A diamond and pearl necklace and earrings worn by Princess Diana during one of her last public appearances will hit the auction block in New York next week during the "Iconic Objects" sale hosted by Guernsey's Auction House. The suite is expected to fetch between $1.5 million and $2.5 million.
Worn by the Princess of Wales just months before her death, the suite is the only known jewelry worn by Diana that is likely to ever be available for sale. The necklace was designed by Garrard, crown jeweler to the royal family until 2007, with design contribution from Princess Diana as well.
The platinum necklace is composed of five matching South Sea pearls, 12mm . In between the pearl drops are four marquise-cut diamond drops. There are 7 other marquise-cut diamonds in the centerpiece, making a total of 11 marquise-cut diamonds with a total weight of 7.71 carats. Three smaller marquise-cut diamonds at the rear of the necklace, has a total weight of 0.88 carats. The lower end of the necklace towards the scroll motif, is made up of two rows of brilliant-cut diamonds, but the rear of the necklace has only a single row of brilliant-cut diamonds. There are 164 brilliant-cut diamonds in the necklace, with a total weight of 42.35 carats.
The matching pair of pearl drop earrings of the suite are made of platinum, set with 15 brilliant-cut diamonds in each earring. The total weight of the 30 brilliant-cut diamonds in both earrings is 9.38 carats. Each of the earrings has a single large spherical South Sea pearl of the same diameter as the pearls found in the necklace (12 mm), hanging from below as a drop. Three marquise-cut diamonds also hang from below the floral cluster, on the outer side of the hanging pearl. The total weight of the six marquise-cut diamonds is 1.87 carats.
