Queen Elizabeth's Wedding Necklace. The World's Most Expensive Jewelry
It is a necklace bearing the name Nizam of Hyderabad, received by the Queen in 1947, five years before ascending the throne of Great Britain.
Queen Elizabeth's Wedding Necklace - A Spectacular Piece Of Jewelry
The Nizam’s entire gift set for the future Queen of the United Kingdom included a diamond tiara and matching necklace, whose design was based on English roses. The Nizam, in his generosity, reportedly instructed Cartier to let the bride choose whatever she desired from their collection. The princess then chose the necklace and the matching floral tiara.
The tiara has three floral brooches that can be detached and used separately. The Cartier necklace, made by Cartier in 1935, features more geometric diamonds nestled in the abstract floral design. It consists of a long chain of 38 diamonds (the original necklace had 46 diamonds) with a diamond-encrusted snap.
The British art historian, Hugh Roberts who authored the best-selling book "The Queen’s Diamonds", describes it in his book as: "The pavé-set center with detachable double-drop pendant incorporating 13 emerald-cut diamonds and a pear-shaped drop; the chain of 38 brilliant-cut open-back collets with an elongated oval brilliant-set snap".
Queen Elizabeth is not the first owner of the famous jewel. Cartier made the necklace in 1935, sold it, and then reacquired it from the first buyer in 1936. One of the earliest pictures of the necklace is of Elfrida Greville, the Countess of Warwick who wore it for a portrait in the 1930s. Initially, the necklace included several additional pendant sections, which were removed by the jeweler before Elizabeth acquired it.
The famous Cartier necklace is one of the Queen's favorite pieces, borrowed today, on various occasions by the Duchess of Cambridge. There are reasons to believe that the beautiful piece will adorn the subsequent generations of British royalty
The spectacular jewel was worn by the 96-year-old queen for many of her official portraits.
Photo Credit: BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
