Margot Robbie wears the $8.8M Taj Mahal necklace on the red carpet: The story behind the 400-year-old jewel

A collision of centuries.

That sums up Margot Robbie's arrival at the world premiere of Wuthering Heights. The actor and producer stepped onto the red carpet in a custom Schiaparelli gown, but it was the jewel at her throat that carried the most weight: Elizabeth Taylor’s legendary Taj Mahal necklace.

Resting at Robbie’s collarbone was a piece of jewellery whose history predates Hollywood itself. The Taj Mahal diamond dates back to the early 17th century, when Mughal Emperor Shah Jahangir gifted it to his wife, Nur Jahan. The pendant bears an inscription that translates to Love is Everlasting, alongside Nur Jahan’s name.

After her death, the jewel is said to have been passed to her son, Shah Jahan, who gave it to his wife Mumtaz. When Mumtaz died, Shah Jahan commissioned the Taj Mahal in her memory.

Centuries later, Cartier acquired the jewel, remounting it in jade and setting it on a gold, ruby and diamond chain inspired by the silk cord it once hung from, according to Harper's Bazaar Arabia. In 1972, Richard Burton purchased the necklace and gifted it to Elizabeth Taylor on her 40th birthday.

The Taj Mahal necklace became one of the most emotionally charged pieces in Elizabeth Taylor’s private jewellery collection, inseparable from her tempestuous romance with Burton.

Taylor wore it at her birthday celebration, and it remained closely associated with her public image. In 2011, the necklace appeared at Christie’s as part of the auction of Taylor’s jewels, and setting records for Indian jewellery and was sold for $8.8M, according to Vogue Arabia. After questions over authenticity, the piece was returned, and following legal disputes, it ultimately remained with the Elizabeth Taylor estate.

It is still held there today.

Robbie’s appearance in the necklace was no coincidence. Her stylist, Andrew Mukamal, reached out to the Elizabeth Taylor estate months ahead of the premiere.

“We were thrilled when Andrew got in touch,” said Tim Mendelson, a trustee of the Elizabeth Taylor Estate told Marion Faisel of Only Natural Diamonds. “No other piece in Elizabeth’s legendary collection is more connected to epic, undeniable, and tempestuous love that transcends time and even death than the Taj Mahal Diamond.”

On the carpet, Robbie echoed the sentiment, describing the necklace as carrying 'a lot of romantic history'.

Robbie completed the look with custom diamond earrings by Lorraine Schwartz and a 19th-century ruby and diamond ring from Fred Leighton. But it was the necklace that anchored the evening as an inheritance.