When married to Prince Charles, Princess Diana wore several items from the Royal Jewelery Collection for state occasions. And on one such occasion in Australia in 1985, Diana was particularly innovative in the way she wore emerald jewelry.
The Delhi Durbar Emerald Choker is said to have been given to Diana by the Queen to mark her marriage to Prince Charles in 1981.
The Art Deco piece previously belonged to the queen’s grandmother, Queen Mary, and is a redesigned version of a piece of jewelery Mary received during the Delhi Durbar in 1911.
Instead of wearing it around her neck as expected, Diana opted to wear the jeweled piece as a headband during her high-profile release in 1985.
As she prepared for the event, Diana reportedly tried to put it on normally to wear as a choker.
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But when it got stuck around her head, she opted to wear it more like a helmet.
Steven Stone’s leading diamond expert, Maxwell Stone, said: “When it came to wearing jewelry, Princess Diana knew exactly how to make each piece stand out.
“Whether it’s turning brooches into necklaces or wearing necklaces as headbands, she set big trends and always showcased her jewelry in a unique way.
“Whether it was an accident or not, wearing the Dehli Durbar Emerald Choker as a head covering was a wonderful choice on the part of the Princess and certainly bolstered her reputation as a trailblazer.
While Diana seemed pleased with her fashionable look in photos from the event, the Queen was reportedly less impressed.
But that didn’t stop Diana from getting creative with her jewelry again, and she wore another piece of jewelry as a headband while visiting Japan the following year.
The princess reportedly had the jewelry reset which originally included a watch in her Saudi sapphire suite in a headband.
Over the years, Diana has been spotted wearing the beautiful piece as both a choker and a headband.
