The Crown’s costume designers have finally responded to comments that a necklace made for Elizabeth Debicki to wear as Princess Diana in series five was “cheap” looking.
The original necklace, which formed part of an iconic ensemble Princess Diana once wore to a Vanity Fair party, is often referred to as the ‘revenge necklace’.
Diana wore the diamond and sapphire pearl choker necklace, and a custom-made off-the-shoulder Christina Stambolian gown, to the event the very same evening that her husband, now-King Charles III, admitted to cheating on her in a primetime television interview.
The timing of the interview and Diana’s appearance at the event has led to the outfit going down in history, but eagle-eyed viewers of The Crown weren’t so happy when it came time for the look to appear in the Netflix show.
In a since deleted TikTok, which received around 2.3m views, jewellery expert Rebecca Kilbey criticised the necklace:
“As a jewellery specialist, I’m not sure if it was the lobster clasp or the multiple option chain that did it for me”, she is reported to have said. Many commenters agreed calling the clasp and entire design of the necklace replica ‘cheap’.
Unsurprisingly, due to its significance in the history of Diana’s style, the scene does hyper focus on the necklace, which caused some viewers to speculate whether the replicated piece of jewellery came from Claire’s or Party City – SHADE. Check it out for yourself:
Now the costume designers of The Crown have had their chance to respond to such criticisms in an interview with BuzzFeed UK.
In the clip, they report that the original design for the replica was different, and featured a “beautiful, ornate back” like The Queen’s pearl necklaces in the show. However, it was not meant to be, and the lobster clasp prevailed.
“We could do nothing but that,” insists Sidonie Roberts. “We had such copyright issues... we weren’t allowed [to use the initial design]... we had to do a lobster chain.”
Who knew one could copyright a necklace? Well, it seems someone did! And, as one astute commenter points out, “they’d effectively be stealing the design if they remade it.”
The original necklace hasn’t been seen in public in 24 years, but Diana wore it several times during her life, including on her famous visit to the White House in 1985 where she danced with John Travolta.
Interestingly enough, the necklace is also able to detach, according to The Court Jeweller, and be worn as a brooch, which it originally was. But it never – repeat never – featured a lobster clasp! Got that?
You can actually buy your own replica of Diana’s necklace for £150 at the Westminster Abbey shop, but be warned, it too has a lobster clasp. Check out the clip from BuzzFeed UK’s interview below.