The Court Jeweller – Page 1849

Saturday Sparkler: Queen Victoria’s Emerald and Diamond Tiara

03.01.2014 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

Queen Victoria depicted in her emerald and diamond tiara, ca. 1846 [1]

Some of my favorite royal tiaras are the sparklers designed for Queen Victoria by her beloved Prince Albert. Today, let’s have a gander at the lovely little emerald and diamond tiara that he designed for his wife.

The piece was crafted by the jeweler Joseph Kitching based on plans drawn up by Albert. Kitching made the tiara in 1845 for around a thousand pounds. The tiara, which features a geometric base topped by large emeralds, has been identified as one of the queen’s favorite pieces of jewelry. Indeed, she was painted in it twice, most notably by Winterhalter in The Royal Family (1846). But unlike many British royal tiaras, the chain of ownership of this piece is incredibly tricky. The last statement on the current ownership of the tiara came in 2001, when it was photographed for Tiaras: A History of Splendour, the expansive book that accompanied Geoffrey Munn’s exhibit of tiaras at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Munn notes in the book that the tiara belongs to a descendant of Queen Victoria without offering the person’s name.

So who was that family member? And how did it get to that person? There are a few bits of evidence that we can piece together to try to establish the tiara’s journey. One of them is a notable omission. We know that it wasn’t a part of the 1896 inventory of the queen’s jewels made by Garrard, which has led some to claim that the tiara was given to a family member before that period. That inventory also omitted other pieces, including the sapphire coronet that now belongs to the Harewood family, so its exclusion from the list does not necessarily mean that Victoria gave the tiara away before 1896. But it’s a good place to start.

The tiara appears in a photograph of one of Victoria’s granddaughters, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, which was taken in the 1880s. But as Princess Victoria (who was the grandmother of the Duke of Edinburgh) is apparently dressed for a costume ball in the photograph, it’s possible that she was simply borrowing the piece. The links get even fuzzier when you consider that the most recent person to have been photographed in the tiara was from a completely different branch of Queen Victoria’s family: Caroline Worsley, who was the wife of the Duke of Fife when she wore the tiara to the State Opening of Parliament in 1960. (The couple divorced six years later, and Caroline has since remarried.) The current Duke of Fife is a descendant of Victoria through her eldest son, Edward VII; his grandmother was Louise, the Princess Royal. Did Victoria perhaps give the tiara to Louise?

In the photograph, you can clearly see that Caroline is wearing not only the tiara but also a necklace and brooch that look suspiciously like the ones worn by Queen Victoria in this portrait. The fact that the Carnegies may have had access in the 1960s to all three of the pieces leads me to believe that the tiara may still have been in their possession when Munn wrote his book. This branch of the family has been less candid when it comes to the jewels in their possession than some other descendants of Queen Victoria. For example, we’ve only been able to establish that the famous Fife tiara remains with the family based on photographs of Carnegie brides who have worn the piece. With that in mind, it seems entirely possible to me that the duke might not have wanted to make his ownership of this tiara clear.

There were major rumors that this tiara was sold and possibly even dismantled in the years following its two most recent public appearances (in a Munn-curated exhibition at Wartski in 1997, and in Munn’s 2001 book). Happily, though, they turned out to be false! The tiara still exists, and it went on display with the rest of the pieces of the accompanying parure at Kensington Palace in March 2018.

NOTES, PHOTO CREDITS, AND LINKS
1. Detail from Winterhalter’s The Royal Family (1846); source here.
2. A version of this post originally appeared at A Tiara a Day in August 2013.

Princess Louise’s Forget-Me-Not Tiara

02.26.2014 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife, ca. 1905 [1]

It’s time once more to peek into the jewel collection of our magpie of the month, everybody! I’ve saved one of the most intriguing pieces from Princess Louise’s jewels for last: her diamond floral tiara, composed of several diamond elements — and possibly seen in recent years on a popular television drama.

The tiara, seen above, is actually composed of multiple pieces of jewelry cobbled together. It includes a diamond floral spray and a series of floral brooches, including daisies and forget-me-nots. The pieces were all from among Louise’s wedding gifts, though there are conflicting reports about the identity of the giver. Ursula identifies two parties who gave the princess diamond floral garlands and/or floral brooches: Lord Farquhar, the best man at the wedding, and the Sassoon family. She suggests that the tiara may be composed of parts from both gifts [2].

Louise was photographed in the tiara in 1905, standing alongside her mother, Queen Alexandra, and her sister, Princess Victoria. It’s the best portrait that exists of Louise wearing the tiara, and to my knowledge, she wasn’t pictured in the tiara again after that occasion. Exactly what happened to the tiara is something of a mystery — the pieces were likely inherited by one of her daughters, Alexandra or Maud; some of the jewels that they received from their mother were later sold at auction.

In 2012, a new theory emerged about this tiara’s fate. That year, Lady Mary Crawley, one of the main characters in Downton Abbey, the famous ITV period drama, wore a diamond floral spray tiara in her wedding on the show. That tiara was borrowed by the production company from Bentley & Skinner, a London-based firm that acquires and sells antique jewels. They describe Lady Mary’s wedding tiara as an “important Georgian diamond tiara, the tiara in the form of a garland spray of leaves and floral clusters, pave-set throughout with old-cut diamonds, weighing an estimated total of 45 carats, cutdown collet-set in silver to a yellow gold mount, convertible to two brooches, gross weight 75.5 grams on frame, circa 1800” [3].

The tiara currently owned by Bentley & Skinner is not linked by the firm to the diamond spray worn by Princess Louise. However, an article in the Daily Mail claims that the two are indeed the same piece. They call it the “myrtle tiara” and note that it was a gift from the Sassoons to the princess; they also note that it can be dismantled and worn as a set of brooches, “which Princess Louise often did” [4]. The Mail article doesn’t give sources for the information, though as the piece involves its writer, Petronella Wyatt, trying on the tiara under the watchful gaze of a public relations rep from Bentley & Skinner, it seems plausible that they may have shared the information with the paper.

Other jewel watchers aren’t sure about the connection; posters at the Royal Jewels of the World forum have examined the two pieces and decided that there are significant differences between the two [5]. I think it’s also plausible, though, that as Louise received diamond floral sprays from two different guests at her wedding, she may be wearing one spray (possibly the one given to her by Farquhar) in the 1905 photo, while the second, slightly different piece is now owned by Bentley & Skinner (and available for you to rent out for a mere £1,750 a day — plus a £126,000 deposit! [6]). It’s tough to say for certain, but I am sort of glad that a piece that was perhaps formerly worn by royalty is still accessible to the public today — even if it’s only on television on Sunday evenings.

NOTES, PHOTO CREDITS, AND LINKS
1. Cropped version of a photograph available via Wikimedia Commons; source here.
2. See more, including additional photos, at Ursula’s website.
3. The Bentley & Skinner page on the tiara, including a set of photos, can be seen here.
4. You can read the full piece on the tiara from the Mail on their website.
5. Here’s the relevant thread from the message board.
6. Here are the details, again from the Mail.

Jewel History: Wedding Gifts Fill Big Hall at Palace (1922)

02.25.2014 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

Viscount Lascelles and Princess Mary on their wedding day in 1922 [1]

“Wedding Gifts Fill Big Hall at Palace”

(originally appeared in the Washington Post, 25 Feb 1922)

The spacious picture gallery in Buckingham Palace, which is as large as the grand ballroom of any New York hotel, today presented a dazzling spectacle to a small party of invited guests who viewed a portion of the magnificent wedding presents that have been sent to Princess Mary and Viscount Lascelles, who are to be married next week.

The prewedding exhibition of the gifts had been planned to take place at St. James’s Palace, where they were received, until the death of Lady Feodora Gleichen there Wednesday morning, which necessitated the change.

Cases Blaze with Gems

Only the smaller and more portable presents have been transferred to Buckingham Palace, but they turned the great gallery into a hall of glittering splendor. A half hour was the time limit for the visitors and this afforded them time for only a casual inspection of the wonderful display. In glass cases blazed diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds, adn there were pearls, gold and silver articles, and priceless antiques, each distinctive in design and of studied elegance.

There was the three-fold gift of King George — a tiara of diamonds and sapphires and a necklace and bracelet studded with similar stones. The monarch’s gift to his daughter occupied the central position of honor in the hall.

Lord Lascelles and Princess Mary [2]

Brooch Queen’s Gift

Then there was to be seen a brooch given by Queen Mary — one great sapphire encircled by diamonds [3]. With these and the other gems on display the princess could go through an entire court season without having to wear twice any bit of jewelry.

Another case held the gift of Viscount Lascelles to his bride-to-be — a corsage of sapphires and diamonds, from which one massive stone shone forth from the field of lesser brilliants. A cluster of diamonds is suspended from the corsage. It contains two large pearls. There also was a riviere, or necklace, of diamonds, and a diamond pendant containing two large pearl drops. This gorgeous display of jewels will be worn by Princess Mary at the wedding.

Nearby was Princess Mary’s gift to Viscount Lascelles. This consisted of a pair of antique souffle dishes and a platinum and gold watch chain set with pearls.

Wales Gives Bracelet

The Prince of Wales’s gift to his sister is a diamond and sapphire bracelet. Dowager Queen Alexandra has given the princess a marvelous corsage of pearls, with emerald drops, and a beautiful necklace containing six rows of stones.

Princess Mary’s aunts, the Princess Royal, Princess Victoria, and the Queen of Norway, combined in their present, sending the princess a long diamond lace brooch. The Duke of York and Princes Henry and George have given their sister a sapphire and diamond ring, unique in style and setting. From the bridegroom’s parents has come a large diamond brooch.

A large ring came from Queen Victoria of Spain. Queen Amelia has given the bride-elect a gold bracelet containing one huge ruby and one pearl, with a circle of diamonds as a clasp.

Princess Mary [4]

Clock from Duke of Connaught

The great-aunts of the princess and the Duke of Connaught have presented her with an ebony and gold antique clock. Another clock, perhaps the most remarkable of the lot, has been sent by Prince and Princess Christopher of Greece. It is a carriage clock with a gold sunray face, with two silver and diamond stars moving around to indicate the hours and minutes.

Conspicuous among the other presents were a miscellany of rich ropes of pearls, jeweled fans, and huge silver vessels from the members of the British cabinet and others from the diplomatic corps; a handsome negligee [5] with a center of emeralds and a coronet of precious stones from the navy; a silver dressing table set from the army; a mink coat and muff from the twelve city companies; a diamond bracelet “from the men and women of the stage”; a negligee of rubies, pearls, turquoises, and diamonds shaped after the fashion of an eastern temple bell from Viceroy Reading of India and the Countess Reading; a splendid sable coat from twenty-eight friends; two silver cake dishes from Mrs. Whitelaw Reid, widow of the former ambassador to the Court of St. James; and an infinite variety of other gifts, consisting of furniture and wearing apparel.

NOTES, PHOTO CREDITS, AND LINKS

1. Cropped version of a picture postcard available via Wikimedia Commons; source here.

2. Image available via Wikimedia Commons; source here.

3. Some have speculated that this was one of the Albert brooches — one of five copies of Queen Victoria’s sapphire and diamond brooch given to each of Albert and Victoria’s daughters. To my knowledge, there’s never been confirmation that this was indeed one of those brooches. See Suzy Menkes for more on the copies of the Albert brooch.

4. Image available via Wikimedia Commons; source here.

5. A necklace is generally referred to as a “negligee” when it includes tassels or pendant drops of irregular length; the Delhi Durbar necklace is a good example. These were especially popular during the reign of Mary’s grandfather, Edward VII.