Last weekend, a piece of antique jewelry once worn by the iconic Diana, Princess of Wales made its first public appearance since its auction last year on a red carpet in Los Angeles. Here’s a look at the history of the amethyst cross, and its first outing with its new owner.
Kim Kardashian arrived at the LACMA Art + Film Gala in Los Angeles on Saturday wearing a custom dress and coat made Gucci. The fashion house was the sponsor of this year’s gala, which supports projects geared toward to making film more central in the curatorial programming of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
A note before I continue: I’m featuring this appearance today because, of course, Kardashian wore a piece of jewelry with royal connections as part of her ensemble. We have a longstanding rule here of not assessing the bodies of jewelry wearers as part of our commentary. I know that the revealing gown worn for this appearance is not the kind we generally see here at TCJ, but I want to reiterate that anyone commenting on this article should be mindful of their words and keep their discussion centered on jewelry. There are enough other places online where discourse on related topics devolves into negativity and unpleasantness. (If this article isn’t your cup of tea, stay tuned: there’s a second one coming later today!)
With her Gucci ensemble, the reality star featured a piece of jewelry that was last worn in public by the late Diana, Princess of Wales. The amethyst and diamond cross did not belong to the princess personally, but because she is the most famous person to have previously borrowed and worn the jewel, it has often been linked to her.
The fleurée cross, set with square-cut amethysts and white diamonds, dates to the 1920s. It was made by Garrard, and the firm either kept it as part of their stock or later reacquired it. By the 1980s, it was part of the jewelry house’s collection.
We know that Garrard owned the cross in 1987, because that year they loaned it to the Princess of Wales. Diana wore the cross with a striking Catherine Walker gown in October 1987 for a charity fundraiser for Birthright, one of her patronages. The event was held at Garrard’s Regent Street headquarters in London.
Though she never purchased it herself, Diana reportedly was so enamored with the antique cross that she borrowed it on other occasions to wear for private events. Garrard retained ownership of the cross, and after Diana’s death in 1997, it was purchased by Naim Attallah, the Palestinian-born publisher who became CEO of Asprey, the firm that merged with Garrard for a short period starting in 1998. Attallah was also reportedly a friend of the late princess.
No one in the Attallah family wore the cross in public (or, reportedly, even in private) after it was purchased. After Naim Attallah died in 2021, the family decided that it was time to sell the piece. They offered it at a Sotheby’s auction in January 2023, with an estimate set at £80,000-120,000. Predictably, with the advertised connection to Diana, the cross exceeded that estimate, selling for £163,800 (almost $200,000 USD).
The buyer, it soon emerged, was Kim Kardashian. A source told People that the actress and entrepreneur was “honored” to own a piece of royal history. The cross remained hidden until last week, when Kardashian wore it publicly for the first time for the LACMA gala. She wore the cross on a short pearl necklace and stacked it with two other pieces of jewelry: a tall pearl choker necklace from Tallarico and another diamond and pearl necklace from Bulgari.
A scheduling note: this weekend is Remembrance Sunday in Britain. I’m planning to cover both the Festival of Remembrance on Saturday and the service at the Cenotaph on Sunday. The Princess of Wales is reportedly planning to attend at least part of the commemorations–let’s hope! I’ll see you back here to discuss the jewels worn for both events. Also, as I mentioned, come back here later today to discuss a lovely pair of royal earrings that appeared this week!
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