Image courtesy Cartier ©
  Maharajah of Patiala
 In 1928, Cartier produced a platinum and diamond ceremonial bib necklace for Bhupinder Singh, Maharajah of Patiala.  Pictured above, this majestic necklace is worn by the Punjabi potentate’s son, Sir Yadavindra Singh. The bejeweled bib contained 2,930 diamonds, two large Burmese rubies, and the yellow De Beers diamond, which at 234.69 carats, is the world’s seventh largest diamond. All totaled, this necklace contains nearly 1,000 carats.  (In 2014, I studied this jewel at the Cartier exhibit in Paris’s Grand Palais:  what scintillating stones, and what superb design, gem-cutting and gem-setting!)