Kim Kardashian buys Princess Diana’s famous Attallah Cross pendant for $202,300

"We are delighted that this piece has found a new lease of life within the hands of another globally famous name," Kristian Spofforth, head of jewellery at Sotheby's London, said

Kim Kardashian buys Princess Diana's famous pendant (Source: Kim Kardashian/Instagram, Sotheby's)

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Princess Diana’s famous diamond-lined Attallah Cross pendant, worn by the Princess of Wales on numerous occasions, has been purchased by American reality TV personality Kim Kardashian during Sotheby’s ‘Royal and Noble’ in London. According to the auction house, the item sold for more than double its pre-auction estimate. While the jewel was estimated to sell between $98,784 – $148,176, the SKIMS founder bought it for $202,300.

In a press release, Kristian Spofforth, head of jewellery at Sotheby’s London, said, “This is a bold piece of jewellery by its size, colour and style which cannot fail to make a vibrant statement, whether it be of faith or fashion — or indeed both. We are delighted that this piece has found a new lease of life within the hands of another globally famous name.”

Prior to the sale, Kristian had mentioned that this “unusual” pendant, worn by the Princess most notably to a 1987 charity gala, is symbolic of Princess Diana‘s “growing self-assurance in her sartorial and jewellery choices, at that particular moment in her life”.

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Sotheby’s described it as a Fleurée cross set with square-cut amethyst and accented by circular-cut diamonds. Made by court jeweller Garrard, it was bought by Naim Attallah CBE from Garrard in the 1980s, and through his friendship with Princess Diana, he loaned it to her several times over a number of years.

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She most famously styled it with an exquisite baroque style purple and black velvet Catherine Walker & Co dress, for a function held at the jewellers in support of Birthright, a charity which strives to protect human rights during pregnancy and childbirth. After Diana’s tragic death in 1997, the pendant was acquired by Attallah and it has remained with the family, unworn, ever since.

This is not the first time Kardashian has gotten her hands on a famous piece of sartorial history as, last year, the 42-year-old turned up at the Met Gala wearing a dress worn by Marilyn Monroe to wish Happy Birthday to the then-president of the United States John F Kennedy in 1962.

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