Kim Kardashian Wears Princess Diana’s Jewelry to The 2024 LACMA Art + Film Gala
A slew of stars glistened in natural diamonds at the annual LACMA Art + Film Gala, and Kim Kardashian took it to the next level in diamonds from Princess Diana’s jewelry box.
Kim Kardashian wore natural diamonds with ties to royalty to the 2024 LACMA Art + Film Gala on Saturday evening in Los Angeles. The reality star and SKIMS mogul sported the diamond and purple amethyst Attallah Cross pendant necklace, previously worn by none other than Princess Diana.
Styled by Dani Levi, Kardashian sported a white plunging custom Gucci gown with a menswear coat draped off her shoulders. She layered the statement necklace with a Bulgari cluster pearl and diamond necklace and a pearl and diamond choker, reminiscent of another one of Diana’s jewels.
Kardashian purchased the large Garrard jewel reportedly for a whopping $197,453 during Sotheby’s 2023 Royal and Noble auction. The piece was originally estimated to fetch 80,000 to 120,000 pounds ($96,000-$144,400 USD), but according to Sotheby’s, Kardashian was said to have beat out three other bidders.
Made up of diamond floral petal shapes, the necklace was manufactured by Garrard in the 1920s as a one-time private commission for a regular client. The cross-shaped pendant is set with square-cut amethysts, boasting approximately 5.25 carats of circular-cut diamonds.
Over the years, Princess Diana borrowed the amethyst and diamond cross pendant numerous times from Garrard, who was then the royal jeweler. The Princess of Wales adorned the Fleurée cross pendant attached to a long string of pearls to a Birthright charity gala in October 1987, hosted by Garrard, to support the protection of human rights during pregnancy and childbirth. The royal teamed the jewel with a purple and black velvet Catherine Walker evening gown with a modernized Elizabethan collar, also known as a “Ruff” for the occasion.
After Princess Diana’s death, Naim Attallah, CBE and the former group chief executive of British luxury jewelry brand Asprey & Garrard, acquired the cross, but it was never worn by anyone other than the late princess (who was also the only person to ever wear it in public). After his death, it was passed on to his daughter, Ramsay Attallah.
“Jewelry owned or worn by the late Princess Diana very rarely comes on to the market, especially a piece such as the Attallah cross, which is so colorful, bold and distinctive,” said Kristian Spofforth, Head of Jewelry at Sotheby’s London. “To some extent, this unusual pendant is symbolic of the Princess’s growing self-assurance in her sartorial and jewelry choices, at that particular moment in her life.”
