While we sit on our sofas in sweat pants and judge the award season red carpet looks, we always end up drooling over the shiny and very expensive jewelry the stars get to wear with their gowns. We can’t imagine what it would be like to walk around with $2.5 million hanging around our necks or dangling from our ears.

And we really can’t imagine someone paying us to wear the bling, as opposed to us paying them to look sparkly for a night. But that’s how it works: Turns out that jewelers pay to have their baubles worn.

It seems like it would be stressful to spend the evening wearing something that costs more than your house in the Hollywood Hills (and sometimes comes with a security guard who shadows you all night), but we’re guessing some of that stress is alleviated when it comes with a paycheck that contains lots of zeros.

Jewelry insiders have now revealed that high-end jewelry brands pay starlets big bucks to don their wares in order to have their jewels - and names - shimmering in the spotlight.

One of these insiders told the New York Post, “This is the industry’s dirty little secret. There are hundreds of thousands of dollars spent. It’s really aggressive.”

For example, according to the source, Golden Globe winner Jennifer Lawrence was likely paid about $100,000 to wear Chopard diamonds at the ceremony – and probably not for the first time, since she sported 38 carats of Chopard diamonds at the Critics’ Choice Awards last week.

Julianne Moore - another of the Globe's winners - received some of the $500,000 Bulgari was shelling out to have celebs show up on the red carpet with its jewels. Last year, when Anne Hathaway hosted the Oscars, she was reportedly paid $750,000 by Tiffany & Co. to wear their stuff. And Gwyneth Paltrow – ever the fashion icon – has, in the past, reportedly been paid $500,000 by Louis Vuitton to shine in their ice.

The best part is that sometimes, even though they’re getting paid, the stars also get to keep the jewels. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

While some of the celebs' reps deny that they’ve been paid to bling, we can’t fault them. It’s a good way to look gorgeous and make a buck at the same time. If it’s worth it for a jewelry brand to pay you to show them off, why not?

Hey, Tiffany & Co., we’re headed to the supermarket later. Hook a sissa up?

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