Kim Kardashian forked out nearly $200,000 to buy Princess Diana's iconic amethyst cross pendant at auction

• Kim Kardashian was the highest bidder for Princess Diana's Attallah Cross.
• The necklace went to Kardashian for a winning bid of $197,453, per Sotheby's.

Kim Kardashian has acquired a piece of fashion history: a pendant once worn by Princess Diana.

Kardashian bought the Attallah Cross pendant at the Sotheby's Royal and Noble Sale on Wednesday. The sparkling amethyst cross pendant is set with square-cut amethysts and bordered with glittering clusters of diamonds.

Kardashian's representative forked out $197,453 for the necklace, beating out three other bidders. The pendant sold for more than double its pre-auction price, per a Sotheby's press release seen by Insider.

"This is a bold piece of jewelry by its size, color, and style, which cannot fail to make a vibrant statement — whether it be of faith or fashion, or indeed both," Kristian Spofforth, the head of jewelry at Sotheby's London, said in the press release.

"We are delighted that this piece has found a new lease of life within the hands of another globally famous name," said Spofforth.

The Attallah Cross was made by British luxury jeweler Garrard, and was only ever worn by Princess Diana, according to the press release. This was also Kardashian's first time bidding for a piece of jewelry related to the British royal family, per Vogue.

The pendant was worn at a Birthright charity gala in London in October 1987, Sotheby's said in its listing. Princess Diana wore it with an Elizabethan-style velvet Catherine Walker dress.

The Attallah Cross was the star attraction in Sotheby's sale of pieces once owned or used by royals and nobles. The auction also included three silver sorbet spoons belonging to King Farouk of Egypt and Sudan, and a carved "Medici" frame made in Florence circa 1650.

Kardashian has worn other iconic fashion items donned by famous women, perhaps most notably Marilyn Monroe's form-fitting nude dress. The actress wore it when she sang "Happy Birthday" to then-President John F. Kennedy in 1962 during a Madison Square Garden fundraiser.

Kardashian borrowed the dress from Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum in Orlando, Florida, which purchased it at an auction for $4.81 million. The Monroe dress holds the Guinness world record for the most expensive dress ever sold at an auction.

Representatives for Kardashian did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.