Kim Kardashian buys Diana’s Attallah Cross with 5.20-carat diamonds for £163,800 in auction

Kim Kardashian paid a total of £163,800 for the cross, far higher than pre-sale estimate of £80,000 to £120,000.
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Kim Kardashian is the new owner of a necklace worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, adding it to her already growing collection of iconic jewellery and memorabilia. The necklace, called the Attallah Cross, was put up for sale at Sotheby’s in London as part of the Royal and Noble sale on Wednesday (January 18).

According to the BBC, four people fought in a bidding war, with the US reality TV personality winning after five minutes. The amethyst cross is a 1920s pendant by luxury jewellery designer Garrard, worn by Princess Diana on many occasions.

It was most famously worn by the princess in October 1987 at a charity banquet in London for Birthright, now known as Wellbeing of Women, a medical charity dedicated to improving the health of women, girls, and babies. The pendant is structured like a cross and has huge amethyst stones surrounded by 5.20-carat diamonds.

It was purchased in the 1980s by businessman Naim Attallah, who loaned it to Diana multiple times over the years due to their friendship. The item was auctioned off by his estate. The BBC said Kardashian paid a total of £163,800 for the cross, far higher than Sotheby’s pre-sale estimate of £80,000 to £120,000.

Head of jewellery at Sotheby’s London Kristian Spofforth said: "Jewellery 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 colourful, bold and distinctive. To some extent, this unusual pendant is symbolic of the princess’s growing self-assurance in her sartorial and jewellery choices, at that particular moment in her life.”

It is not the first historic fashion piece in which Kardashian has expressed interest. She wore a Marilyn Monroe gown loaned from Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum to last year’s Met Gala. Monroe wore the gown when she sang "Happy Birthday" to US President John F. Kennedy in 1962.