This year’s Met Gala had quite an interesting theme, ‘Gilded Age’ and saw several celebrities delivering stunning outfits. While multiple lewks graced the red carpet being a topic of contention for days, it was YouTuber Emma Chamberlain’s accessory that caught the internet’s eye this year. Chamberlain, who wore Louis Vuitton to the Gala and was signed by Cartier as its brand ambassador, arrived at the Gala on May 2, dripping in jewels and diamonds.
Some eagle-eyed social media users, however, drew attention to a particular diamond-studded choker she flaunted that day. The choker belonged to the Maharaja of Patiala Bhupinder Singh and was made in 1928 after the Maharaja decided to turn his De beers diamond, the 7th largest in the world into an heirloom choker. The piece of jewellery was commissioned to Cartier and the end result was called the Patiala Necklace. It flaunts 2930 diamonds and Burmese rubies. It is believed to be one of the most expensive pieces of jewellery made in history, evaluated at a whopping $30 million today in its original form.
Twitter expressed its disappointment, with many writing about the “deep and painful history attached” to the necklace. One user wrote, “So i just found out emma chamberlain wore the maharaja of patiala’s necklace at the met gala… this is wayyy worse than kim wearing marilyn monroe’s dress. It has a deep and painful history attached to it. Very on theme, nothing screams gilded glamour quite like expropriation”.
Another wrote about the choker’s history after it disappeared from the Patiala treasury in 1948. They wrote, “The height of privilege to be able to flaunt stolen goods on the global stage. Jewels stolen from Panjab resurface at the Met Gala in NY. The fate of the Maharaja of Patiala’s Cartier Diamond Choker is unknown, but it was likely sold and reacquired by Cartier at a later date.”
“Thanks #cartier. Those are the jewels of the Maharaja of Patiala. That’s a piece of India’s stolen history, not a fancy piece of jewellery to lend out to celebrities. Disrespectful on so many levels,” said a tweet by another user.
