Jewels worn by Princess Diana just before her death are on sale for £10million
The necklace has been dubbed the Swan Lake Suite after Diana wore it to an English National Ballet performance
ONE of the last necklaces worn publicly by Princess Diana is up for grabs for a dizzying £10m.
A Ukrainian couple are willing to sell the Swan Lake suite as the "gift of the century," hoping a rich man will pick out its 178 diamonds and five pearls for his adoring wife.
New York auction House Guernsey's has offers on the set - which includes matching earrings - and got close to the asking price only for a deal to fall through.
Once described as the "gift of the century" by Guernsey's president Arlan Ettinger, it was last sold for £500,000 in 2010.
Its current Ukrainian owners believe it has soared in value and are said to be determined to get the full asking price of $12m (£9.6m), billing it not only as stunning jewellery but as royal memorabilia.
RELATED STORIES
A spokesman for Guernsey's said the current owners have not put it up for auction but added: "Right now they are just entertaining offers.
"I can't cite prices but obviously you're aware of what it sold for previously.
"Markets change and I think the family feel that originally they picked it up for a bit of a song." It is known as the Swan Lake Suite after the People's Princess wore the necklace to the ballet in June 1997 - two months before her tragic death in Paris.
But she never got the chance to wear the earrings - included in the suite - as they were still being completed.
Garrard - then the Crown Jeweller - produced the necklace and earrings with Diana's much-admired style in mind.
The royal liked the necklace enough to wear it with an ice blue, silk shift dress for the performance by the English National Ballet on June 3, 1997 - even though the earrings were not yet ready.
She returned it after the performance while the whole set was completed.
A previous listing at the auction house described how: "Tragically, Diana did not have the opportunity to view the complete suite, as in August of that year, the world lost one of its most cherished beings."
After examining the set in 1999, gemologist Philip Shale Thomas said: "I found the Swan Lake Suite to be authentic, of extremely high quality and as described in the documents and photographs by Guernsey's in 1999."
