Hollywood actress Margot Robbie got the attention of the Indian social media after she arrived at the premiere of her upcoming film ‘Wuthering Heights’ in Los Angeles. Her appearance quickly turned into
a heated discussion about heritage items being stolen from pre-independence India.
The subject of discussion was Robbie’s heart-shaped golden necklace, encrusted with rubies. The pendant is estimated to be worth $8 million (approx. Rs 66.4 crore). Robbie said the necklace once belonged to Elizabeth Taylor and was given to her by Cartier for the event.
The actress said the necklace “felt like it had a lot of romantic history and felt appropriate for tonight”. However, Robbie left out an important part of the jewel’s history: It originally belonged to India.
margot robbie’s wearing elizabeth taylor’s cartier necklace, gifted by richard burton for her 40th birthday, in 1972 pic.twitter.com/OUow0NL9r4
— ✭ (@badestoutfit) January 29, 2026
The ‘Taj Mahal’ Necklace
It was first gifted to Nur Jahan, the influential wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir, who received it as a royal gift in the 1600s. The inscription on the pendant includes Nur Jahan’s name, her title ‘Lady of the Padshah’ and numbers 23 (regnal year of Jehangir), the year 1037 (around 1627-28 AD).
The pendant was later handed down to Shah Jahan, who gave it to his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in the memory of whom the iconic monument in Agra was created. Hence, this necklace came to be known as the ‘Taj Mahal’ necklace. The necklace was likely taken during Nadir Shah’s sack of Delhi in 1739.
From there, the necklace was taken to the US and was later bought by actor Richard Burton for Elizabeth Taylor on her 40th birthday for $350,000. The necklace went to auction in 2011 after Taylor’s death and was acquired by Cartier for $8.8 million.
Netizens Target Margot Robbie
Indian netizens went after Robbie, apparently displeased about her explanation of the jewel’s history. “Margot wearing a necklace that originally was gifted to nur jahan, the wife of jahangir – the 4th mughal emperor. but guess what the articles say, apparently the necklace “found its way” to elizabeth taylor. mind you this has no way of “finding its way” to a white woman,” a user said.
“Give us our jewels back. Go make and display and museumify ur own. Is all I have to say,” a second person wrote. Another said, ” Nur Jahan’s necklace. Sick of white people colonizing our stuff. And Margot doesn’t even have the basic decency to research whose jewelery she is wearing.”
Notably, this is not the first time that Cartier has been associated with Indian jewels. In 2022, Emma Chamberlain wore a Cartier choker believed to be part of a diamond set made for Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala in 1928.
