Controversy seems to follow Urvashi Rautela wherever she goes; so much so that it ended up at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival as well. For her first red carpet appearance at the 76th edition of the festival last week, Urvashi wore a frothy pink tiered tulle gown but it was her necklace that stole the show. Adorning her decolletage was a unique neckpiece with the design of two stone-encrusted crocodiles encircling her neck. She also wore matching hoop earrings with crocodiles within the design. In hours, Urvashi's necklace made headlines and though the brand wasn't tagged on her photos on Instagram, it was believed to be Cartier's legendary Paris Crocodile necklace, which is reported to cost approximately Rs 200 crore.
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While many admired Urvashi's animal-themed accessory choice, some began to question the authenticity of the apparent Cartier necklace that Urvashi wore. Back in January 2023, Urvashi had posted a photo of herself on Instagram wearing a similar reptilian jewellery set from an unnamed brand.
A jewellery advisor Arundhati De-Sheth took to Instagram to air her doubts about the actress' Cannes 2023 necklace by claiming Urvashi was "representing our nation and pretending to be wearing the real thing" and called Rautela's necklace "a poor shoddy sad ugly copy of a historic piece". Instagram critic Diet Sabya also took to the platform to say "babe it's a gandi copy".
Shortly after, the news of Urvashi allegedly wearing an inauthentic necklace spread like wildfire. Urvashi's team went on to claim that since the actress sported the prized piece, the value of it "increased from Rs 200 crore to Rs 276 crore".
The famous Cartier Paris Crocodile necklace was commissioned by Mexican movie star Maria Felix in 1975 to be a luxurious accessory based on her pet crocodile which she even brought into the boutique with her. The necklace was designed with one crocodile crafted in 18-karat yellow gold and set with over 1,000 brilliant-cut yellow diamonds weighing 60.02 carats. The second crocodile was made of 18-karat white gold and is set with 1,060 emeralds totaling 66.86 carats. Both crocodile's eyes were set with rubies and emeralds.
Photo Credit: Cartier
Since its creation, only 3 women in the history of the world have officially worn the famous Marie Felix Crocodile necklace by Cartier. After Maria, Monica Bellucci picked the necklace to wear to Cannes in 2006 with a white button-down shirt. In 2021, Egyptian actress Yasmin Sabri wore the famed necklace with a black blouse after she was then appointed the ambassador of the "Panthere de Cartier" campaign in the Middle East.
Photo Credit: Egypt Independent
Is Urvashi Rautela the fourth women in the world to wear one of the most expensive and historic Cartier necklaces? We hope to know the facts soon enough.
Sources: Forbes, Egypt Independent
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