The Taj Mahal Diamond

Emperor Shah Jahangir, who ruled India from 1605 to 1627, commissioned the artisans of the Mughal court to design this beautiful diamond and jade pendant with an inscription “Nur Jahan, Begum Padshah; 23; 1037.” Literally, this read as Nur Jahan, Lady of the Padshah; 23; 1037.

Nur Jahan refers to Shah Jahangir’s most powerful, influential and favorite wife. 23 refers to the year of Shah Jahangir’s ruling.  And the entry 1037 is the year the pendant was made in the Islamic calendar, which is equivalent to 1627/1628 A.D.  The inscription in Persian means “Love is everlasting,” and this pendant was meant to be a token of his love for his wife.

It was believed at some point Shah Jahangir gave the jewel to his son, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan “King of the World,” who presented the diamond also to his favorite and most beloved wife, Mumtaz-I-Mahal. When she died, Shah Jahan had Taj Mahal built in memory of his beloved wife. Just as much as Taj Mahal was a symbol of his undying love for this wife, the pendant was also believed to be a memento of the Emperor’s eternal love for her. This is why the Nur Janan pendant was also later known as the Taj Mahal diamond and jade pendant.

Image credit: Christie’s

The Taj Mahal diamond is a heart-shaped, table-cut, flat diamond. Technically known as Lasque, this is an ancient Indian cut where in the case for the Taj Mahal diamond, only the upper surface was polished. In other lasque such as portrait diamonds used in miniature portraits, both the upper and lower surfaces are polished.  The Taj Mahal diamond is probably a Type IIa colorless diamond, graded with a color between D to F. Other quality factors like clarity and weight are not known because of the inscription and the mounting.

The heart-shaped table-cut Taj Mahal was mounted on a grey-colored thick jadeite with enameled-gold backing of latticework motif.  Surrounding the Taj Mahal diamond is a row of simple rectangular table-cut red spinels (balas rubies) in bezel setting. Outside the red perimeter are 6 rhombodial table-cut diamonds set in gold bezel. In 1972, Cartier suspended the pendant with a gold and ruby neck chain styled like the original silk chord.

The inspiring love story behind the Taj Mahal diamond continued in 1972 for a different couple when Richard Burton gave this gold and ruby chain to Elizabeth Taylor on her 40^th birthday.  Reportedly, he bought the Taj Mahal diamond for £350,000.  Jokingly, Richard would have liked to buy the Taj Mahal for Elizabeth, “but it would cost too much to transport it.”  The Taj Mahal diamond was later sold for $8.8 million, about 20 times its estimated worth between $300,000 and $500,000.

The Taylor-Burton Diamond

The Taylor-Burton Ring

The Taylor-Burton Necklace

In the history of great love affairs, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s is undoubtedly one of the most famous.

Cartier bought the 69.42 carats pear shaped diamond at an auction in 1969. At that time, it was the 12th largest in the world and the largest privately owned diamond.  Within days, Burton bought the impressive white diamond for USD1.1 million from Cartier and presented it to Taylor.  This is one of the best known and well-publicized gifts Burton showered on Taylor.

The Taylor-Burton diamond originally set in a ring was too big to be worn as a ring so Taylor had it refashioned into a necklace. Cartier remounted the stone as a pendant suspended from a V-shaped necklace of graduated pear-shaped diamonds, mounted in platinum.

Taylor chose to debut the Taylor-Burton diamond at Princess Grace of Monaco’s 40th birthday. She clearly upstaged all the guests with her new jewel and beauty.

At Princess Grace’s 40th Birthday Party

She also wore the all-diamond necklace to the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970, stealing the limelight of the show.

At 42nd Academy Awards

After Burton’s death, the stone was auctioned to a charity to build a hospital in Botswana. The present owner is Mr Robert Mouawad who had the stone slightly recut to 68.09 carats.

Royal Engagement Ring

Prince Rainier III of Monaco offered his future wife Grace Kelly a ring with an exceptional emerald-cut diamond of 10.47 carats.

To emphasize the ring’s originality, Cartier designed a platinum mount with a baguette-cut diamond on each side of the central stone.

The engagement in January of 1956 marked with a ring that would never leave Grace Kelly’s finger. She even insisted wearing it in High Society, directed by Charles Walters, her last appearance on the screen.

 

20th Anniversary Brooch

The emerald, ruby and diamond 20th anniversary brooch, was mounted by Cartier, Paris, 1957. King Edward VIII presented this Cartier brooch to Wallis Simpson on their 20th wedding anniversary in 1957,Designed in heart shape, a monogram of the initials W and E set with calibré-cut emeralds is applied to the center of the brooch. The brooch’s background is pavé-set with brilliant- and single-cut diamonds. The monogram sits above the Roman numeral XX set with calibré-cut rubies and is surmounted by a Royal Duke’s coronet similarly set.

Edward always regretted that Wallis was never bestowed the designation of Her Royal Highness, so the crown was a part of their lifelong love code spoken in jewelry, as well as to signify her regal status in his eyes.

Image credit: Sotheby’s

Panther Bracelet

One of the most amazing jewelry that the Duke of Windsor got for his Duchess is this iconic onyx and diamond panther bracelet.

Crafted by Cartier jeweler Jeanne Toussaint in Paris in 1952, the panther’s finely-sculpted body is pavé-set with brilliant- and single-cut diamonds and calibré-cut onyx. Each eye is carefully set with a marquise-shaped emerald.

The most remarkable feature of the bracelet, besides the sensuous lines and the shimmering emerald eyes, lies underneath the panther’s body. The masterfully engineered bracelet has a silver articulated structure along the entire panther’s length to allow the bracelet to drape around the wrist rather than clinging on rigidly like a bangle.

This extraordinary piece was sold for a world record £4.5m auction price at Sotheby’s in 2010.

The Flamingo Clip

This bird of beauty was Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson’s favorite. Committed to Cartier’s creations, she commissioned the jeweler to create the flamingo clip. The Duke bought it for her shortly before the couple fled their home in France as the Nazis advanced.

Designed by Jeanne Toussaint who became director of Cartier’s luxury jewelry department in 1933, the flamingo posing on one leg was made with stones belonging to the Duchess herself. The 9.65 x 9.59 cm clip was made using platinum gold, brilliant-cut diamonds, calibré-cut emeralds, sapphires, rubies and one citrine.This piece fetched a good £1,7m, second highest price, at Sotheby’s auction in 2010.Image courtesy: Sotheby’s

 

Cross Bracelet

 

Image credit: Sotheby’s

This gem-set cross bracelet is the most iconic tribute to the love between the Duke and the Duchess of Windsor.

The Duchess affixed to the bracelet nine Latin crosses given to her by the Duke between 1934 and 1944 to commemorate certain events in their lives, be they major or trivial.

These 9 crosses are set with baguette-cut diamonds and caliber-cut colored stones: aquamarine, emeralds, rubies, yellow sapphires and amethysts. The crosses are dated on the back, and bear cryptic personal inscriptions like “Our Marriage Cross Wallis 3-VI-37,” “WE are too.” The latter is a secret language that bound the couple to one another throughout their lives together. 

Cravate Necklace

Designed by Rene Sim Lacaze of Van Cleef & Arpels, this masterpiece was a special order commissioned by the Duke of Windsor for the Duchess’s 40th birthday. Rivers of rubies and diamonds intertwine with each other culminating in an off-center cascade of rubies. The clasp is engraved with the inscription: “My Wallis from her David, 19.VI.1936”.

Holly Leaves Clip

King Edward VIII made his abdication speech on December 10, 1936. In light of the situation, Edward VIII had to spend that Christmas away from Wallis Simpson, so he sent her this clip, representing two holly leaves, made of Mystery Set rubies and diamonds.

This creation is an early example of the Mystery Setting™ technique, for which Van Cleef & Arpels is now famous. The stones are held by small grooves at the back and no gold is visible from the front. The contrast of white and red makes it a “piece de resistance.” 

 

Hold Tight Bracelet

Designed by Paulette of Van Cleef & Arpels, this ruby and diamond bracelet has 40 burmese rubies. It has a simple and smart design with the Duke’s favorite phrase “Hold Tight” inscribed – an expression often used between the couple to comfort each other in difficult times.A few months before his abdication in 1936, King Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor) presented the bracelet to Wallis Simpson when he asked her present husband, Ernest Simpson, to get a divorce from Wallis so they could marry.