Night on the Town
The Tiffany Ball at Marble House was the place to be and be seen in 1957.
Mary Whitehouse (grandmother of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse) wearing the Tiffany Diamond at the 1957
Tiffany Ball at Marble House. Photo via Shutterstock/Life Photo Collection.
Marble House has been home to countless soirees in its 130-year-history, but perhaps the most glamorous took place well after the home’s Gilded Age peak. In 1957, the Preservation Society of Newport County threw the Tiffany Ball at Marble House (still privately owned at the time) to raise funds for its fledgling preservation efforts. More than 1,000 people attended, including a Vanderbilt countess and then-Senator John F. and Jackie Kennedy. A rare yellow diamond on loan from Tiffany & Co. was the undisputed highlight of the evening. The jewel, weighing in at 128 carats, was worn by Mary Whitehouse, honorary chairwoman of the ball and grandmother to current United States Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “The Tiffany Diamond has only been worn in the history of Tiffany by three other people — one being Lady Gaga, another being Audrey Hepburn, and the third being Beyoncé,” says Preservation Society Executive Director Trudy Coxe. The event netted $30,000, and the diamond’s fame lived on long after the guests went home: Today, its worth is estimated at $30 million.
