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Jewel History: Women’s Jewel Fund (1918)

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The Duchess of Marlborough

“Women’s Jewel Fund”
(originally appeared in The Times on 5 Jan 1918)
A Jewel Fund in aid of Child Welfare has been started in London to raise money to provide grants to assist the initial expenditure on establishing child welfare organizations throughout the country. There are at present about 200 towns where it is proposed to conduct welfare centers for antenatal and postnatal care as well as day nurseries for the children of working mothers.

Ellen Terry, ca. 1912

The appeal, which is signed by the Duchess of Bedford [1] (chairman of the fund), Mrs. Lloyd George [2] (vice-president), Lady Rhondda [3] (vice-chairman), the Duchess of Marlborough [4] (hon. treasurer), Lady Henry [5] (hon. secretary), the Duchess of Norfolk [6], Dr. Mary Scharlieb [7], Miss Ellen Terry [8], Mrs. May Ogilvie Gordon [9], and Mrs. Mary R. Macarthur (Mrs. W.C. Anderson) [10], asks every woman for a gift of jewelry, which will eventually be sold at Christie’s, to help in the formation of centers, which will be assisted later by government and municipal grants. The offices of the fund are at premises lent by the firm of Cartier, at 175 New Bond Street, where gifts of jewelry can be sent, addressed to the Duchess of Marlborough. A gratifying response has already been made to the appeal, and a display of the jewels received is now on view at Messrs. Cartier’s.

Alice Keppel

Among the contributors are the Duchess of Marlborough, who has given a 15-row pearl collar with diamond plaques; Lady Essex [11], a diamond tiara; Lady Henry, a diamond bandeau with pearl in center, and turquoise matrix brooch surrounded with diamonds; Lady Ward [12], hair ornament consisting of rope of pearls and diamonds with 13 pearl and diamond clusters; Lady Bonham Carter [13], antique diamond ring; Lady Rocksavage [14], diamond wreath pendant with turquoise and diamond center; the Duchess of Rutland [15], necklace of eight strings of pearls and amethyst beads; Mrs. Ian Macpherson [16], diamond brooch with four rubies; Lady Cunard [17], white ostrich fan with pearl sticks; Lady Sackville [18], diamond and enamel pendant; Lady (Brynmor) Jones [19], pearl and enamel bird pendant; Lady Jellicoe [20], a bracelet of Indian fancy stones; Lady Tree [21], diamond and pearl pendant and a wedding ring; the Duchess of Norfolk, a magnificent sapphire; Mrs. McKenna [22], a watch and chain; Mrs. George Keppel [23], diamond buckle; Lady Londonderry [24], a gold bracelet; Lady Pollock [25], an old French watch; and Lady Kensington [26], 19 articles of jewelry.

NOTES
1. Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford (1865-1937) was the wife of the 11th Duke; she was a major philanthropist, and she was also a keen bird watcher and an amateur aviator.
2. Margaret Lloyd George (1866-1941) was the wife of the sitting prime minister, David Lloyd George.
3. Sybil Thomas, Viscountess Rhondda (1857-1941) was the wife of the 1st Viscount Rhondda; she was an important supporter of philanthropic and feminist causes.
4. Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877-1964) was still the wife of the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1918, although they had been separated since 1906. The pair divorced in 1921.
5. Julia Henry (d. 1927) was the American wife of Sir Charles Solomon Henry, a Liberal MP; she raised major funds for charitable causes related to children, and she may have had an affair with David Lloyd George.
6. Gwendolen Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk (1877-1945) was the wife (and cousin) of the 15th Duke of Norfolk.
7. Dame Mary Scharlieb (1845-1930) was a pioneering female physician in India and Britain.
8. Dame Ellen Terry (1847-1928) was one of the most important Shakespearean actresses on the British stage; she had recently also begun appearing in films.
9. Dame May Ogilvie Gordon (1864-1939) was a respected Scottish geologist and the first woman to be awarded a doctorate in science from the University of London; she was also a major supporter of causes related to women’s and children’s rights.
10. Mary Macarthur (1880-1921) worked for the causes of women’s and worker’s rights as a major force within the trade unionist movement.
11. Adele Capell (d. 1922) was the American-born widow of the 7th Earl of Essex. She was the owner of the Cartier-made “Essex tiara” later worn by both Clementine Churchill and Crown Princess Margarita of Romania.
12. I think this may be Florence Ward (1858-1934), wife of Colonel Sir Edward Ward, 1st Bt.
13. Violet Bonham Carter, Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury (1887-1969) was the daughter of Prime Minister H.H. Asquith, the wife of Sir Maurice Bonham Carter, a close friend of Winston Churchill, and the grandmother of the actress Helena Bonham Carter.
14. Sybil Sassoon (1894-1989) was the wife of the 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley (who in 1918 was Lord Rocksavage), a member of both the Sassoon and Rothschild families, the superintendent of the Women’s Royal Naval Service during World War II, and the great-grandmother of the actor Jack Huston.
15. Violet Manners, Duchess of Rutland (1856-1937) was the wife of the 8th Duke of Rutland; she was also an avant-garde artist, sculptor, and painter of society portraits. During World War I, she converted the family’s London townhome into a hospital.
16. Jill Macpherson (d. 1956) was the wife of Ian Macpherson, a Liberal MP and government minister who later became the 1st Baron Strathcarron.
17. Maud Cunard (1872-1948) was the American-born wife of Sir Bache Cunard; she was a society and political hostess who called herself by the name “Emerald” and was a major supporter of Wallis Simpson.
18. Victoria Sackville-West, Baroness Sackville (1862-1936) was the wife (and cousin) of the 3rd Baron Sackville; she’s better known today as the mother of the writer Vita Sackville-West.
19. Florence Jones was the wife of Sir David Brynmor Jones, a Liberal MP from Wales.
20. Gwendoline, Viscountess Jellicoe was the wife of John Jellicoe (later the 1st Earl Jellicoe), who was serving as First Sea Lord in January 1918.
21. Helen Maud Holt (1863-1937) was an actress and the wife of fellow actor and theatrical manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree. As for that wedding ring — her often-unfaithful husband had died the previous year.
22. Pamela McKenna (1889-1943) was a society hostess who was the wife of Reginald McKenna, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the daughter of Dame Agnes Jekyll, a writer and artist.
23. Alice Keppel (1868-1947) was the wife of the Hon. George Keppel, but she’s much better known to history as a mistress of King Edward VII and as the great-grandmother of the Duchess of Cornwall.
24. Edith Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry (1878-1959) was the wife of the 7th Marquess. During World War I, her London townhouse was a hospital for military officers, and she was appointed the Colonel-in-Chief of the Women’s Volunteer Reserve.
25. This is probably Georgina Pollock (d. 1935), wife of Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Bt.
26. Mabel Kensington (d. 1934) was the wife of the 6th Baron Kensington.

This Week in Royal Jewels: December 19-January 1

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December 19, 2014 – January 1, 2015
Welcome to a super-sized version of our weekly jewel roundup! From Christmas baubles to New Year’s tiaras, we’ve got plenty of sparkle to help you ring in 2015. Enjoy!
10. Queen Elizabeth II was back at King’s Lynn for church on December 28, this time wearing the Frosted Sunflower Brooch with her usual daytime pearl necklace and earrings.

9. The Dutch royal family posed for pictures on December 22 during a Christmas visit to Queen Maxima’s native Argentina. She wore a stack of familiar bracelets…

… and, keeping with this year’s big trend, rather large orange earrings.

8. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark delivered her annual New Year’s speech on December 31. The Queen wore large purple earrings, gray-toned pearls, and a brooch. You can read more about the Queen’s address here.

7. Emperor Akihito of Japan celebrated his birthday on December 23, and the senior members of the royal family gathered with him for a balcony appearance. Empress Michiko departed just slightly from her usual minimalist jewels, wearing a gorgeous multi-stranded pearl necklace.

6. The rest of the ladies of the imperial family — Crown Princess Masako, Princess Kiko, and Princess Mako — all went with standard daytime pearls and brooches for the Emperor’s birthday celebrations.

5. The senior ranks of the imperial family in Japan grew by one on December 29, when Princess Kako, the younger daughter of Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko, turned twenty. On their twentieth birthdays, imperial princesses officially come of age, and they’re given the Order of the Precious Crown and a set of jewels to wear at the imperial court. Kako wears her new order and her new mirrored set of jewels, which features a fleur-de-lys motif in diamonds, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, where she was officially presented to her grandparents.

(source)

4. On January 1, Emperor Akihito delivered his traditional new year greeting at the palace, and the ladies of the family appeared in full court dress. Masako doesn’t attend this event as a general rule (though sometimes we get pictures of her in the car arriving at the palace), and Michiko no longer wears a tiara at the event. But the other imperial princesses do. From left to right above: Princess Kiko wears her wedding tiara and mirrored necklace, and Princess Mako wears the mirrored jewel set she received on her twentieth birthday in 2011, and Princess Kako wears her new jewels. Princess Nobuko and Princess Akiko are also wearing the usual diamond mirrored jewels with delicate diamond drop earrings.

3. The traditional New Year’s Levée was held in Denmark on January 1. The members of the royal family attend in gala jewels and the regalia of the Order of the Elephant. Princess Marie wore a tiara we discussed here recently: Princess Dagmar’s Floral Tiara.

2. Queen Margrethe looked every inch a monarch at the New Year’s Court, wearing the emerald parure from the country’s crown jewels with her Elephant regalia.

1. She may be the second lady in Denmark, but Crown Princess Mary gets my vote for the jewel-wearer of the week. Her continued inventiveness with the heirloom ruby parure fascinates me — here she wears the tiara, the necklace without its pendant drops, and the stud version of the ruby earrings with an added pearl drop. Just lovely. (Plus: purple velvet cape!)

The Top Ten: Royal Jewel Moments of 2014

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Happy New Year, everybody! As the world counts down to 2015, it’s time for our last Top Ten post of the year. Here are my top ten royal jewel moments of 2014 — be sure to add your lists in the comments!

10. Kate’s New Emeralds
The Duchess of Cambridge surprised royal jewel lovers when she debuted a new emerald and diamond demi-parure during her visit to New York. The set, which includes earrings and a bracelet, features square-cut emeralds and yellow and white diamonds.



9. Christina in Aquamarines
In March, Princess Christina wore the Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara for the first time, bolstering hopes that Princess Margaretha has perhaps chosen to reunite the piece with the main Bernadotte line.

8. Charlene Wears Tiara
The notoriously tiara-shy Princess Charlene posed for Hola! in April wearing the Ocean Tiara created for her by Van Cleef and Arpels.

7. Alexandra Wedding Brooch Outing
For only the second time in her six decades as queen, Elizabeth II wore the brooch from Queen Alexandra’s Wedding Gift Parure while on a visit to Northern Ireland in June.

6. Mathilde’s Nine Provinces Debut
Queen Mathilde wore the tiara of Belgian queens, the Nine Provinces, in public for the first time at a state banquet in March. (She’d previously worn the tiara only in an official portrait.)

5. Kate Borrows the Nizam
Kate dipped her toe further into the waters of royal heirloom jewelry in February, when Queen Elizabeth II loaned her the magnificent Nizam of Hyderabad necklace for a gala event.

4. Máxima Debuts the Württemberg
At a state banquet in Japan, Queen Máxima wore her mother-in-law’s wedding tiara, the Württemberg Ornate Pearl, for the first time.

3. Elizabeth II’s Romanov Surprise
While visiting Pope Francis at the Vatican in April, Queen Elizabeth II pulled a Romanov sapphire, gold, and diamond brooch out of the vaults for the first time.

2. New Tiara for Marie
In March, Princess Marie finally wore the silver and amethyst Flora Danica Tiara for the first time.

1. Joyas de Pasar Farewell
Shortly before her husband’s abdication, Queen Sofia wore the jewels of the Spanish queen, the joyas de pasar, for a final time.