Call it the seventh wonder of the diamond world–and a mysterious one at that.
Cartier is displaying the Patiala necklace, the biggest necklace it has ever made, at its Chicago boutique Tuesday through Friday. Created in the 1920s for India’s maharaja of Patiala, a prince known for his excess, the piece had diamonds ranging from 18 to 73 carats set above a pendant holding the De Beers diamond, also known as the Victoria diamond. That yellow stone, at 234.69 carats, was the seventh-biggest diamond in the world.
But the necklace fell on hard times after the maharaja died in 1938. When it was rediscovered in London in 1998, all that remained were the five diamond-studded platinum chains that drape from neck to belly button.
So Cartier set about finding 13 diamonds to restore the necklace. It has replaced about 75 percent of the missing stones, a Cartier spokeswoman said, but the De Beers yellow diamond is not one of them. It was purchased in the late 1980s at auction, and its whereabouts are unknown, she said.
Even with a cubic zirconium as placeholder until a suitable diamond is found, the necklace is valued at about $20 million. In total, it contains 2,930 stones weighing almost 1,000 carats.
Cartier is at 630 N. Michigan Ave. Call 312-266-7440.
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