Diljit Dosanjh’s Met Gala Necklace Explained – The Intriguing History behind the Original Cartier Patiala Necklace
Diljit Dosanjh made his Met Gala debut this year and he wore one of the most discussed outfits. The Prabal Gurung custom design was inspired by his home state Punjab, in northwestern India. It referred to Maharaja Bhupinder Singh who was the ruler of the princely state of Patiala, the largest state in the Punjab Province, from 1900 until 1938. This outfit has been the topic of many discussions and the jewellery, the so-called Patiala necklace (and particularly the relationship to the French Maison Cartier) caused a lot of controversy. The case illustrates the movement on social and how even established media outlets pick up on trends – unfortunately, often without fact-checking. This article explores the history of the Patiala necklace, its mysterious whereabouts and whether the online outrage was justified.
You can also watch my video here:
Dosanjh’s outfit may be considered a “Gesamtkunstwerk”, if we may use this term for fashion. It incorporated the sources of inspiration beautifully and its details such as the embroidery were immaculate. The Maharaja-inspired outfit featured a cape with the map of Punjab, Punjabi (Gurmukhi) script, he carried a ceremonial sword and wore a turban accessorized with jewellery. This turban was an important statement and it is similar to what I mentioned about Doechii’s textured hair. The is often “exoticized” with certain – often derogatory meanings – are attached to it. Dosanjh shows that it is an elegant accessory worthy of the red carpet. Overall, this outfit started a global discussion and it cast the spotlight on Indian culture in general, and Punjabi and Sikh culture in particular.
Was the outfit on theme? I would say yes, the theme of the Met Gala was “Tailored for You” and this was a custom design by Prabal Gurung according to the specifications by the singer and actor. Furthermore, the Met Gala is always linked to the annual blockbuster exhibition of the Met Costume Institute. This year, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” not only focuses on Black fashion in general but also on the Black Dandy. Regarding the Met Gala theme, the guests were also encouraged to take up this Dandy-dimension and they could also interpret it using their own background. This is exactly what Dosanjh did. Furthermore, when talking about Maharaja Buphinder Singh and his lifestyle (see below), we could even argue that he also was a version of the dandy himself.
Diljit Dosanjh’s attendance at the Met Gala was such a big deal not only because of the outfit but also because of the artist himself. Diljit Dosanjh is a megastar in India and while his outfit for this exclusive event was inspired by a Maharaja, he actually comes from very humble beginnings – his father worked for Punjab Roadways and his mother is a homemaker. When he was 11, his parents sent him to live his uncle in Ludhiana. He performed at local events such as weddings and then it sounds like a modern fairy tale: He eventually ended up in Bollywood via Punjabi music and cinema. In 2023, he was the first Punjabi artist to perform at Coachella and this year, he attended the Met Gala.[1]
The necklace chosen for the Met Gala was inspired by the Patiala necklace which was commissioned at Cartier using heirloom gemstones of the Maharaja’s family. Until today, it is the biggest piece of jewellery ever made for a client by Cartier. Diljit Dosanjh wore a modern interpretation of this necklace made by Jaipur-based Dolecha Jewels.[2]
Who was Maharaja Bhupinder Singh?
Mahraja Bhupinder Singh (1891-1938) was the ruler of the princely state of Patiala and was known for his lavish and flamboyant lifestyle. He had ten marriages, over 300 concubines and fathered over 80 children of whom 54 survived. Furthermore, he was known for hosting lavish events, his shopping sprees in Europe, being the first Indian with a private plane and owning over 40 Rolls Royce cars. (As a side-note, he was not the Maharaja who allegedly used Rolls Royce cars to collect trash, that was Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar of Alwar). This article does not focus on the history here about his rule, it focuses on the jewellery only.
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh
Diljit Dosanjh’s necklace was inspired by the original Cartier necklace commissioned by the Maharaja in 1928. Indian royalty were very lucrative clients of European luxury houses as they purchased luxury goods to decorate their palaces and they also commissioned European fashion houses and jewelers. When visiting many of the Maharaja’s palaces today, these luxury objects are still on display – mirrors from Venice, glassware from Belgium and jewellery from the major European names. For the European luxury houses it was very prestigious to have Indian royalty on their client list. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, there was yet another trend in Europe for objects from Asia. Those who wanted to display their wealth, influence and, sometimes, worldliness, purchased objects from China, Japan, India and many other Asian countries. Furthermore, many European houses designed objects, fashion or jewellery which was inspired by those countries, or sometimes even copies of the originals. Indian royalty flocked Paris to shop and Parisians got to see their extravagant jewellery – yet another seal of approval and boost for Cartier and the likes.
The Patiala Necklace
Maharajah Bhupinder Singh commissioned the necklace as part of a set in 1928. The necklace alone was composed of 2,930 diamonds and totaled over 1.000 carats. The yellow diamond alone is 234.49 carats (which had been presented at the Universal Exhibition in Paris). Until today, this has been the largest necklace ever made by Cartier. When you do some research, you will see that Indian royalty was amongst the best clients of the European jewelers. They flocked Paris and showed off their beautiful jewellery and their jewels also influenced clients abroad and the designs of the houses themselves. The famous Cartier Tutti Frutti style was clearly influenced by Indian gemstones, their cutting and the design.[3]
The Patiala necklace (in its current restored version)
The Patiala necklace is still one of the most famous necklaces in the world and still is one of the most important pieces Cartier has ever made. An entire chapter is dedicated to it in the book “The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire” by Francesca Cartier Brickell, the great-great-great granddaughter of Louis-Francois Cartier, the founder of the house. According to Cartier Brickell, the Maharaja requested Cartier’s head Paris salesman to the Hotel Claridge in Paris in the summer of 1925 to discuss the modernization of his heirloom collection. At the time, the Maharaja was one of the richest people in the world. The Maharaja showed Cartier his collection of gemstones involving Burmese rubies, white, brown and yellow diamonds, green emeralds and a diamond “as large as a thumbnail”.[4]
Cartier turned the Majahra’s gemstones into jewellery – the commission was not that lucrative as Cartier did not sell him any stones, but the order was still an attractive one. These extremely opulent pieces elevated Cartier’s image, especially in Europe and America. Indian royalty stood for opulence. It took Cartier’s team three years to make the necklace – but it was worth the effort – it is still one of the most significant necklaces ever made. The other pieces in the set were no less opulent. For one single bracelet, more than 200 individual pearls were used. Nevertheless, the necklace is still the piece everyone is talking about. The almost 3,000 diamonds were set in platinum, enhanced by rubies and the centre, there is a yellow De Beers diamond with 234.6 carat, the 7th largest diamond in the world.[5]
Diljit Dosanjh at the Met Gala 2025 with a necklace by Golecha Jewels.
Diljit Dosanjh’s necklace for the Met Gala was not as precious as the original, but it is still a very exclusive and precious piece of jewellery. This contemporary version took three months to make and involved over 50 carats of tourmalines; the emerald centerpiece is almost 130 carats. Furthermore, the turban jewels were inspired by the Cartier piece.[6]
The logical question to ask is why did Dosanjh not wear the original? There were many rumours online which related to a quote by the artist’s stylist saying they ask to borrow the necklace but Cartier denied their request saying it was in a museum. The nature of the comment is a bit vague and leaves room for interpretation (see below). Moreover, in the case of this piece of jewellery, it is actually not possible to talk about “one necklace” or “the original anymore”.
The Whereabouts of the Original Patiala Necklace
The exact whereabouts of the original necklace (as one piece) remain largely unknown and the disappearance of large parts of the necklace still puzzles many historians and even the Maharaja’s family members. The entire set (including the necklace and the choker) was last seen in 1948, after that, it is assumed that it mysteriously went missing. In the 1980s, Cartier recovered some remnants of the necklace but many of the original gemstones and diamonds were missing. Hence, Cartier tried to restore it with replicas. It took them, again, three years to complete the restoration but it is by far not as grand as the original. It is estimated that the necklace today, if it was still in its original state, would be worth between USD 30-50 million.[7]
The disappearance is still a mystery to the family themselves. Captain Amarinder Singh’s, the grandson of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, said in an interview that he remembered his father wearing the necklace but he never saw it in person. He said that according to other family members, the necklace was never stolen and that he assumed that it may have been taken apart and distributed – after all his grandfather 54 children and the parts may have been used as gifts or dowries. Alternatively, he also added that parts may have been sold. His younger brother, Malwinder Singh, has a slightly different view. He said that he saw their father last wear it on 13 April 1948 during a function at Moti Bagh Palace. According to him, it vanished mysteriously and even their mother did not know where it went. He added that about 20 years ago, he met with Cartier in Delhi and they informed him that they had found parts of the necklace. He thinks their father must have known what happened – whether the necklace was sold or given as a gift – but he said they never asked him. He thinks it is unlikely that it was split among the 54 children, as there were plenty of other assets. He also elaborated that jewels like the Patiala necklace were only worn at “Darbars”, formal court assemblies, and after the princely state stopped existing, there was no need or occasion to wear the jewels. Hence, it may have been a reason why it may have been forgotten and may have disappeared.[8]
Cartier Brickell mentions in the book that the de Beers diamond mysteriously reappeared in an auction at Sotheby’s in 1982 where it was valued at USD 3 million. In 1998, a part of the necklace was discovered by Eric Nussbaum, a Cartier associate, in an antique shop in London. Even though the big diamonds where missing, Cartier bought it and restored the necklace. The research for this article could not yet confirm, if Cartier bought the yellow De Beers diamond, or if the necklace today involves a replica of it. It is likely that they bought it at the auction. Further research will be done regarding this topic.[9]
Why Did Diljit Dosanjh not Wear the Original Patiala Necklace?
This restored necklace is part of the Maison’s archives and is given as a loan to exhibitions. At the moment, it is being displayed at the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum in London as part of their Cartier exhibition which runs until end of November 2025. Therefore, it is likely that Dosanjh’s stylist referred to this museuam rather than Cartier’s archives in the comment. The internet is fast to make assumptions about this “alleged” denial by Cartier but getting loans from archives and museums is a lengthy and complicated process. Exhibitions like the current one at the V&A Museum are planned years in advance. There is a lot of paperwork involved – for obvious reasons: We are talking here about extremely precious items, which means that an exhibition needs a certain amount of security, they also need to take care of the proper transport and storage. All of this involves detailed planning and red tape.
It can be assumed that Diljit Dosanjh’s outfit for the Met Gala had been planned for months. According to Golecha Jewels, it took them three months to make the jewellery, therefore, it is likely that the planning of the whole outfit started long before that – it can be assumed at least six months in advance, or even earlier; probably immediately after the artist’s attendance was confirmed. Therefore, it is unlikely that a short time frame was the reason why they could not get the necklace in time for the Met Gala. It is more likely that it is linked to contractual reasons related to the current exhibition. Even if Dosanjh’s team contacted Cartier, let’s assume, one year ago, it is very likely that by then, the exhibition was already in the finishing process and all the contracts had already been cast in stone.
The Patiala necklace, due to its significance for the brand, is one of the centerpieces of the exhibition and it is unlikely that the V&A (and Cartier) would want to give that away even for a few days. Even if they wanted to, there would be a lot of logistics and contractual work accompanying this effort. While it would have been doable – also other guests wore extremely expensive pieces of jewellery for which a lot of red tape and security was needed – it was probably not attractive from an effort/cost-benefit-perspective.
The Patiala necklace with the choker which was given on loan to Emma Chamberlain in 2022.
One of the reasons for the online outrage was that this was not the first time that the Patiala necklace, or a part of the set, would have been worn at the Met Gala. The set also involved a choker which was also worn together with the necklace. This choker was given as a loan to American YouTuber Emma Chamberlain in 2022 and this fact caused a lot of controversy because at first sight, a lot of people questioned why was the choker given as a loan to Emma Chamberlain, but not to Diljith Dosanjh who comes from the very region of the actual necklace? Already in 2022, a lot of people online were fast to call it cultural appropriation of an allegedly “stolen” necklace. The comments this year went as far as saying that Cartier allegedly did not want to be associated with colonialism and “hand back an item which belonged to India”.
Emma Chamberlain at the Met Gala in 2022.
Let’s break this down, where does the outrage come from? Talking about objects from India which are now outside of the country, particularly Britain, is almost always linked to the country’s colonial past. A lot of jewellery and gemstones (and many other objects) were indeed stolen under colonial rule. They are part of collections of many of the famous museums – and there is a lot of discussion that they should be returned. (This is not exclusive to India, but most countries under colonial rule. And not only Britain but many other countries have to look into their collections and discuss this.) But in this particular case, there is no evidence for the necklace to be stolen. Firstly, as mentioned above, the family never said it was stolen and they also saw the jewellery in 1948 – after indepence. If it had been stolen by the British, it is likely that this would have happened earlier. The family says they do not know what happened but they do not claim it was stolen. According to Peter Bance, an Anglo-Punjab historian, the jewellery may have left the family in the 1960s, when the then-Maharajah Yadvinder Singh, the son of Bhupinder Singh, was the Indian Ambassador to Holland. Bance also mentioned that there was a meeting between Cartier and Diljit Dosanjh at the Cartier offices in Paris in 2024, but by then Cartier had already committed to the exhibition in London.[10]
There are no official statement, neither by Cartier, nor by Diljith Dosanjh himself. All there is is the vague quote by his stylist. However, there is another dimension to it: Diljith Dosanjh thanked Cartier in his Instagram post about the Met Gala. Furthermore, he did wear other Cartier jewellery: A Panthère watch in 18k rose gold with semi-pavé diamonds, the Faune et Flore de Cartier Bracelet and the Panthère de Cartier ring. It is unlikely that he would have not only acted as a brand ambassador for the house but also thanked them in his post, if he himself had thought he was being treated unfairly. Given his fame, he could have just opted for another brand or jeweler and done it without Cartier.
The whereabouts of the original Patiala necklace itself will probably remain a mystery. What this case shows is that the online (and offline) world is fast to jump to conclusions. The question about stolen objects in many musems is a serious one to deal with – some museums and governments have acted, a lot of them still have only partially, or have not addressed the topic and this leads to the fast outrage online. However, in the particular case of the Patiala necklace it can be assumed that there were other reasons for its mysterious disappearance.
Footnotes
[1] Indian Express 2025, The Print 2025.
[2] Cartier 2025, Diljit Dosanjh Official Instagram Account 2025.
[3] Cartier 2025.
[4] Cartier Brickell 2021.
[5] Cartier 2025, Indian Express 2025.
[6] Indian Express 2025.
[7] Cartier 2025, Indian Express 2025.
[8] Indian Express 2025.
[9] Cartier Brickell 2021.
[10] Peter Bance Official Instagram Account 2025.
Sources
Cartier Official Website, last accessed on 14 May 2025.
Diljit Dosanjh Official Instagram Account, last accessed on 14 May 2025.
Francesca Cartier Brickell, The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire, Audiobook, New York, 2021.
Indian Express, Diljit Dosanjh’s regal ‘Punjabi’ look at Met Gala 2025: The intriguing history behind the original ‘Patiala Necklace’, last accessed on 14 May 2025.
Peter Bance Official Instagram Account, last accessed on 14 May 2025.
The Print, Diljit Dosanjh’s lonely childhood is not an ingredient to his fame. It’s trauma, last accessed on 14 May 2025.
Times of India, Diljit Dosanj reveals his strained equations with his parents, last accessed on 14 May 2025.
V&A Museum Official Website, Cartier Exhibition, last accessed on 14 May 2025.
Source Title Image
Diljit Dosanjh Official Instagram Account
Disclaimer
This article is based on the personal, views, experiences and research of the author, no fees were received by the organisations and people mentioned above. All information as of the date of publishing/updating.
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