Dripping with 2,930 diamonds – one of which being the 234.65-carat yellow De Beers Diamond1 – and comprising five chains and a neck collar, the festoon-style Patiala Necklace is still widely considered one of the most extravagant pieces of jewellery ever created.
Its story began when Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala met Jacques Cartier. Though Cartier is known to have attended the Delhi Durbar in 1911, a huge event celebrating the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary, a direct association with the Maharaja dates to around a decade later when the Maharaja travelled to Paris. Bearing India’s most dazzling gemstones – natural diamonds, rubies, emeralds and more – he commissioned the House of Cartier to turn them all into exquisite jewellery, with the Patiala Necklace being the collection’s crowning glory.
However, unmatched beauty isn’t the only thing that makes it unique. In 1948, the Patiala Necklace vanished – and remained hidden for 34 years, until its centrepiece, the De Beers Diamond appeared at an auction in 1982. Sixteen years after that, part of the necklace resurfaced at an antiques shop in London.
What really happened to the Patiala Necklace over the decades? Who called it their own? We take a closer look at the history and provenance of this legendary piece of jewellery.
Why the Patiala Diamond Necklace became a legend
Set into an elaborate festoon design, the Patiala Diamond Necklace stood out for its sheer scale but also for the proud showcase of craftsmanship and royal provenance. The design was so intricate that Cartier required three craftsmen to make the necklace over the course of three years.2
The mystery that surrounds the necklace is what sets it apart. Created for Maharaja Bhupinder Singh at the height of princely extravagance, the necklace later vanished from royal records, only to partially resurface decades afterward in unexpected fragments. The unique blend of opulence, loss and rediscovery is what makes the necklace so legendary.
The Maharaja of Patiala and the world that created the necklace
Bhupinder Singh of Patiala wasn’t just a ceremonial figure. He became the Maharaja upon the death of his father Sir Rajinder Singh, taking up a position with major political and military influence. Political image-making was key – and whether commissioning the Cartier Patiala Necklace or owning a fleet of custom-built Rolls-Royces, he led the kind of extravagant public life that was expected of successful rulers in the ‘Roaring Twenties’. 3
The commissioning of the Patiala necklace – at the time, one of Cartier’s largest ever – signalled stability, legitimacy and international standing, especially at a time where Indian royalty was being measured against its European counterparts and colonial expectations.
The 1928 commission: design, diamonds, and the yellow De Beers Diamond
The largest necklace ever made by Cartier4, the Patiala Diamond Necklace, which combined South Asian influences with European design, comprised five platinum chains festooned beneath a choker. Encrusted entirely with small diamonds and seven larger diamonds, one of which was the famed yellow De Beers Diamond (it served as the central pendant), the necklace weighed around 1,000 carats.
The De Beers Diamond, which weighed approximately 230 carats after it was cushion-cut, was the seventh-largest polished diamond in the world at the time.5 When first discovered in De Beers’s South African mines in 1888, it weighed a whopping 400 carats in its rough form.6 It is believed that the Maharaja of Patiala bought the diamond after it was exhibited at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889.
However, the opulence and beauty of the Patiala Diamond Necklace has, over the years, been overshadowed by its disappearance around 1948 – and the subsequent reappearance of its parts.
Disappearance and the “lost necklace” mystery
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh wore the Patiala Diamond Necklace on several occasions until his death in 1938, after which his son Yadavindra Singh inherited it.7 However, it was last seen on Maharaja Yadavindra Singh in 1948 before mysteriously disappearing from the royal treasury. It is widely claimed that the Patiala Necklace was dismantled and smuggled out of the country after Patiala became a part of newly independent India.
The necklace’s whereabouts remained unknown for decades until 1982, when its centrepiece the De Beers Diamond showed up at the Sotheby’s Patiala Royal Family auction in Geneva.8 Then, in 1998, the platinum skeleton of the necklace was discovered in an antiques shop in London. However, all the larger famous diamonds were missing.
The House of Cartier acquired these fragments and did its best to authentically restore the necklace, replacing the larger gems with replica stones. Fortunately, the choker portion was intact, with all its original natural diamonds.
In 2022, the art deco-style choker made its first major public appearance for Cartier, this time worn by LA influencer and model Emma Chamberlain – and met with gasps of awe and wonderment. Made up of statement circles of white diamonds, each sphere holding within a striking yellow diamond, the neck collar is an astonishing piece of vintage glamour it itself.
Why the Patiala Diamond Necklace still inspires
Be it the bib silhouette or its maximalist charm, the Patiala Diamond Necklace has an enduring appeal that modern diamond jewellery continues to embrace: the unashamed opulence crafted with intentional design gives a contemporary spin on rich heritage.
The story of the Patiala Necklace is a layered showcase of Indian patronage, European craftsmanship and the nuanced power structures of the time. This complexity, coupled with the mystery surrounding its disappearance and resurfacing, is why the necklace still sparks debate and curiosity.
Since we have no access to definitive answers about the necklace’s mystery, it is crucial that when we encounter the Patiala Necklace legend – whether in books, auction catalogues or exhibitions – we approach it with curiosity. Because each retelling of the legend adds texture and tension to the story, but also introduces bias. All that said, the mystery of the Patiala Diamond Necklace continues to be one of modern luxury’s most captivating tales.
Sources
- www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/what-happened-to-the-patiala-necklace-and-was-it-ever-found/ ↩︎
- www.nytimes.com/2002/11/29/arts/antiques-an-heirloom-is-resurrected-at-cartier/ ↩︎
- www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp59580/sir-bhupinder-singh-maharaja-of-patiala/ ↩︎
- www.cartier.com/en-us/clp-HighJewelry_EmblematicCollections_Diamonds/ ↩︎
- www.mapacademy.io/article/patiala-necklace/ ↩︎
- www.mapacademy.io/article/patiala-necklace/ ↩︎
- www.mapacademy.io/article/patiala-necklace/ ↩︎
- www.naturaldiamonds.com/historic-diamonds/diamond-history-emma-chamberlain-met-gala-cartier-choker-maharaja-of-patiala/ ↩︎
