Patiala Necklace

The Patiala Necklace is known to be one of the grandest ornaments ever owned by any royal Kingdom. It contained 2930 diamonds including the De Beers. There were also several Burmese rubies attached to the necklace. It was entirely built in platinum. The weight of the necklace was 1000 carats. The mighty De Beers alone weighed 234 carats, which interestingly is double the weight of the famous Kohe-e-noor diamond.

It was not long after the miners of the De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. found a big light yellow coloured rock. It weighed 428.0 Carats. The company was ecstatic, and they named it the De Beers. It was considered as the 7th largest diamond of the time. Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala bought it during the display.

Later, the House of Cartier, a famous jewellery workshop, received a rare delivery. It was a truck overflowing with numerous diamonds; Burmese and also the giant De Beers. Maharaja Bhupinder Singh had requested the artisans to create a necklace that is worthy enough for a King. Thus started a toil of 3 years, that lead to this extravaganza of jewellery called the Patiala Necklace.

The necklace was indeed a flight of fancy with five rows. All of them were made in platinum and studded with diamonds. Several Burmese rubies were also encrusted. However, the centrepiece commanded all the attention as there stood the magnificent De Beers. Apart from that, there were seven more large diamonds encrusted in the necklace as well.

The ornament was handed over to Maharaja in the year 1928. He proudly flaunted it on various special occasions. Later, his son Maharaja Yadavinder Singh too adorned it to markable events.

The Patiala Necklace was safeguarded in the Royal Treasury of Patiala. However, it mysteriously disappeared in 1948. A hunt was organised to find this opulent piece of jewellery, but unfortunately, every effort went in vain.

More than a decade later in 1998, Eric Nussbaum, a geologist working at the House Of Cartier, found the Patiala Necklace in a second-hand jewellery shop in London. But the necklace had lost many of its precious gems including the De Beers. It was a mere skeleton of what was once a mighty treasure of a piece of jewellery.

Nevertheless, the House of Cartier was proud of its superficial creation, and they brought the necklace. Then the workers set off of the intensely difficult task of turning the necklace into its original state. The lost diamonds were replaced by cubic zirconia, and even a replica of the De Beers was mounted.

Despite all revival efforts, the necklace had lost all its charm and lacked its original sparkle. Still, it managed to attract a large crowd of people when Cartier displayed the finished piece in its showroom.
It remains as a tribute to the gifted artisans of Cartier and the majestic King of Patiala.