07-05-2025
Cartier face backlash after denying Indian star permission to wear Maharaja of Patiala's priceless choker to Met Gala - despite white YouTuber wearing it three years prior
Cartier are facing backlash after denying a Punjabi singer permission to wear a choker originally commissioned for an Indian prince at this year's Met Gala - despite letting American influencer Emma Chamberlain borrow it three years ago.
Diljit Dosanjh, 41, reportedly wanted to sport the Maharaja of Patiala's necklace to complete his royal-inspired look for his first appearance at the fashion event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The dazzling diamond piece was commissioned by Sir Bhupinder Singh, the early 20th century Punjabi prince who was one of the world's richest men at the time and known for his extravagant lifestyle.
Created in 1928, the jewellery weighed 1,000 carats and is the largest necklace Cartier has ever made, reported the New York Times. It housed the 234.6-carat De Beers yellow diamond, the seventh largest polished diamond in the world.
But the impressive necklace - estimated to be worth £37million - is surrounded in mystery after 'vanishing' in 1948 before later reappearing in separate parts; the largest diamond turned up at a 1982 Sotheby's auction (valued over £2million).
Sixteen years after, another part of the necklace appeared in a small antiques shop in London with all the diamonds missing, reported The Indian Express. It was bought by Cartier, who replaced the missing stones with replicas.
For the Met Gala in 2022, the French brand reportedly loaned part of the Patiala necklace to American YouTuber Emma Chamberlain, 23, in celebration of the California fashionista's appointment as a Cartier brand ambassador.
But when Diljit's stylist, Abhilasha Devnani, tried to borrow the stunning jewellery for Monday's gala, she was told it sits sealed in a museum, thought to be the V&A in South Kensington, London, where a Cartier exhibition is running until November.
Fans online were quick to react to the denial, with one person writing: 'Diljit Dosanjh was denied permission by Cartier to borrow Maharaja of Patiala's choker. But they happily gave it to a white Youtuber a few years ago.'
'Disgusting! Diljit looked super hot even without it,' a second added, while a third wrote: 'This makes me sick.'
Another person said: 'It's ironic how this year's MET gala theme centred around colour and culture, yet Cartier denied Diljit Dosanjh the chance to wear a necklace rooted in India and his own heritage, the same necklace Emma Chamberlain wore without issue!'
The annual invite-only event has a theme each year, with this year's dress code being 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,' inspired by Monica Miller's work, which includes her book Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.
Monica is the chair of Africana Studies at Barnard College, as well as a professor at the institute.
According to Monica, black dandyism is 'a strategy and a tool to rethink identity, to reimagine the self in a different context. To really push a boundary - especially during the time of enslavement, to really push a boundary on who and what counts as human, even,' via Vogue.
The 2025 gala theme focused on menswear, 22 years after the 'Men In Skirts' theme - which was the first gala to focus only on menswear.
Meanwhile, others were keen to remind X and Reddit users online discussing the issue that the necklace couldn't have been shared with the singer considering it is already at a museum.
Fans online were quick to react to the denial, with one person writing: 'Diljit Dosanjh was denied permission by Cartier to borrow Maharaja of Patiala's choker. But they happily gave it to a white Youtuber a few years ago.'
Meanwhile, others were keen to remind X and Reddit users online discussing the issue that the necklace couldn't have been shared with the singer considering it is already at a museum.
MailOnline has contacted Cartier and representatives of Diljit Dosanjh and Emma Chamberlain for comment.
Diljit's ivory and gold ensemble was designed by Prabal Gurung for the Met Gala, while the jewels the celebrity wore were created by Indian jeweler Golecha and inspired by the Maharaja of Patiala's of collection.
The popular singer and actor did however wear a watch from Cartier, thanking the brand on his Instagram account for the help in completing his outfit.
Punjabi prince Sir Bhupinder Singh asked Cartier to help modernise his heirloom collection in 1925, according to The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewellery Empire by Francesca Cartier Brickell (granddaughter of Jean-Jacques Cartier, who ran the London branch of the Cartier luxury goods firm), via The Indian Express.
The royal presented a shimmering collection of gemstones, including rubies, yellow diamonds and emeralds. Some of these were transformed into the well-known necklace.
However, the necklace disappeared in 1948 before mysteriously reappearing almost 40 to 50 years later as separate pieces, some of which were purchased by Cartier ahead of a restored version of the necklace being created.
That copy is now part of the Cartier collection and is often put on display in exhibitions around the world.
Stories vary as to what happened to the original necklace. Some believe it was 'stolen', however others suggest the jewel was split between royal relatives after being worn by Sir Bhupinder Singh's son and successor, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh - the last ruler of Patiala from 1938 until the Union of India in 1947.
Maharaja Yadavindra Singh's son Captain Amarinder Singh told the publication: 'I was not even born when my grandfather died in 1938. According to family elders, the necklace was never stolen.
'My grandfather had 54 children - perhaps it was dismantled and distributed among them as dowries or gifts, and later sold. I never saw it myself. But it wasn't stolen. Cartier later tried to reassemble it.'
Captain Amarinder Singh's younger brother, Malwinder Singh, added: 'I last saw my father wearing it on April 13, 1948... After that, it was never seen again. I wouldn't say it was stolen or lost - but it vanished.'
He added that his father would've known if it was sold or gifted, but the children never asked this of him - and concluded that the necklace's fate 'remains a mystery'.
