Patiala Necklace
The Patiala Necklace was a necklace created by the House of Cartier in 1928. It was made for and named after Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, the then ruling Maharaja of the state of Patiala. It contained 2,930 diamonds, including as its centrepiece, the world's seventh largest diamond, the "De Beers", that had a 428 carat pre-cut weigh, and weighed 234.65 carats in its final setting. The piece also contained seven other diamonds ranging from 18 to 73 carats, and a number of Burmese rubies.[1]
The necklace disappeared around 1948.
In 1982, at a Sotheby's auction in Geneva, the "De Beers" diamond reappeared. There, it was sold for $3.16 million.[2]
In 1998, the missing part of the necklace was found at a second-hand jewellery shop in London by an unnamed buyer. The remaining large jewels were missing, in particular, the Burmese rubies as well as the 18 to 73 carat stones 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.[3][4][5][6]
References
- ^ http://www.beau-rivage.ch/maj/pdf/carnets_de_route/UK/BAT_CDR_19-ANGLAIS_-_DEF.pdf.
- ^ http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/debeersdiamond.html
- ^ http://www.beau-rivage.ch/maj/pdf/carnets_de_route/UK/BAT_CDR_19-ANGLAIS_-_DEF.pdf.
- ^ "The De Beers Diamond". Famousdiamonds.tripod.com. 1982-05-06. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
- ^ "Patiala necklace, World's most expensive jewelry / jewellery was commissioned by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala and made by Cartier. Royal families of India, Indian royal families". Blueblood.co.in. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
- ^ "The missing necklace". The Hindu. 2004-02-16. Retrieved 2011-08-27.