Reliance Industries/Handout via REUTERS
- The Ambani family hosted a lavish pre-wedding celebration for their son Anant.
- The groom-to-be's mother, Nita Ambani, subtly stole the show with her high-end jewelry.
- She also wore a ring dubbed the Mirror of Paradise, which sold at auction in 2019 for $6.5 million.
There were grandiose displays of wealth at Anant Ambani's pre-wedding celebrations in India, but the mother of the groom-to-be may have stolen the show.
A-list celebrities mingled with billionaires and the ultra-elite last weekend at a weekend full of festivities for Anant and fiancée Radhika Merchant. Anant is the youngest son of Nita and Mukesh Ambani. Mukesh is the richest person in Asia, with an estimated net worth of $114 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index.
-
The three-day affair made headlines worldwide for its opulent events, including a private performance by Rihanna and a communal dinner that fed 51,000 people. The guest list included Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.
Less talked about, though, was the extravagant jewelry Nita wore.
The celebration's creative director, Manish Malhotra, is a famed fashion designer who shared Instagram photos of Nita taken on the third night of parties. While the post focused on Nita's outfit — a shimmering gold sari — it's impossible not to spot the massive necklace dangling on her neck. He later shared a second post that gave a closer look at the piece.
The necklace is adorned with diamonds and emeralds, with two large stones as the centerpiece. It's unclear how much the stunning necklace initially cost, but outlets like GQ India and Harper's Bazaar India estimated it to be worth around 500 crores, or roughly $60 million.
In the same Instagram photos, Nita is wearing a sizable ring on her left hand that's also worth a pretty penny. GQ India reported that the diamond ring is dubbed the Mirror of Paradise.
The 52.58-carat Mirror of Paradise was sold by auction house Christie's in June 2019 for $6.5 million, according to its website. It was part of a collection called Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence.
Richard Drew/AP Photo
The outlandish price tag isn't unusual for Nita. She wore the same Mirror of Paradise ring to the opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai in April 2023, according to GQ India.
Last weekend, Anant personally thanked and praised Nita during a speech for pulling the pre-wedding celebration together.
"All this is created by my mother and no one else, and my mother has gone all out for the last four months," Anant said. "She's worked for, I think, 18, 19 hours a day, and I'm extremely grateful to Mama. Thank you so much."