Patiala Necklace

Bhupinder Singh of Patiala in 1911

The Patiala Necklace was a necklace created by the House of Cartier in 1928.^[1] It was made for Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, who was the Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala.^[2]

The necklace 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] The necklace also contained seven other large diamonds ranging from 18 to 73 carats, and a number of Burmese rubies.^[4]

The necklace disappeared from the Royal Treasury of Patiala around 1948.^[5]

In 1982, at a Sotheby's auction in Geneva, the "De Beers" diamond reappeared. There, the bidding went up to $3.16 million, but it is unclear whether it met its reserve price.^[6][7]

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.^{[8][9][10][11]}

The necklace is the subject of a documentary by Doc & Film International^[12].

References