The checkered 400-year history behind Margot Robbie's $12 million Wuthering Heights necklace
Margot Robbie has been stunning the public with her amazing styling to promote her new film Wuthering Heights, even bringing out a piece of "Hollywood history" for the big premiere.
On the night, the Aussie A-lister chose to wear a Cartier-owned necklace, featuring the Taj Mahal diamond that once belonged to Elizabeth Taylor, gifted to her by her twice-wedded husband Richard Burton.
Burton famously gave Taylor the 69.42-carat diamond in 1969, later turning it into a necklace to hide her tracheotomy scar at the 1970 Oscars.
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Margot Robbie wore a piece of Hollywood history, but its actual history spans much further back. Getty
Robbie told the media the $US 8 million (approx. $12 million) necklace "felt like it had a lot of romantic history and felt appropriate for tonight".
And while she is correct, its history goes back much further than Burton and Taylor's love story.
It spans centuries and across oceans, going through the trials of colonisation, robbery, and a $US 7 million (approximately $11 million) legal battle before it only recently became a part of Hollywood history and is now being worn around the Aussie star's neck.
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The diamond does not simply serve as jewellery, but also as a record of history. South China Morning Post via Get
Mughal romance
Despite being known as the "Taj Mahal" diamond, the gem's origins begin one generation earlier.
The jewel was first presented to Nur Jahan, the wife of the Mughal emperor Jahangir.
The heart-shaped stone was a table‑cut Indian diamond, a style which allowed it to be written on.
Jonathan Pratt, the Managing Director of Dawsons Auctioneers tells nine.com.au, "The pendant's heart-shaped diamond is inscribed with the Islamic date 1037 (1627–1628)."
This makes the gem hanging around Robbie's neck just about 400 years old.
"The nickname 'Taj Mahal' reflects the Mughal romance associated with the pendant. The stone is inscribed in Parsee with the words 'Love is Everlasting' and also bears the name of Nur Jahan," Pratt added.
"The ruby-and-diamond neckchain is described as circa 1972 and attributed to Cartier."
"This modern setting was designed to present an older, historically charged stone as a jewel that could be worn again, bridging centuries of history with contemporary red-carpet style."
In this era, jewels were not only for aesthetic purposes. .
They served as records of those who owned them and their relationships – in this case, the most powerful people in the land.
After Jahangir’s death, the diamond was passed down to his son Shah Jahan, who gifted it to his wife Mumtaz.
If that name sounds familiar, it is because Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in memory of Mumtaz when she died, becoming one of the most iconic love stories in the subcontinent and the world.
From here, it is unclear how the gem got to where it was.
Most historians believe the pendant stayed within the Mughal treasury and between emperors until Nadir Shah of Persia's 1739 sack of Delhi.
His forces looted the treasury, and many pieces made it across to Europe and Russia through private sales.
Cartier era
It was unknown exactly where the gem ended up, but centuries later it resurfaced.
The New York Times claimed in a 1971 report the gem was part of the collection of Mrs Robert H. Kenmore, whose husband had a controlling interest in Cartier, which is how the gem found its way to the French luxury house.
By then, the diamond was hanging off a traditional Indian silk cord, which Cartier designer Alfred Durante swapped out for a woven gold chain set with cabochon rubies and old mine‑cut diamonds that made sure to imitate the original silk cord, just with more luxury involved.
Pratt describes Durante's addition of "rondelles and tassel details [as] effectively turning a symbolic, historic stone into a piece of high jewellery designed for modern public life" and "a key part of the necklace's modern identity".
Hollywood history
Richard Burton bought the Taj Mahal pendant during an airport stopover while searching for a gift for his then-wife. Getty
A year later, actor Richard Burton had asked around for ideas for a Valentine's Day and 40th birthday gift for his wife, Hollywood superstar Elizabeth Taylor.
Cartier's president at the time, Michael Thomas, made sure to deliver – literally.
He brought the diamond to Burton during a layover at Kennedy Airport for his convenience, and the actor bought it on the spot.
He presented the piece to his wife at her 40th birthday party in Budapest, with the actress excitedly showing off the latest item in her collection to her guests.
Elizabeth Taylor was delighted by the addition to her collection. Penske Media via Getty Images
The Hollywood couple pictured with Grace Kelly during Taylor's weekend-long 40th birthday bash in Budapest. Penske Media via Getty Images
Following Taylor's death, the necklace found itself at the famed Christie's Auction House in 2011.
The gem itself was estimated to be worth $US300,000 – $US500,000 (approx. $450,000 – $745,000) at the time, but as it turns out, people love a good story.
With the compounded layers of Mughal history, the romance of the Taj Mahal, and the link to Hollywood royalty, the piece sold for $US 8.8 million (approx. $12 million), breaking records for Indian jewellery.
But with all the talk of glitz and glamour, the buyer began to question whether the diamond was actually from the Mughal period as advertised, and asked to undo the sale.
Taylor spent the party showing off the necklace to her guests. Penske Media via Getty Images
While Christie's was game, the Elizabeth Taylor Trust was decidedly not when they were asked to return over $US 7 million (approx. $10 million) to the buyer, refusing to do so and creating a legal battle.
Eventually, it ended up back in Cartier's care, with the brand graciously loaning it to Robbie to wear to the premiere of the romantic tragedy last week.
"When a celebrity borrows an archive piece like this, the jewel becomes a short-lived exhibition: watched by millions, replayed endlessly, then returned to controlled storage," says Pratt.
"In that sense, Robbie didn't just wear a necklace, she staged a micro-retrospective of one of the best-known provenance stories in 20th-century jewellery culture."
Cartier's colonial history
It's not the first time Cartier has lent Indian jewellery out to celebrities – though the celebrities they choose to model these subcontinental designs has eyebrows raising.
The Patiala necklace, seen here at the Cartier exhibition at The V&A in 2025, once belonged to the royal family of Patiala. Getty
The Patiala necklace is another piece owned and originally made by Cartier in 1928 for Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, an Indian royal.
It contained thousands of diamonds and Burmese rubies, though it vanished in 1948 and was later found again in a diminished state at Cartier, who partially reconstructed it.
In 2022, what was believed to be the choker from the delicate set was seen around the neck of influencer Emma Chamberlain at the Met Gala.
When Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh reportedly asked to borrow the original Patiala necklace for his history-making appearance as the first Punjabi artist to attend the prestigious event in 2025, the Cartier team allegedly declined.
Diljit Dosanjh (left) wore inspired jewels instead of the Patiala necklace he reportedly requested to wear to the 2025 Met Gala. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
They reportedly said the piece was kept under "museum conditions" – despite it being seen on the neck of a white American influencer in the same exact conditions Dosanjh wanted to wear it in just three years prior.
He ended up wearing inspired jewellery for his Met Gala debut.
Cartier's alleged stance sparked much controversy from South Asians and diasporic circles, who pointed out the irony the brand did not let a man who claims the same heritage as the necklace wear it, but gladly loaned it to Chamberlain.
One year on, they have sparked controversy again as the Taj Mahal diamond, a 400-year-old relic, is certainly not being kept in "museum conditions" – nor is it even being honoured as a piece of Mughal history and returned to its rightful owners – but is seen on the neck of a white Australian actress as she promotes her latest film.
The resurfacing of the pendant at a press tour has raised some eyebrows. WireImage
"One reason that Cartier keeps turning up in these 'historic jewel' moments is the house's long habit of translating culturally specific motifs into high jewellery, from drawing room to gala, from private collection to public myth. This strategy is undeniably effective," says Pratt.
In doing this, Cartier is inadvertently sharing a message about who they think is worthy of wearing the gems that come from far corners of the world.
Meanwhile, people of colour are interpreting the same message in their own way – our wealth was stolen from us, and not only is no one decent enough to return it to its rightful owners, they will make sure we will never see it on ourselves.
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