The end of this month marks the 15th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. And since you know I like to do my commemorating in frivolous fashion, I thought a look at the late princess' signature stone was in order. Sapphires and Diana are inseparable in my mind - not only did she have a magnificent collection of them, she had the eyes to bring them out. These are just a few of my favorites from her sapphire stash.
Obviously, we must being with The Ring.
Diana's wedding yielded one of her most impressive sets of jewels, a sapphire suite from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. The Asprey set included a massive sapphire pendant in a diamond sunray frame suspended from a diamond necklace, a watch with a sapphire and diamond band, a bracelet, a pair of earrings, and a ring. Diana eventually had the watch and the ring reset into new jewels, including another pair of earrings and a choker she famously used as a headband.
She had other pairs of sapphire and diamond earrings in addition to those from the Saudi set. It's been reported that the Duchess of Cambridge's sapphire and diamond earrings are a modified pair from Diana's collection.
The choker seen above is yet another piece out of Diana's sapphire collection, but none will ever quite hold a candle to The Choker to End All Chokers, if you ask me.
Bliss. This egg of a sapphire surrounded by diamonds was a brooch given to Diana by the Queen Mother as a wedding present. Though she wore it a couple times as a proper brooch, she soon performed some jewelry magic and stuck it in the center of seven strands of pearls. Of all Diana's jewels - even the tiaras - I honestly think this is the piece I'd most like to see in use again today. Et toi? What are you hoping to see again?
Photos: Getty Images/Tim Graham/Suzy Menkes/Corbis