Today at Hidden Gems, we’ve got an update on the ongoing battle over Italy’s hidden royal jewels, which have languished in a bank vault since the monarchy ended almost 80 years ago. As a bonus today, I’ve got a look back at some of our features on even more jewels from the House of Savoy, including some pieces still being worn today.
Two Italian Princes Spar Over Long-Hidden Royal Jewels
[Hidden Gems Exclusive]
Who now owns the jewels once worn by the wives of the Kings of Italy? Two descendants of the House of Savoy recently resurrected the question in the press.
Royal Pearls of Remembrance for Italy’s Last Crown Prince in Turin
Royals from current and formerly reigning families gathered in Turin for the late prince’s funeral. The mourners were led by Vittorio Emanuele’s wife, Marina, and their son, Emanuele Filiberto. Marina wore a suite of floral jewelry set with diamonds and white and black pearls.
As the son of the last Queen of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele inherited some of the jeweled treasures that his mother, who was born a Belgian princess, used during her time as Italy’s crown princess and queen consort. Among these jewels is a particularly grand, special tiara, one made for his great-grandmother, Queen Margherita, more than a century ago.
When a royal family heads into exile, often their jewels are quickly sold—but not always. The former royal family of Italy has retained some significant pieces, not the least of which is the tiara from the pink tourmaline parure.
Museum Week: The Leuchtenberg Fabergé Tiara
This small diamond sparkler features diamonds set in silver and gold, made of pointed arches from which large diamond drops are suspended. More large diamonds, mounted on knife-edge settings, rise between the arches, which rest on a base that features diamond leaves in its design. The delicate tiara was made by August Holmström, the Finnish-born head jeweler for Fabergé, around 1890. But while the entire jewel is certainly worthy of admiration, it’s the briolette-cut diamond drops which really make the piece important.
This tiara was first owned by a royal with serious connections: Stéphanie de Beauharnais, a relative of Empress Joséphine of France. Joséphine’s second husband, Napoleon Bonaparte, was especially fond of Stéphanie; he made her a member of the imperial family and engineered her marriage to the future Grand Duke of Baden.
Queen Marie-Jose’s Turquoise Parure
This gorgeous set of diamond and turquoise jewels dates to the 1830s, and its design is definitely typical of the era. The set includes a pair of girandole-style earrings, a necklace with pendants, and a grand devant de corsage.
Princess Maria Pia’s Magnificent Diamond Floral Wedding Tiara
On February 12, 1955, royals from around Europe gathered in the Portuguese resort town of Cascais for a marriage that united two formerly-reigning royal families. Inside the Church of Nossa Senhora da Assunção in the seaside town, 20-year-old Princess Maria Pia, the eldest daughter of King Umberto II of Italy, wed 30-year-old Prince Alexander Karadordevic, a cousin of King Peter II of Yugoslavia.
The Savoy-Aosta Tiara: An Updated Look
Tiaras are special because they’re beautiful works of art, but some of them are doubly interesting because of their royal pasts. Every now and then, one of today’s princesses wears a tiara that came from a royal house of the past. Today’s tiara, the Savoy-Aosta Tiara, is one of those—it started off with a branch of the former reigning family of Italy, and now it graces the head of a Belgian princess.
In Memoriam: The Royal Jewels of Archduchess Margherita
Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta was the elder of two daughters of Prince Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta, and Princess Anne d’Orléans. Her father, who died during World War II, was a cousin of the King of Italy, and her mother was a daughter of Prince Jean d’Orléans, who was a pretender to the French throne. Margherita was born in 1930 in Naples.
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