How Duchess Kate’s Favorite Necklace Is Also The Most Expensive In The World
Kate Middleton’s favorite item from the Royal collection is the Nizam of Hyderabad necklace, which the Duchess has worn on multiple occasions in the past. Coincidentally, the item is also the world’s most expensive, being valued at an astonishing £66.3m, making it the most expensive necklace across any royal family around the world.
The elegant necklace was made by the famed jeweler Cartier in 1935, featuring an intricate design of geometric diamonds surrounding an abstract floral diamond centre. Hugh Roberts, director of the Royal Collection and former Surveyor of The Queen’s Works of Art, has previously described the item in much more technical details, describing it as: ‘pavé-set centre 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’.
The expensive necklace also has an interesting back-story as well. It was given to Queen Elizabeth II back in 1947 as a wedding present from Asaf Jah VII, also known as the Nizam of Hyderabad. At the time he was considered to be one of the richest men in the world, and did this in order to get in the good graces of the then future-queen.
Hyderabad is a city located in the south-central part of the sub-continent of India, which at the time was still under British colonial rule.
Asaf Jah VII told Cartier to let the British royal choose anything she desired, with the then Princess going for the floral necklace and a matching floral tiara, which came with removable brooches. Besides necklace and tiara being adorned with diamonds, both items also are set in valuable and hard-wearing platinum metal.
The last time we got to see the amazing necklace was back in 2014, when the Duchess of Cambridge decided to pair it with a dark green Jenny Packham dress at an event at the National Portrait Museum.