Jumat, 08 Juni 2012

Kate Middleton's £48 'diamond and pearl earrings' dazzled fans

Kate Middleton's £48 'diamond and pearl earrings' dazzled fans

  • Designed by Belinda Hadden, ex-wife of top PR man Abel Hadden

By Richard Kay

PUBLISHED: 20:03 EST, 7 June 2012 | UPDATED: 07:29 EST, 8 June 2012

Kate¿s sparklers weren¿t diamonds at all ¿ and cost a mere £48.

Royal appeal: Kate's sparklers weren't diamonds at all - and cost a mere £48

Amid all the finery that the great and the good wore to  St Paul’s Cathedral over the Bank Holiday, the Duchess of Cambridge’s diamond and pearl earrings were among the most admired.

So it will come as a surprise to those who spent a fortune on  jewellery at Graff and Asprey that Kate’s sparklers weren’t  diamonds at all â€" and cost a mere £48.

In fact, they were a very good copy under the description ‘fabulous fakes’ designed by Belinda Hadden, ex-wife of top PR man Abel Hadden.

She was astonished to learn that Kate had worn her creations on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Mother-of-three Belinda, who set up little-known Heavenly Necklaces in the Nineties as a hobby when her daughters were small, tells me: ‘I was at a wedding, so I had no idea Kate had worn my earrings until another client sent me an email asking: “Are they the same as mine?” ’

It wasn’t long, however, before the ‘Kate effect’ began to work, with internet chatrooms abuzz.

Says Belinda, daughter of the late Tory MP for Gosport and Fareham, Hants, Sir Reginald Bennett: ‘Within the next 24 hours, I had sold out. I sold 60 on my website, which is the amount I would usually sell in a whole year.’ 

Belinda, who sources her fakes from India, China and Hatton Garden in London, tells me: ‘They are made of finest grade cubic zirconia, but what makes them look authentic is the settings they are in.’

The pearls, says Belinda, are made from ground-up freshwater pearls reconstituted with resin.

Middleton Earrings grab from website

Sell out: The earrings are now sold out on Mrs Hadden's website

She adds: ‘Usually, I would never dream of talking about my clients but, in this case, Kate’s earrings were outed on various blogs.

‘I had no idea there was this huge internet chat about where, when and what she wears.’

Belinda designs 75 per cent of her earrings, necklaces and bracelets herself and explains: ‘I have always loved jewellery and I did a short design course â€" two terms â€" at a further education centre run by my local council.’

Of course, she never dreamed that one day her wares would be on show to the entire nation.

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

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I can appreciate the Duchess waring cheap nice earrings, her favorite nude L.K. Bennett pumps and one high street fashion dress . However her two expensive(one custom and the other semi custom) Alexander McQueen dresses and custom made hats more then make up for the other cheaper items. So let's not go overboard on how Kate is frugal and does not spend a lot of money.

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Reply to: - Leslie, London, 8/6/2012 3:22 "$75.00 for fake earrings? Again, the media has nothing more to report on Kate besides her clothes, shoes, jewelry, hats, and overall appearance. Several articles about Kate in the past few days and nothing of any relevance or actual work she's done, what happened to the four charities she's supposed to be patron of? No, I don't consider waving from a boat, a balcony, hosting a lunch and going to church as work." -------------------------- Gosh, what a nasty, angry comment! It was stated over over in the news that William was going to make sure that Katherine was treated better than his mother was. Diana was rolled out within 12 weeks to make public speeches. Katherine is being taught how to be a representative of the UK in front of the world. The eyes of the whole world are watching her. You'd be the first to complain if she put a foot wrong. (Oh - 75 DOLLARS for her earrings? Yet you state you live in Londo n??? Hmmmm.)

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I have absolutely no idea why you all complain about Kate in anything she does. Instead of showing your regards for not being glamour thirsty, you shout about her being a warehouse customer! And shouting about her role? It's absolutely no problem to give GB a republic constitution and simply e-mail the Queen the following text: "Dear Ma'am! We're a republic now. We thank you for your merits for GB. You'll have to leave Windsor castle by the end of this month with all your family members. You're a common citizen of our country now. You and all your family members can apply for a social housing, of course!" Why don't you do it?

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If these are from Heavenly Necklaces, then we should be praising her, not demeaning her! People assume her jewelry is real because of who she is but aren't you glad that she isn't spending the tax dollars on new diamond earrings? Furthermore, am I the only one who wants to congratulate Belinda Hadden on her success? She must be so happy right now!

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Here we go again with the commentary about her jewels, hats, dresses and shoes. This woman who may indeed be a very nice person, has yet to contribute meaningfully to society. To this day, we have watched her do one rather unimpressive speech, and shake a few hands here and there, and beyond this, every single article we read about Catherine centres around her immaculate dress sense. All of this talk about easing her into her royal duties is beginning to be comical- she's a 30 year old woman with a good education and supposedly a good head on her shoulders, and thus should by all accounts, be able to start contributing more productively to our society and more specifically, to the charities she is meant to represent. I don't say this out of jealousy, but out of disappointment because I truly am at a loss for why she seems to show no passion for a particular cause, or at the very least to take a more active role in bringing attention to her charities and those less fortunate.

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What about our very own People's Princess, Queen of the Jungle, Mom of the Year and all round good-egg Kerry Katona - what's she wearing today? - Knickers, I hope!!

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Shi is 'anti-WAG'? Ah, well, it's an opinion. Personally, I've had enough of grinning and her behaving as a silly teenager. I check from time to time in the hope of getting a glimpse of personality or brains but alas no luck so far. What did Wiliam think? Despite his many qualities his lack of charisma and the DoC's I-am-a-little-princess-and-I-am having-so-much-fun is a deadly combination for the monarchy. The Queen has simply set way higher standards.

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What about our very own People's Princess, Queen of the Jungle, Mom of the Year and all round good-egg Kerry Katona - what's she wearing today?

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Tried to buy some of these for my girlfriend but they are sold out.

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So who is to say these are not genuine originals, on which these fakes are based? I find it hard to believe she would wear cubic zirconia to attend the Queen's DIAMOND Jubilee.

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