From Julia Roberts’ striking red dress to Roy Orbison’s catchy yet classy soundtrack, 1990’s Pretty Woman had all the ingredients for an iconic modern classic.

The romantic comedy follows the story of Edward (portrayed by Richard Gere), a mega-rich entrepreneur who hires Vivian, a sex worker, to escort him to social mixers. As the pair fall in love, they struggle to navigate the middle ground between their disparate lives.

The film is littered with iconic scenes that have been parodied countless times over the years as the film lodges itself ever stronger as a brick in the wall of popular culture. One of the most memorable of these moments was the famous “necklace scene”, where a well-dressed Roberts presents herself to Gere before a fancy opera.

Julia Roberts spent time with hookers to prep for 'Pretty Woman'

As Gere admires her beauty, he utters: “Something’s missing,” to which Roberts replies: “Well, nothing else is gonna fit into this dress, I’ll tell you that!” Then, Gere presents her with a case containing a very precious jewel-studded necklace.

As Roberts moves to touch the necklace, Gere playfully shuts the box on her fingers as she lets out a shocked scream and a wide-mouthed giggle. Apparently, on the day of filming, Roberts told Gere that she wasn’t feeling too well.

In an attempt to lift her spirits, he decided to snap the box shut. Director Garry Marshall loved the improvised scene so much that Roberts’ giggle made the final cut, and the rest is history.

During that timeless scene and the subsequent ones at the opera in which Roberts shows off her sparkly neck charm, the crew were accompanied by an armed security guard.

While the jewellers who loaned the necklace to Marshall for the shoot could probably trust a group of affluent Hollywood A-listers, this particular piece was worth $250,000 (over $500,000 today with inflation), so they weren’t going to take any chances. The guard accompanied the necklace 24/7 and never broke eye contact with it, standing by just out of shot.

Watch the “necklace scene” from Pretty Woman, alongside the famous Family Guy parody, below.