Since meeting Prince William back at university and officially joining the royal family in 2010, Kate Middleton has been gifted and loaned some of the world’s most incredible pieces of jewellery – some of which belonged to Princess Diana.
In honour of Kate’s tradition of paying tribute to her late mother-in-law, diamond experts at Steven Stone have analysed every piece of Princess Diana’s jewellery that the Princess of Wales has been given or loaned.
After comprehensive desk research, we were able to identify ten pieces of jewellery – ranging from £23,000 to over £10,000,000.
In total, the value of Princess Diana’s jewellery that’s been gifted or loaned to Kate Middleton adds to up to at least £26,893,000!
Engagement Ring
Value: £390,000
Formerly Princess Diana’s, Kate’s engagement ring features a 12 carat Ceylon sapphire that originates from Sri Lanka.
Like with most precious gemstones, the quality and value of a sapphire is graded by its colour and hue, which can range from a light, pale blue to a dark, royal blue – the sapphire in Kate’s sparkler is a deep, royal blue, of AAAA quality, which means that it sits amongst the most valuable of its kind.
While it is no doubt beautiful, at the time of the then Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer’s engagement in February 1981, the ring received a lot of backlash, often being referred to as the “commoner’s ring”, because while being a creation from former Crown jeweller Garrard it was not a unique design.
The ring was available to the general public to purchase, providing they had £28,500 to spend, which was its estimated price tag at the time.
Saudi Sapphire Necklace & Earring Suite
Value: £15,000,000
The sparkling suite consists of a diamond-and-sapphire necklace, a matching pair of earrings, a ring, and a bracelet, all of which were a wedding gift to Princess Diana from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
This sapphire in the necklace alone is around 30 to 35 carats which is almost treble the size of the stone in the engagement ring that the then Prince Charles proposed with.
Princess Diana first wore the suite at the National Film Institute Dinner at the Royal Festival Hall in December 1981 and went on to wear it frequently during royal tours.
Having updated their style to a drop design, Kate has worn the earrings from the suite on multiple occasions – including the famous Sandringham Christmas walkabout in 2023 where she complimented the gemstone with an all-blue outfit. She also wore them in 2019, when herself and Prince Willian opened the V&A Museum in Dundee.
Kate also reportedly repurposed some of the suite to make a daintier necklace that’s more suited to her subtle style, which she debuted in late 2020.
Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara
Value: £1,000,000
The dazzling diamond and pearl tiara was originally designed for Queen Mary back in 1913 which passed on for her granddaughter. Queen Elizabeth II reportedly presented it to Diana for her royal wedding day in 1981, although she respectfully declined and opted to wear her father’s Spencer’s Family Tiara instead.
Despite this, the Lover’s Knot became one of her favourite pieces, although it’s claimed to have been so heavy that it hurt her head. The fact that it’s so heavy it hurt Princess Diana’s head indicates that this is a valuable tiara, embellished with the finest quality diamonds and pearls.
After Princess Diana’s sad passing, the tiara wasn’t seen until Kate wore it for the first time for the Annual Diplomatic Reception in 2015
Three Strand Pearl Bracelet with Diamond Clasps
Value: £35,000
Designed by Nigel Milne in 1988, this three-strand pearl bracelet was created to support the charity Birthright, which Princess Diana supported.
It features three rows of cultured pearls with diamond and pearl spacers, with even the clasp having intricate detailing. Like many of Diana’s jewellery this piece was made using only the finest quality stones and pearls, which makes it so high in value.
Kate first wore the beautiful bracelet during a royal tour in Germany in 2017. She notably wore it back in 2022, when she met with Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska.
Collingwood Diamond & Pearl Earrings
Value: £30,000
These sensational drop-pearl-and-diamond earrings were a wedding gift from the London jeweller, Collingwood, when Princess Diana married Prince Charles. They were worn by Princess Diana on numerous occasions, both casual and formal.
Kate Middleton inherited the earrings and first wore them to honour her late mother-in-law at the Queen’s annual garden party at Buckingham Palace on 15th May 2019.
While pearls can vary in price, the ones featured in these earrings are of the highest quality as they are South Sea pearls.
Queen Mary Emerald Choker
Value: £10,000,000 – £15,000,000,000
Princess Diana’s Art Deco diamond-and-emerald choker was a wedding gift from Queen Elizabeth II. This enviable piece of jewellery was a gift to Queen Mary by the Delhi Durbar during her visit with King George to India on December 12, 1911.
This gift was given to commemorate the succession of the Emperor of India during the British Reign in India.
Whilst designed to be worn as a necklace, Princess Diana often worn this sensational choker as a headband. The trend-setting Princess was last seen wearing her stunning diamond-and-emerald choker during a low-key gala celebration to mark her 36th birthday at London’s Tate Gallery on 1st July 1997.
According to our experts, the diamonds in this piece look to be around 10 carats each and are old cut stones, which makes them even more valuable. While it’s so difficult to put a value on a piece like this that has such a rich history – even more so now that Kate has worn it – they estimate that it could be worth from £10,000,000 to £15,000,000,000.
Diamond & South Sea Pearl Drop Earrings
Value: £65,000
Kate Middleton debuted Princess Diana’s stunning diamond and south sea pearl earrings at the Baftas in 2019 in London. She also wore them to Royal Ascot in 2022 – and most notably, for the first Remembrance Sunday after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 and the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023.
Princess Diana frequently wore the earrings both with and without the detachable pearls.
The earrings feature various cuts of diamonds, including a cluster of marquise cut diamonds in the centre and a suspended south sea pearl.
Sapphire & Diamond Drop Earrings
Value: £30,000
Princess Diana owned a pair of sapphire and diamond drop earrings, featuring two cabochon sapphire drops, surrounded by diamonds halos.
The Princess wore the cluster style earrings on multiple occasions – most notably on the cover of Vogue in 1994 and to the 1996 Met Gala.
Until Kate publicly debuted them at the 2022 Trooping the Colour parade, the sentimental earrings had been unseen since the sad passing of the late Princess.
Prince of Wales Pendant
Value: £320,000 ($400,000)
Laced with history, the Prince of Wales Feathers Pendant is an incredibly interesting piece that dates back to 1863, when the future King Edward VII married Princess Alexandra of Denmark. As was tradition at the time, various organisations from around the UK presented Alexandra with wedding gifts – one society was the Ladies of North Wales, who presented her with the striking pendant that emphasized her new positions history.
When Alexandra died in 1925, the pendant was inherited by the Queen Mother, who gifted it to Princess Diana, who wore it frequently during her engagement and marriage to the then Prince Charles. It’s also been worn by Camilla. Whilst Diana tended to wear the jewel as a necklace, Camilla opted to wearing it as a brooch.
The central piece of the pendant is the Prince of Wales crest, which is flanked by blue sapphires and features small white diamonds, rubies and emeralds that are likely to represent the Welsh flag. Surrounding the crest are eighteen edwardian cut diamonds and 36 small round cut emeralds. Hanging from the bottom of the pendant is a 15 carat detachable green cabochon emerald.
Kate wears the 25 carat piece as a brooch. She first wore it back in November 2022, when her and Prince William welcomed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the first meeting of his trip to the UK.
Pearl Choker
Value: £23,000
The Pearl Choker was commissioned to be created using a collection of cultured pearls gifted to the monarch by the Japanese government.
The piece was part of Queen Elizabeth II’s regular jewellery collection in the 1980s and 90s, and was too once worn by the late Princess Diana to a state banquet in the Netherlands.
Along with her Bahrain pearl drop earrings, Kate wore the stunning piece to Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.
If you’re looking for jewellery to rival royalty, our team can design bespoke creations, tailored to you. From engagement rings and wedding rings to necklaces and pendants, your options are endless.
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