Don’t Miss a Single Sparkling Moment! Sign up for The Court Jeweller Newsletter

The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Princess Charlotte’s Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara

by // Leave a Comment

This November, our “Magpie of the Month” designation is being extended to an entire family: the Grimaldis, who have reign as sovereign princes of Monaco for centuries. For our first foray into the Monegasque vaults, we’re tackling the grandest tiara of their collection, the Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara.

Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois, ca. 1920

The intricate diamond, gold, and platinum tiara, which features large pearl drops suspended en tremblant from elaborate arches, was made by Cartier for Princess Charlotte of Monaco. It’s often said that the tiara was a wedding gift to the princess from her new husband, Count Pierre de Polignac. However, that’s not true. Although Charlotte and Pierre stuck it out long enough to have two children, Prince Rainier and Princess Antoinette, they divorced in 1933, years before the tiara was even made. Charlotte herself apparently ordered the tiara from Cartier in 1949, the same year that her son became the principality’s ruler.

Prince Pierre and Princess Charlotte, ca. 1925

Charlotte really should have been the sovereign princess of Monaco in her own right. Although she was the illegitimate daughter of Prince Louis II and an Algerian cabaret singer, Louis (who had no legitimate heirs) legally adopted her, which legitimized her and placed her directly in line to the Monegasque throne. But in 1944, when her son Rainier turned 21, Charlotte officially ceded her rights to the throne. So when Louis II died five years later, it was Prince Rainier III who took over in Monaco, not his mother. (Instead, she got a college degree and then retired to an estate in France with her jewel-thief lover. I mean, who wouldn’t, right?)

Caroline wears the tiara, 1996

Charlotte continued to wear the tiara throughout her life; she donned it during the celebrations for the wedding of her son, Prince Rainier, in 1956. Rainier’s wife, Grace Kelly, brought an incredible amount of glamour with her when she moved to the tiny principality, but she never wore her mother-in-law’s lovely Cartier tiara in public. The only Grimaldi women who have been photographed in the tiara are Princess Charlotte and Princess Caroline, Charlotte’s granddaughter. Some have even speculated that Caroline inherited the tiara from her grandmother. (We do know that she apparently inherited at least some jewelry from Charlotte; the cabochon sapphire demi-parure that she wears is from Charlotte’s collection.) She has worn it for major white-tie events, and she even donned it for a series of Casiraghi family portraits taken shortly before the death of her husband, Stefano.

Caroline wears the tiara, 1996

It seems more correct to say, however, that the piece is owned by the Grimaldis more generally, and that Caroline “borrows” it from the family’s collection. The family recently loaned the tiara to Cartier for their Style and History exhibition, and notes on the piece are included in the exhibition catalogue. It describes the tiara as being owned by the “Palais Princier de Monaco collection,” suggesting that the Grimaldis have placed their jewels (and probably their art and other values) in a kind of family trust — but one that allows family members like Caroline to continue to use them. I really hope this is indeed the case — I am a major proponent of jewel foundations, especially those that allow various members of the family to borrow pieces from the collection, as they allow jewels to be seen and worn without the threat of sale that inevitably accompanies personal ownership.

Caroline wears the tiara, 2012

The tiara was most recently worn by Caroline during the 2012 pre-wedding dinner for Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg. Since then, it has mostly been traveling with the museum exhibition on Princess Grace. Confusingly, that exhibition describes the tiara as being one of Grace’s jewels, even though (to my knowledge) there are no photographs of her wearing it. But Cartier notes that after Charlotte ordered the tiara, it was worn by “several princesses of Monaco on various occasions,” so it’s possible that she wore it privately. (It’s worth noting that some believe she was wearing it when she sat for this portrait.) Really, though, what I want to know is this: when in the world are we going to see the current Princess of Monaco take this gorgeous heirloom piece out for a spin?

Queen Ena’s Turquoises

by // Leave a Comment


Queen Ena wears her turquoise tiara, necklace, and earrings (source)

Lots of the fantastic jewelry from the collection of our Magpie of the Month, Queen Ena, is well known, especially the pieces that various family members inherited and continue to wear today. But today, we’re talking about her small cache of turquoise jewelry — pieces that have managed to fall off the radar entirely in the years since Ena wore them.


Queen Ena wears her turquoise tiara, necklace, and earrings (source)

When Ena married the Spanish king in 1906, her uncle and aunt — King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra — were on the throne in Britain. The illustrated list of Ena’s wedding gifts includes a present attributed to them: a turquoise necklace and earrings. (It’s number ten on the list, which you can see here.) Above, Ena wears the turquoise necklace and earrings with a striking turquoise tiara. It’s commonly called a turquoise “star tiara,” because the top row of the piece features small stars above the central turquoise buttons.


Queen Ena wears her turquoise tiara and earrings (source)

Some have speculated that the turquoise star tiara was also a gift from Bertie and Alexandra, because Ena was often photographed wearing it with the necklace, the earrings, or both. But to my knowledge, the provenance of the tiara has never been specifically identified.

Illustration of Ena wearing the turquoises, ca. 1914 (source)

The turquoise buttons in each piece do appear to be of a similar size and design, so it’s certainly possible. The king and queen had given another of their nieces — Margaret of Connaught — a tiara for her wedding the previous year, so it wouldn’t surprise me if their gift to Ena was a complete turquoise parure.


Queen Ena painted in her turquoise jewels — rendered here as diamonds (source)

The fate of the entire turquoise suite is also a bit of a mystery. Ena was painted in the suite — you can see above, however, that the artist decided to paint the jewels as diamonds instead — but its whereabouts today are not known. Queen Ena’s life was a tumultuous one — she lived through assassination attempts, war, exile, the deaths of three of her children, and the breakdown of her marriage — and she did sell some of her jewels along the way. It’s certainly possible that these turquoise jewels met that particular fate.

In fact, we know for certain that Ena sold another turquoise tiara from her collection. During their engagement, Alfonso gave Ena a turquoise and diamond tiara, made by Chaumet. It featured fleur-de-lys motifs, the symbol of the Borbon dynasty. Ena ended up replacing the turquoises in this tiara with diamonds — perhaps a sign that she wasn’t ultimately that fond of the gemstone? She was painted wearing the tiara by Tosti Russell in the late 1930s; you can see her posing with the painting in the photograph above, taken in 1938. But in the end, Ena decided to sell the Chaumet tiara. Perhaps her other turquoises went on the auction block as well?

Queen Ena’s Wedding Jewelry

by // Leave a Comment

When our Magpie of the Month, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, married King Alfonso XIII of Spain, she immediately became the nation’s queen consort. As you can probably imagine, that kind of royal wedding, where a bride transforms into a queen, requires major jewelry. Let’s have a look at the jewels that Ena wore on her wedding day, shall we?

Souvenir postcard from Alfonso and Ena’s engagement, ca. 1906

Ena’s wedding day — 31 May 1906 — was not exactly the perfect royal wedding. Her mother-in-law was reticent about the marriage and some of the Spanish people were apparently skeptical of their new British-born queen. But worst of all, Alfonso and Ena were nearly assassinated as their carriage drove them through the streets of Madrid after their wedding. An anarchist threw a bomb at the couple as they headed back to the palace; a number of people were killed, but Ena and Alfonso escasped physically unscathed. Only Ena’s bridal gown was worse for wear, as it was stained with the blood of an injured guard who was positioned near her.

Ena in her wedding attire (source)

Not exactly the best start to a royal marriage. I’m not sure when the official photographs of the couple in their wedding attire were taken, as Ena’s dress is pristine in the pictures. Regardless, several images from this official portrait session survive, and they offer a good look at the jewelry that she wore on her wedding day. The tiara should be immediately familiar to readers of this site: it’s the diamond tiara that the Spanish royals call “La Buena,” or “The Good One.” Ena received the tiara, which was made by Ansorena, as a wedding gift from her new husband. (Much more on the tiara is available here.)

Photo from Ena and Alfonso’s official wedding portrait session (source)

Much of the rest of Ena’s jewelry in these portraits is also from her collection of wedding gifts, many of them from Alfonso. He gave her the diamond earrings she wears, plus her diamond collet necklace (the top one) and the large single strand of pearls (the second one). Ena also wears several long pearl necklaces — one of her trademarks. And on the front of her bodice, you can see a diamond brooch pinned to the lace. A large pearl drop is attached to the brooch; this is the copy of the famous “La Peregrina” pearl. The brooch was also a gift from Alfonso. She also wears a ring on her right hand.

1906 portrait of Ena by Ramon Padro y Pedret, based on her wedding photos; note that Padro y Pedret has chosen not to paint the tiara (source)

Ena wears two bracelets here: a simple pair of bangles on her left arm, and then a more elaborate bracelet on her right. That bracelet was also a wedding gift; the illustrated list of the jewels she was given notes that it was a gift from “la familia real,” presumably the Spanish royal family. You can see the list here (with captions in Spanish below); Ena is wearing items 2, 3, 4, 5, and 13.