diamonds and rubies radiating towards the center, complete with an ornate gold trim. Tucked within the “V” of “ELVIS” is Elvis Presley’s iconic lightning bolt and “TCB” insignia, designed by Priscilla Presley. Short for "Taking Care of Business" and paired with the lightning bolt to mean “in a flash,” the emblem became synonymous with Elvis’s personal motto, appearing on his jewelry, jet, and at Graceland.

Founded in 1890, Mouawad has built a global reputation for creating extraordinary jewelry and objets d’art across five generations. Holders of multiple Guinness World Records for their artistry, Mouawad stands as an extraordinary house of creation. This bespoke collaboration was overseen by Jimmy Mouawad, the house’s current co-guardian, who attended Cannes when the belt first caught the spotlight. What makes this piece even more personal is the inscription on the reverse of the buckle: “By Mouawad for Baz Luhrmann on the occasion of the opening of his film Elvis, Festival de Cannes.”

Baz says, "For me, it became a good luck charm, something I carried throughout the promotional journey, and more recently at TIFF where we premiered EPiC. It exists both as a physical object and eternally in the film… That duality makes it deeply special." At once a couture accessory and a cinematic homage, the piece embodies Luhrmann’s flair for spectacle and storytelling, while reflecting Mouawad’s legacy of crafting the exceptional.

Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Mouawad.

To see an image of Baz wearing the belt, click here.