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Queen Maria Vittoria’s Diamond and Pearl Tiara

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Sotheby’s

On May 11, Sotheby’s in Geneva will auction off a piece of glittering Italian royal history: a convertible diamond and pearl tiara that belonged to a woman who was both Duchess of Aosta and—very briefly—Queen of Spain. Today, we’ve got all the details on Queen Maria Vittoria’s Diamond and Pearl Tiara.

Sotheby’s

The tiara dates to the second half of the nineteenth century. It was made by Musy, an established jewelry firm based in Turin that served at one point as the official jewelers of the Italian royals. The jewel features the Musy mark on the base of the tiara. You’ll be familiar with several of the family’s other Musy-made tiaras, including the magnificent pearl and diamond tiara and the Savoy Knot Tiara, both of which belonged to Queen Margherita of Italy. The grand Aosta Stars and Knots Tiara was made by Musy as well.
Sotheby’s

The lot notes from the Sotheby’s auction describe the jewel as “composed of graduated scroll motifs set with cushion-shaped, circular- and single-cut diamonds, framing eleven slightly baroque drop-shaped natural pearls.” The central pearl is “supported by a rose diamond mount.” The detachable base of the tiara is “composed of cluster and bar motifs set with cushion-shaped diamonds.” When the base is removed, the top of the tiara can be worn separately as a necklace, as you can see in the image above.
Sotheby’s

Here’s a look at the separated base and top portion, photographed side by side.
Sotheby’s

And here, you can see the two elements joined together, allowing the piece to be worn as a tiara. In its complete form, the diamonds of the necklace portion curve to fit with the design of the tiara base.
Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo (Wikimedia Commons)

The tiara’s first owner was Princess Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, a member of an aristocratic Italian family from Turin. Maria Vittoria’s father, Carlo Emanuele dal Pozzo, was a Sardinian nobleman (the 5th Prince della Cisterna, among other titles) and politician. Her mother, Countess Louise de Merode, was a Belgian aristocrat (and a sister-in-law of Prince Charles III of Monaco). Maria Vittoria was born in Paris in 1847, during a time of immense political upheaval across the European continent. Her father had been exiled from Sardinia as a result of his support for the Italian unification movement in his youth. In 1848, just before King Vittorio Emanuele II succeeded to the Sardinian throne, Maria Vittoria and her family were allowed to return to her father’s native country. Carlo dal Pozzo became a senator, drawing him close to the center of power in Turin. He was at the heart of politics when King Vittorio Emanuele became the monarch of all of Italy in 1861.
In 1864, when Maria Vittoria was still a teenager, the family suffered a pair of tragedies: the loss of her only sister, 13-year-old Princess Beatrice, and the death of her father, Carlo. As the eldest and only surviving child of the family, Maria Vittoria suddenly inherited all of her father’s titles, becoming (among others) the Princess della Cisterna, Princess di Belriguardo, and Marchioness di Voghera in her own right. She also inherited her father’s vast fortune. The young princess was popular, and newspaper reports from the time describe her as “very talented in every branch of science.”
Amedeo and Maria Vittoria, 1867 (Wikimedia Commons)

Three years after her father’s death, Princess Maria Vittoria made a match that vaulted her into an even higher social echelon. On May 30, 1867, she married Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, the second son of King Vittorio Emanuele II, in the chapel at the Royal Palace in Turin. Her new father-in-law had initially opposed the marriage. Though she held the title of “princess,” Maria Vittoria was noble, not royal. King Vittorio Emanuele had hoped his son would marry a German or Austrian princess, further linking them to other European royal families. But he eventually gave his consent, and even offered Maria Vittoria a dazzling present (a pearl necklace with a diamond and sapphire clasp) on her wedding day.
Sotheby’s

The new Duchess of Aosta now had both royal rank and an enormous fortune, and she quickly amassed a jewelry collection appropriate for her lifestyle. Like her sister-in-law, Margherita, Maria Vittoria was fond of pearls. We don’t seem to know precisely when the Musy tiara entered Maria Vittoria’s jewelry collection, but it must have been shortly after her royal wedding.
In 1870, a political decision changed the course of Maria Vittoria’s life. Across the sea in Spain, a revolution had ousted the nation’s monarch, Queen Isabella II. On November 16, 1870, Maria Vittoria’s husband was elected to serve as the new King of Spain by the country’s legislature. Spanish politicians had searched Europe for a royal who was willing to be democratically elected. The prime minister, Juan Prim, had settled on Amedeo, who already had one heir (Prince Emanuele Filiberto) and another child on the way, as the best possible choice. Amedeo agreed. After Maria Vittoria gave birth to their second son, Prince Vittorio Emanuele, on November 24, the family headed for Madrid, where the couple became King Amedeo I and Queen Maria Vittoria of Spain.
An engraving of Queen Maria Vittoria, featuring the tiara, from her brief time as Queen of Spain in the 1870s; the lot notes from Sotheby’s note that the tiara is depicted here with emeralds, adding, “Whether this is the creator’s fantasy, or the jewel’s versatility, it is a mystery that remains unsolved” (Sotheby’s)

Things for the Aostas in Spain were rocky from the start. The prime minister who had championed Amedeo’s choice was assassinated before Amedeo was even sworn in as the country’s new king. Spain was in turmoil, with uprisings regularly happening in various parts of the country. Maria Vittoria wisely stayed in the background during her time in Spain; her husband, who didn’t have the same luxury, was often brought into the middle of disputes—and, on one occasion, narrowly escaped assassination himself. Shortly after Maria Vittoria gave birth to their third child, Prince Luigi Amedeo, at the Royal Palace in Madrid, King Amedeo abdicated in February 1873, taking his family back to Italy.
Sotheby’s

The political upheaval, combined with the effects of three pregnancies and births, proved too much for Maria Vittoria’s health. Suffering from tuberculosis, she died on November 8, 1876, in the coastal city of Sanremo. She was only 29.
Precisely what happened to the diamond and pearl tiara after Maria Vittoria’s death remains unclear. The piece was almost certainly inherited by one of her three sons. Because the wife of the eldest son, the Duke of Aosta, never wore the tiara, Sotheby’s writes that “historians assume that it must have gone to one of her other sons, either the Count of Turin or the Duke of the Abruzzi, both of whom died without descendants.” The lot notes add, “It is known that King Umberto II of Italy bought the jewel from one of his cousins to prevent this historic piece from leaving the family collection.”
Sotheby’s

In recent years, King Umberto II’s daughter, Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, has been photographed wearing the jewel in its necklace setting. In 2007, the princess sold a large collection of jewels that had belonged to her mother, Queen Marie Jose, at Christie’s in London. That sale included the Leuchtenberg Faberge Tiara and the Baden Seed Pearl Tiara, as well as numerous other important jewels.
Sotheby’s

This time around, Sotheby’s is simply saying that the convertible tiara/necklace comes from “a European royal family,” confirming in the lot notes that the tiara has “remained in the family” following the purchase by King Umberto II.
Sotheby’s

The tiara will be sold on May 11, 2021, in its Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale from Geneva. (You can see the other lots from the auction here; there are some remarkable pieces included.) The pre-auction estimate for the tiara is set at 940,000-1,400,000 Swiss francs. As of today’s writing, that converts to approximately $1,016,260-1,513,579 USD. The tiara is one of the marquee items from the auction, and they’re clearly betting on some major bang for their bucks from its royal provenance.
Sotheby’s

While we wait to see how much the remarkable royal heirloom sells for at auction, Sotheby’s has also provided us a fun activity using a bit of modern technology. On your mobile device, head over to the official Sotheby’s Instagram account, where you’ll find a highlight labeled “Royal tiara.” There, you can “try on” the jewel using a specially created filter effect. The scale is a little off, but it’s still quite fun to see yourself wearing an important piece of royal jewelry!

Mountbatten Royal Jewels at Auction

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Patricia Mountbatten with her husband, John Knatchbull, ca. 1946 (Gordon Anthony/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In just about a month, Sotheby’s will mount a major auction of items from the estate of the late Patricia Mountbatten, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Because she was descended from royalty, there are plenty of bejeweled items included that have royal provenance. Here’s a look at some of the pieces that will be sold in London on March 24.

Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and her husband, Grand Duke Louis of Hesse (Royal Collection/Wikimedia Commons)

Before we take a look at the jewels, here’s a quick refresher on the Mounbatten family’s connections to the British royals. They’re descended from Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (1843-1878), the second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. She married Grand Duke Louis of Hesse and by Rhine, and the couple had seven children: Victoria (who married Prince Louis of Battenberg), Ella (who married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia), Irene, Ernie, Friedrich, Alix (who became Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia), and Marie. A year after his accession as grand duke, the family contracted diphtheria. After nursing her children, and enduring the death of Princess Marie, Alice contracted the disease and died on December 14, 1878, the anniversary of her father’s death.
Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (Wikimedia Commons)

Alice’s eldest daughter, Princess Victoria, married Prince Louis of Battenberg in 1884. They had four children: Princess Alice, Princess Louise, Prince George, and Prince Louis. Prince Louis was a naval officer, and in 1912, he was appointed First Sea Lord, the highest office in the British navy. With the outbreak of World War I, his allegiances lay firmly with Britain. At the request of King George V, he relinquished his royal title and changed his surname to “Mountbatten” in 1917. The king subsequently granted him the title of Marquess of Milford Haven.
Lord and Lady Mountbatten, 1943 (Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

All four of Louis and Victoria’s children lived impressive and interesting lives. Princess Alice married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, and the youngest of their five children is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Princess Louise became the second wife of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. Prince George inherited the Milford Haven marquessate and had a long naval career. And Prince Louis, who became known as Lord Louis Mountbatten, matched his father’s impressive naval achievements. He served in both World Wars, becoming Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific theater during WWII, and eventually rising to the rank of First Sea Lord. King George VI made him Earl Mountbatten of Burma in 1947. He was also the last viceroy of India, overseeing the controversial partition of India and Pakistan in the late 1940s.
Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, 1950 (Edward Miller/Keystone/Getty Images)

Lord Mountbatten’s wife was the glamorous Edwina Ashley, heiress of her wealthy grandfather, Sir Ernest Cassel. They had two children, Lady Patricia, who would marry John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Braborne, and Lady Pamela, who married the designer David Hicks.
Patricia, holding her infant son, with Prince Philip and Queen Louise of Sweden, 1947 (Douglas Miller/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Mountbattens maintained close ties to their extended family members. Above, Patricia poses with Prince Philip and Queen Louise at the christening of her son, Norton Knatchbull, in November 1947. (Philip was one of the godparents of the baby, who is now the 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma.) The family gathering was held two days before an even more important Mountbatten family event: Philip’s wedding to the future Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey. Lord Mountbatten would later become an important advisor to and confidant of Philip’s eldest son, the Prince of Wales.
Patricia with her father, Lord Mountbatten, 1966 (Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

After her mother’s death in 1960, Patricia could often be seen at her father’s side at major social events. (Above, they’re attending the wedding of a family cousin, Sacha Phillips, to the Marquess of Hamilton in October 1966.) In August 1979, the family was rocked by tragedy when the IRA targeted their fishing boat. Lord Mountbatten was killed, along with Patricia’s son, Nicholas, her mother-in-law, Doreen Brabourne, and a local boy, Paul Maxwell. Patricia and her husband were both seriously injured, as was their youngest son, Timothy.
Patricia Mountbatten, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, 2005 (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

The letters patent that created the Mountbatten earldom allowed for daughters to inherit the title, so when her father died, Patricia became the 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma. She died in June 2017 at the age of 93. The lots being auctioned in London are all from her personal collection. Here’s some information about the jewelry pieces, including royal mourning jewels and jewels that belonged to Edwina Mountbatten, that are included in the sale.
Sotheby’s

This pendant was a gift from Prince Albert to Queen Victoria in remembrance of her mother (and his aunt), Princess Victoria, Duchess of Kent. The lot notes describe it as an “oval locket set with a section of banded agate, set to the centre with a cushion-shaped diamond within a star border.” The inside of the locket features a picture of the late duchess and a lock of her hair. On the back of the locket is an inscription that reads: “Dear Mama / b. Aug 17 1786 March 16 1861 / from Albert in remembrance of March 16 1861 / “Du warst uns Freud und Glück.” The last part of the inscription, which is in German, translates as, “You were our joy and happiness.” (Auction estimate: £1,000 – 1,500)
Sotheby’s

This mourning jewel commemorates the death of Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse. The lot notes describe the piece as “designed as a cross, the arms applied with black and white enamel, terminating in trefoil motifs set with banded agate and cushion-shaped diamonds and centring on an onyx heart with Alice beneath a coronet, set with rose-cut diamonds.” The back of the cross features “a glazed compartment containing a lock of hair,” and is inscribed “Dear Alice / 14th December 1878.” The notes explain that it was “possibly” commissioned by Queen Victoria from Robert Phillips following her daughter’s death. (Auction estimate: £2,000 – 3,000)
Sotheby’s

This mourning jewel commemorates the deaths of both Princess Alice and her young daughter, Princess Marie, who both died of diphtheria in 1878. The front of the piece is described by the auction house as “collet-set with a pearl upon a polished section of banded agate,” while the back, inscribed “16th Nov & 14th Dec 1878 From Grandmama VR,” includes a a lock of hair in a glazed compartment. The lot notes confirm that this was commissioned by Queen Victoria, and they offer a chain of inheritance: it was bequeathed to Alice’s son, Grand Duke Ernest Louis, and then to Prince Louis and Princess Peg of Hesse, and “thence by descent.” (Auction estimate: £1,000 – 1,500)
Sotheby’s

This is another mourning jewel for the late Princess Alice. The button is described as “with the initial ‘A’ set with seed pearls, upon an onyx cabochon, with portrait miniature of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom.” The back of the button features the inscription “From Mama VRI 7th April 1879.” It shares the same chain of inheritance as the previous lot, belonging to Grand Duke Ernst, Prince Louis and Princess Peg, and “thence by descent.” (Auction estimate: £1,000 – 1,500)
Sotheby’s

This is yet another mourning jewel, but it comes from a different branch of the Battenberg family. Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, was married to Prince Henry of Battenberg (a younger brother of Prince Louis, husband of Princess Victoria of Hesse). Known in the family as “Liko,” he died in January 1896 while serving with the army off the coast of Sierra Leone. This brooch was made in his honor. The lot notes describe it as a “memorial brooch of rosette design, centring on the name ‘Liko’ in white enamel, against a blue basse-taille enamel background, framed by a border of half-pearls.” The reverse side of the brooch features a portrait of Prince Henry and the inscription “Jan 20th 1896.” Sotheby’s notes that the brooch was a gift from Princess Patricia of Connaught to the late Countess Mountbatten (who was her goddaughter). (Auction estimate: £1,500 – 2,000)
Sotheby’s

This tutti frutti necklace of diamonds and carved emeralds, sapphires, and rubies, belonged to Patricia’s mother, Edwina. The lot notes describe it as “designed as an articulated wreath of carved rubies, emeralds and sapphires, accented by collet-set circular-cut diamonds and sapphire beads inset with single-cut diamonds,” and note that the piece is unsigned and comes with a fitted Wartski case. The necklace was surely meant to be worn en suite with Edwina’s tutti frutti bandeau from Cartier. That tiara is now part of the permanent jewelry collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and it was recently loaned to the major Cartier exhibition in Australia. (Auction estimate: £40,000 – 60,000)
Sotheby’s

These tutti frutti clip earrings are also from Edwina’s collection. The lot notes describe them as “of Tutti Frutti inspiration, each of circular bombé form, set with carved sapphires, rubies and emeralds and circular- and rose-cut diamonds.” Like the necklace, they are unsigned and come in a Wartski case. (Auction estimate: £6,000 – 8,000)
Sotheby’s

The auction also includes even more of Edwina’s tutti frutti jewels: this pair of clip brooches, described as “of Tutti Frutti inspiration, designed as a cluster of carved emeralds, rubies and sapphires interspersed with single-cut and baguette diamonds.” They are also unsigned. It’s especially worth clicking through to the Sotheby’s website to view this lot; the page includes a family photograph of Edwina posing in her library while wearing the clips. (Auction estimate: £10,000 – 15,000)
Sotheby’s

The final jewel in the auction is this unusual piece, described as having a “centre set with a cushion-shaped yellow diamond in a closed setting, within a brooch of scrolled design set with cushion-shaped diamonds and suspending three pear-shaped diamond pendants, the reverse of the central diamond with a glazed locket containing woven hair, with the initials JSB.” It belonged to Sarah Banks (1744-1818), sister of the naturalist and explorer Sir Joseph Banks. She bequeathed it to her sister-in-law, Dorothea, who subsequently left it to her nephew, Sir Edward Knatchbull; it has since descended through the Knatchbull family. (Auction estimate: £40,000 – 60,000)

Queen Amalia’s Bavarian Amethyst Parure

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Sotheby’s

In my mind, there are few things more regal than a classic demi-parure of royal purple amethysts. Today, we’ve got a closer look at Queen Amalia’s Bavarian Amethyst Parure, which was worn by queens in both Germany and Greece.

Queen Therese of Bavaria (Wikimedia Commons)

The first recorded owner of the amethysts was Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, a German princess who married Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria in 1810. (Their wedding was the very first Oktoberfest celebration.) They became King Ludwig I and Queen Therese of Bavaria on the death of his father, King Maximilian I Joseph, in 1825. In the portrait above, painted by Carl Joseph Begas in the late 1820s, Queen Therese appears to be wearing some of the amethyst clusters from the suite as ornaments on her gown. She’s also wearing the famous Bavarian Lover’s Knot Tiara.
Sotheby’s

Queen Therese’s amethysts were eventually set as a necklace, which was later described by Sotheby’s as “a graduated series of oval amethysts each set within a frame of cushion-shaped and circular-cut diamonds, suspending a detachable amethyst and diamond pendant.”
Sotheby’s

At some later point, some of the amethysts were removed from the necklace and used to create a pair of coordinating earrings, making a demi-parure of jewels.
Queen Amalia of Greece (Wikimedia Commons)

Queen Therese bequeathed her amethysts to her second son, Otto. In 1832, he had been elected King of Greece, and he reigned in the country for thirty years before he was deposed. At his side was his wife, Duchess Amalia of Oldenberg, who became Queen Amalia when they married in 1836. For generations, the family associated the amethyst suite with Amalia, even calling it simply “Queen Amalia’s Parure.”
Sotheby’s

Otto and Amalia had no children of their own, and after her death in 1875, the amethysts were passed down to Otto’s nephew, Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria. He may be best remembered for his marriage to Infanta Maria de la Paz of Spain, a daughter of Queen Isabella II. Ludwig Ferdinand and Paz’s branch of the family is often called the “Spanish branch” of the Bavarian royal line. (One of her wedding gifts was the unique Bavarian Sunburst Tiara.)
Next, the amethysts were bequeathed to Ludwig Ferdinand and Paz’s second son, Prince Adalbert, who in turn left them to his eldest son, Prince Konstantin. He bequeathed them to his eldest son, Prince Leopold, who made a name for himself as a race car driver. Nicknamed “Poldi,” he was raised in the household of his maternal grandparents, Prince Friedrich and Princess Margarete of Hohenzollern. Through them, he met one of his closest royal friends, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. (Leopold’s uncle, Prince Johan George of Hohenzollern, was Carl Gustaf’s brother-in-law.) Leopold is even a godfather of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, who shares his passion for racing.
Princess Anna of Bavaria, 2010 (Wikimedia Commons)

The family’s Swedish royal friendship means that they’re often pictured at royal events in Stockholm, and the amethysts made a few appearances over the years. Above, Leopold’s daughter-in-law, Princess Anna, wears the suite for the gala performance held the night before Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden’s wedding in June 2010. Four years earlier, Leopold’s wife, Princess Ursula, wore the amethysts for King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 60th birthday celebrations.
Sotheby’s

In 2013, however, Leopold and Ursula decided to part with some of their heirloom royal jewels, including Queen Amalia’s amethysts. (The sunburst tiara was also sold.) The necklace and earrings were auctioned at Sotheby’s in Geneva that May. The set sold for more than $140,000 USD, significantly exceeding their auction estimate.