Princess Diana adopted this jewellery hack way before Kate Middleton did

(Image credit: Anwar Hussein)

We all know Princess Diana was the first one to really through the royal style rule book out the window, from shunning gloves to wearing two watches, amongst other fashion secrets.

And it turns out she was doing the hi-lo jewellery thing way before Kate Middleton wore a Zara necklace to the Nelson Mandela biopic premiere.

Apparently, she was a massive fan of costume jewellery, and would go on regular shopping trips to London boutique Butter & Wilson.

According to New York writer Diane Clehane, author of Diana: The Secrets of Her Style, the late Princess picked up a pair of crescent moon earrings there before her trip to the Persian Gulf to meet the Sultan of Oman in 1986.

She wore crescent moon earrings (pictured above) which everyone thought were an extravagant diamond gift from the Sultan, but they in fact cost her just £23.

I kind of love the fact she was happy to mix zirconia with priceless diamond heirlooms from the Queen's collection, and that people didn't even realise. Something tells me Diana would've quite liked that joke.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.