The Patiala Necklace was a necklace designed and made by Cartier in 1928.[1] It was part of the largest ever single order to Cartier to date, made in 1925 by the Indian royal, the Maharaja of Patiala, for the Patiala Necklace and other jewelry worth ₹1,000 million (equivalent to ₹210 billion, US$2.6 billion or €2.6 billion in 2023).[2]
The necklace had five chains (ladi) and included a neck collar. It contained 2,930 diamonds, including as its centrepiece the world's seventh-largest diamond at the time, the "De Beers". That diamond had a 428 carat pre-cut weigh, and it weighed 234.65 carats in its final setting.[3] It is the largest cushion-cut yellow diamond and the 2nd largest yellow faceted diamond in the world. The necklace also contained seven other large diamonds ranging from 18 to 73 carats, and a number of Burmese rubies.[4]
History
editIn 1925, the necklace was commissioned by Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, who was the Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala.
Around 1948 it disappeared from the Royal Treasury of Patiala. It was last pictured in a 1946 photograph which depicted Yadavindra Singh wearing the necklace.[1]
In 1982, at the Sotheby's Patiala Royal Family auction in Geneva, the "De Beers" diamond reappeared.[5] There, the bidding went up to $3.16 million, but it is unclear whether it met its reserve price.[6]
In 1998, part of the necklace was found at a second-hand jewellery shop in London by Eric Nussbaum, a Cartier associate.[1] The remaining large jewels were missing, including the Burmese rubies and the 18 to 73 carat diamonds that were mounted on a pendant. Cartier purchased the incomplete necklace and, after four years, restored it to resemble the original. They replaced the lost diamonds with cubic zirconia and synthetic diamonds, and mounted a replica of the original "De Beers" diamond.[4][7][8]
The necklace is the subject of a documentary by Doc & Film International.[9]
A granddaughter of Bhupinder Singh of Patiala is now a jeweller in California.[10] In 2012, she was involved in the exhibit "Maharaja: The Splendor of India's Royal Courts"[11] at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, where the recreated necklace was displayed.
In 2022, Cartier loaned the recreated necklace to YouTuber Emma Chamberlain.[12] Chamberlain, who is a Cartier brand ambassador,[13] received some online criticism for wearing the necklace at the Met Gala.[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Miller, Nick (3 January 2023). "What Happened to the Patiala Necklace and Was it Ever Found?". Discovery UK. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ From Bahadur Shah Zafar to the Nizam of Hyderabad, a jewellery brand for the royals Archived 2023-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, The Print, 5 Nov 2022.
- ^ Saha, Pradip Kumar (30 November 2011). "Bhupinder Singh's necklace". www.livemint.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
- ^ a b "The incredible history of the Maharaja of Patiala's Necklace" (PDF). Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Yeates, Walter (17 May 2022). "Mystery at Met Gala 2022: Did Emma Chamberlain Wear A Stolen Necklace?". International Gem Society. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ "De Beers Diamond–The Second-Largest Faceted Yellow Diamond". israelidiamond.co.il. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
- ^ "Patiala necklace, world's most expensive jewelry". Blueblood.co.in. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "The missing necklace". The Hindu. 16 February 2004. Archived from the original on 30 April 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "The Patiala Necklace". Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ Devera, Michelle (16 October 2011). "Lineage leads Jyotsna Singh to jewelry design". SFGATE. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "MAHARAJA: The Splendor of India's Royal Courts". www.asianart.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ Kaushal, Akshay (10 May 2022). "Emma Chamberlain wore Maharaja of Patiala's diamond choker to Met Gala 2022". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ LeBlanc, Kevin (2 May 2022). "Emma Chamberlain, Cartier's Newest Ambassador, Drips in Diamonds on the Met Gala Red Carpet". Elle. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ "Emma Chamberlain wore Maharaja of Patiala's choker to Met Gala, and netizens aren't pleased". The Indian Express. 8 May 2022. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.