Bidding for the piece opened on January 6, with a guide price of £80,000 to £120,000. Despite being “a truly amazing price that attests to the power of royalty”, its selling price, £168,800, “way surpasses the inherent value of the jewel”, according to Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds, Europe’s largest jewellers.
He continued: “But the fact it’s a Garrard jewel from the 1920s, and the fact so few of Diana’s jewels have ever come to auction, have rendered it much more alluring.
“At 77 Diamonds we would charge under £7,000 to remake something in a similar style to this pendant in our Mayfair workshop.
“Jewellery with illustrious royal associations has a history of attracting handsome prices at auction. In November 2021, a pair of diamond bracelets hidden by French Queen Marie Antoinette to keep them safe during the French Revolution, sold at Christie’s Geneva for £7.04million, rocketing past the pre-sale estimate.
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