On the set of “Moulin Rouge!,” director Baz Luhrmann was prepared for a robbery on the magnitude of “Ocean’s 8.”

Oscar nominee Baz Luhrmann recounted the stringent security measures that had to be taken in order to protect the then-historical handcrafted necklace that Nicole Kidman wore in the 2001 film musical. Luhrmann disclosed that the actual jewelry needs its own security team, so a “stunt double” replica of the crystal necklace was created for an important scene in which Kidman’s character, Satine, has the necklace stolen from her.

In an interview with Vulture, Baz Luhrmann said the following: “Back in the day when we produced ‘Moulin Rouge!,’ we did our own version of a Cartier diamond necklace for Nicole Kidman.” “You have to understand, back then, it was impossible to make something dazzle on film the way that actual diamonds do. It was necessary to use actual diamonds. So the necklace in question is authentic. It has a value of $2.5 million. The difficulty is that if you bring something on set that actually has worth, you need to have two security guards on hand at all times.

Together with jewelry designer Stefano Canturi, Luhrmann and his wife, Catherine Martin, who won an Oscar for her costume design work, came up with the idea for the lace diamond necklace. According to The Adventurine, the necklace is composed of 1,308 diamonds and features a Sri Lankan blue sapphire set in the clasp. The necklace is constructed of white gold that weighs 134 carats. According to Patricia Canturi, who is the brand director of the Canturi label, Stefano spent weeks conducting research on jewelry from the late 1800s in France so that the necklace would be as exact as possible. For the one-of-a-kind item, Kidman’s neck and décolletage were measured and fitted over the course of three months. The legendary necklace can currently be found in Canturi’s personal collection, which is kept under lock and key.

Luhrmann has been quoted as saying to Vulture that he is “probably the Stanley Kubrick of confetti” in reference to the lavish Shakespearian operatic grandeur shown in his films. “After watching ‘The Beautiful Gatsby,’ George Lucas approached me and said, ‘The thing that you do is you build universes with an exquisite reality.’ This is a great statement. Meaning that it is not important that the audience understands the rules on the surface; what is important is that the reality is spotless on the inside. You can’t just act on a whim or because you feel like it; that’s not how the world works. The audience must believe that the reality is spotless in order for them to invest in the world being presented to them. Even if it takes place in our world, you have now entered the realm of science fiction, which means you have traveled to another planet or another universe entirely.

Luhrmann remarked, “I have a running gag, which is that you could populate all of these movies with the same individuals. I think it’s really funny.” In “Strictly Ballroom,” the all-powerful Barry Fife is similar to the character Zidler from “Moulin Rouge!” and the Colonel from “Elvis.” There is always someone playing the role of Colonel Tom Parker. In addition, there is usually a Christian character in “Moulin Rouge!” who is either a writer or a pure soul. Christian is a character similar to Orpheus in that he possesses some gifts, is in search of the ideal and most perfect love, and travels to the underworld. Then there’s Satine to consider. She is the inspiration, the ideal, and the consummate of all loves.”