Archives for 2016

Bejeweled Close-Ups: The Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure

09.19.2016 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

The Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure Tiara (Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

It’s time for another chance to view extreme close-ups of magnificent royal jewels! Today, we’re looking up-close at the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure, the glorious suite of diamond and sapphire jewels that currently belongs to the royal family of Sweden. (You can read all about its complicated history over here.) Enjoy!

Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Tiara detail

Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Tiara detail

Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Necklace detail

Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Necklace detail

Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Earring detail

Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Brooch detail

The Sunday Ring: Queen Marie-Jose’s Ruby Ring

09.18.2016 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

Queen Marie-Jose’s Ruby Ring (Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Lots of royals have ruby rings in their jewelry collections, but today’s ruby ring, which once belonged to Queen Marie-Jose of Italy, is one of the largest and most beautiful ruby rings ever to grace a royal hand.

Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

The ring was made in the late nineteenth century; it features an oval-shaped, 8.48 carat Burmese ruby set in a cluster of cushion-shaped diamonds. The ruby is an example of a “pigeon’s blood” ruby, one of the most valuable types of rubies.

Marie-Jose of Italy (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

In January 1930, the ring was one of the presents given to Princess Marie-Jose of Belgium on her wedding to Crown Prince Umberto of Italy. (You can read our extensive post on their royal wedding over here.) The giver was Tammaro de Marinis, an Italian scholar and researcher who became one of Marie-Jose’s friends. Umberto and Marie-Jose eventually became the last King and Queen of Italy; he reigned for about a month in 1946. Marie-Jose was photographed wearing the ring both before and after her husband’s short tenure as monarch.

Photo: Sotheby’s

In 1997, four years before Marie-Jose’s death, the ruby ring was offered for sale in an auction at Sotheby’s in Switzerland. It was sold again two years later at Christie’s in Geneva. Last November the ring was offered for sale once more, this time at Sotheby’s in Geneva. The auction estimates for the piece ranged from $5.8 to $8.7 million, but when the auction was over, the piece failed to sell.

The Golden Poppies

09.17.2016 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

There are tiaras, and then there are pieces of art worn on the head. Today’s sparkler, the Golden Poppies owned by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, definitely falls into the “sculptural art piece” category.

Made in 1976 by Arje Griegst, and commissioned by Margrethe herself, this piece ticks all the “unusual tiara” boxes: it’s made of gold, it is incredibly modern, and it actually attaches at the back of the wearer’s head. In the detail photo above, you can see that a comb sinks into the wearer’s hair, allowing the poppies to trail forward toward the forehead. The effect means that the flowers are scattered across the head, rather than bunching together in the wreath shape we’re more accustomed to from floral tiaras. The flowers are studded with gems — including aquamarines, moonstones, and opals — and, well, insects. Nature! The piece is a part of a set that also features coordinating earrings and a necklace.

Photo: JENS NOERGAARD LARSEN/AFP/Getty Images

The individual pieces of the ornament are also detachable, which means that they can be worn scattered throughout the hair. Above, you can see one of them peeking out of Margrethe’s chignon at Frederik and Mary’s engagement dinner in 2003.

Ultimately, if there’s a more reviled piece in the tiara world than this one, I can’t think what it would be. But somehow it’s just about perfect for the flamboyant and theatrical Danish queen — after all, this is the woman who illustrated a Danish edition of The Lord of the Rings.

Even so, I’m skeptical that this piece will have staying power. Can you imagine the next Danish queen — Crown Princess Mary — wearing this one? I’m not sure I can picture her wearing it as-is. But the poppies here are detachable, and perhaps she might be able to use them in a different arrangement.