Today marks the Anniversary of the Birth of Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan, who was born on this day in 1906! The former Miss France who became the fourth wife of the Aga Khan and a beloved philanthropist in her decades-long widowhood, the Begum possessed a spectacular Jewellery Collection, which included this spectacular Diamond Necklace!
Composed of spectacular cushion, brilliant, and banquette shaped diamonds, this modern Diamond Fringe Necklace was likely created by Harry Winston and acquired by the Aga Khan at some point in the early 1950s.
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As one of her more substantial pieces, the Diamond Necklace was worn by the Begum Aga Khan at several spectacular events through the 1950s, including the Cannes Film Festival in 1955, Balls in Paris, London and New York City, and also the Cannes Film Festival in 1957.
The Begum continued to wear her Diamond Fringe Necklace after being widowed in 1957, like a Premier at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, the the Cannes Film Festival in 1959, a Gala in New York City in 1960, at a Restaurant in Germany in 1963, and at a Gala in Marbella in 1964.
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At some point in the mid-to-late 1960s, the Begum Aga Khan had the Diamond Fringe Necklace disassembled to create another necklace of marquise and brilliant-spaced diamonds, this one made of which was notably worn by the Begum for a Ball at the Palace of Versailles in 1973.
After the Begum Aga Khan passed way in 2000, as per her wishes, she willed that all her estate to be donated to the Aga Khan Foundation, the Bellerive Foundation, and her own Om Habibeh Foundation. The lots were auctioned at Sotheby’s in Geneva in November 2000 and included the spectacular Diamond Necklace, whose current location is now unknown.
