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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Tiaras at Sotheby’s

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Sotheby’s
As we all shift to spending more time together online, Sotheby’s is putting on one of their fantastic virtual jewelry auctions! In March, we previewed a few pieces from the sale, which was originally scheduled to be held in London, and today, I’ve got a look at the tiaras up for grabs.

Sotheby’s

Lot #242 in the auction is this fascinating diamond floral tiara. The piece is a transformed corsage ornament from the end of the Victorian era, which has been mounted on a frame for wear as a tiara. The notes describe the ornament as “an articulated spray of wildflowers set with cushion-shaped and rose diamonds, two flowers mounted en tremblant.” Even more intriguing: the piece is being offered by an unnamed “European ducal family.”
Sotheby’s

This piece has already received a lot of love from bidders, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a classic necklace/tiara conversion, similar to the one owned by Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. This tiara, being offered by an unnamed “German noble family,” features “foliate open work design connected by knife edge bars, set with circular-cut diamonds and natural pearls.
Sotheby’s
Here’s a look at the piece in its necklace form. It’s such a classic workhorse piece, perfectly suited for anyone who regularly attends a range of gala functions. (Royals, I’m looking at you!)
Sotheby’s

“A lady” is selling this intriguing convertible tiara, which sort of gives me Mellerio Shell Tiara vibes. It’s a small tiara, made in France at the turn of the 20th century, that can be converted for wear as a bracelet. The notes describe it as having a “front section of sunburst design, with alternating lanceolated and lily-of-the-valley motifs, set with rose diamonds, above a detachable line bracelet of cushion-shaped diamonds set in box links.”
Sotheby’s

Finally, there’s this super-interesting diamond tiara, which we featured briefly in our earlier post. An unnamed “lady” is selling this piece, which would be a very early tiara example if it does indeed date to 1790, as the lot notes state.
Sotheby’s
The lot notes don’t offer us much else on the piece, save that it’s “of scrolling design, set with rose diamonds in closed settings.” We also learn that it’s not signed (so we don’t know the maker) and is in “overall good condition.” I find the piece so fascinating, and I’m disappointed we don’t have more information on its provenance!
Sotheby’s
One of the cool things about the online auction is that you can watch it happening in real time. Bids close on April 7, and you can track the bidding online! There’s a whole lot more fantastic stuff in the sale as well — including that fantastic turquoise suite we discussed before! Here’s a link to the entire online catalogue. Which pieces are you interested in?

Scottish Noble Jewels for Sale

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Sotheby’s
Later this month, Sotheby’s in London will hold an auction that features several impressive pieces offered by an unnamed Scottish noble family. Here’s a look at a few of the highlights so far…

Sotheby’s

The lot notes describe this diamond brooch, which dates to around the 1880s, as being “in the form of a lyre of foliate inspiration, set with cushion-shaped diamonds.” It reminds me a bit of the brooches that formed the Poltimore Tiara, and the estimate of the brooch’s age would suggest they were made around the same time. (Estimate: £5,000 — £7,000)
Sotheby’s

This bracelet, a serpent design that was popular in the nineteenth century, features “turquoise enamel, highlighted with cushion-shaped and rose diamonds” and “eyes set with cabochon rubies.” The piece comes in a case bearing the name Hunt and Roskell, a British firm that began doing business under that name in the 1840s, and the bracelet is dated to the mid-nineteenth century. (Estimate: £4,000 — £6,000)
Sotheby’s

These three brooches, made of diamonds and emeralds, date to the second half of the nineteenth century. The lot notes describe the largest brooch as “a floral spray of dog rose and lily-of-the-valley,” and the smaller two as “the head of a dog rose, set with cushion-shaped and rose diamonds, each set with a step-cut emerald.” (Estimate: £7,000 — £9,000)
Sotheby’s

The lot notes describe this simple but sparkling piece as a “navette-shaped brooch set with cushion-, pear-shaped and rose diamonds.” Like many of the pieces being offered by this unnamed family, it dates to the middle of the nineteenth century. (Estimate: £7,000 — £9,000)
Sotheby’s

How’s this for something different??? This unusual and magnificent suite of jewels features turquoises that have been carved into detailed cameos featuring “triumphal and Bacchanalian scenes” and set in gold and diamonds. The set, made in the middle of the nineteenth century, includes a necklace and a coordinating pair of earrings. (Estimate: £7,000 — £9,000)
Sotheby’s

This final highlight isn’t part of the collection of Scottish noble jewels, but I couldn’t keep myself from including it anyway! If the lot notes on this one are correct, it’s quite rare: a tiara that dates to the 1790s. That would be extremely early for a jewel of this design. The lot notes don’t give us much additional information, noting simply that the piece is of “scrolling design, set with rose diamonds in closed settings.” It’s being offered by “a lady.” (Estimate: £24,000 — £28,000)

The Best Royal Jewels of 2019: #7 (Royal Fabergé in the Spotlight)

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Photo generously shared with us by Jeanne; do not reproduce
2019 has been a banner year for royal jewelry auctions, but few sales drummed up as much interest as a pair of Fabergé tiaras…
#7: Royal Fabergé in the Spotlight

Sotheby’s
Examples of tiaras made by the Faberge workshop are rare, and to have to royal ones come to the market in the same year is astounding. The first was this diamond kokoshnik-style tiara, made in 1903. Two years later, the sparkler was given as a wedding present to Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on her marriage to Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany. The tiara was a gift from her Russian relatives.
The tiara’s most prominent royal appearance came in 1949, when Crown Princess Cecilie’s daughter, Princess Cecilie of Prussia, married an American designer, Clyde Harris. The younger Cecilie wore the tiara on her wedding day at Hohenzollern Castle.
Sotheby’s
The tiara was sold by Sotheby’s in Geneva on May 14, exceeding its auction estimate by fetching more than $430,000.
Christie’s
The day after Crown Princess Cecilie’s Faberge tiara was sold, another fantastic tiara from the jeweler was offered at auction. This spectacular diamond and aquamarine tiara was made by Faberge in 1904. It was also a wedding present, offered to Princess Alexandra of Hanover by her new husband, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. (Friedrich Franz and Cecilie, the owner of the diamond tiara, were siblings.)
Grand Ladies Site
Grand Duchess Alexandra wore her new tiara for the first time at a court ball held shortly after her wedding, and she posed for portraits in the sparkler around the same time. The tiara was inherited by her descendants after her death in 1963.
Christie’s
Christie’s sold the tiara in Geneva on May 15, and when the hammer fell, the tiara fetched more than a million dollars. While we don’t know who bought Crown Princess Cecilie’s tiara, we do know who bought Grand Duchess Alexandra’s: Dorothy and Artie McFerrin, who own one of the largest private collections of Fabergé in North America.
Photo generously shared with us by Jeanne; do not reproduce
The McFerrins have generously placed much of their collection on display in a permanent gallery at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the diamond and aquamarine tiara has now joined the exhibition. One of our lovely readers, Jeanne, has kindly shared this photo of the tiara on display in its new home. It sits between two other excellent examples of tiaras by Faberge: the Leuchtenberg Fabergé Tiara, once owned by Queen Marie-Jose of Italy, and the Westminster Blue Enamel Kokoshnik.