The Jewels Of The British Monarchs Part IV The Queen of Hearts @ Jewel Info 4 U
By: Nandita Ray
The land where the sun never sets
ultimately started losing its hold
on the world. The glamour and the
glitz associated with the British
monarchy started shredding and the
glow dimming. It had become aloof
and secluded and left alone by the
masses. Then Princess Diana came
waltzing into the ivory tower and
with her charming grace to become
the Queen of Hearts, loved and
adored by the world. Princess Di as
she was popularly called was known
for her easy to adopt hairstyle and
her sense of dressing and
accessorizing. Unlike her mother in
law, the present queen, she was no
ice maiden. She was young and
vivacious. What an upheaval it
created there! Her love for life and
her attitude, her conduct was
absolutely different from her Royal
in laws. Her friends were pop stars
and actors, her work involved the
slums, the poor, the sick and
stepping out from the pristine
surrounding she stooped to conquer
the world with her amazing grace,
delicate beauty and sad blue eyes.
It was difficult to slot her and
like her, her jewelry collection
ranged from her from sapphire ring
and family heirlooms to pearls and
costume jewelry! Diana is known for
her simplistic style.
Before I talk about Diana, Queen
Elizabeth II must be included
because she remains one of the
richest women in the world today,
with an estimated fortune of 600
billion by Forbes magazine, her
personal jewelry is worth 57 million
$. This does not include the Crown
Jewels.
Queen Elizabeth the IIThe present monarch, who recently
became the longest serving English
monarch, has her jewels stored in an
underground chamber which is as
large as an ice rink. It is 40 feet
underground. Most of her personal
jewels are gifts. It is believed
that she favors pearls though she
has some of the world's finest and
rarest diamonds, rubies and
sapphires. Amongst her famous
collection worthy of mention are: -
Timur Ruby: - the famous
spinel weighing 325.50 carats.
The Cambridge & Delhi Durbar
Parure: - a set of necklace,
earrings, bracelet and a small
diadem made with ace emeralds.
The Prince Albert Brooch: -
Victoria presented her with this
brooch which was given to Victoria
by Prince Albert a day prior to
their wedding.
Queen Mary's: - large ruby
earrings
Ruby and Diamond Bandeau: -
which the queen wears often.
Engagement ring: - designed
by Prince Philip. It has a diamond
taken from the tiara of his mother.
It is a solitaire diamond weighing 3
carats. She wears it always. She is
not a very fond of finger rings
though.
The Cambridge Lover's knot Tiara:
- with its prestigious history of
having been worn by Duchess of
Cambridge 1810 and the Grand Duchess
of Mecklenburg - Strelitz in 1890,
Queen Mary in 1926, Queen Elizabeth
II in 1955 and also worn by the late
Princess Diana. It also has a
matching bow shaped diamond brooch.
Queen Mary's "Rose of York" ruby
and diamond bracelet: - it was a
pendant which has been reset into a
bracelet.
Queen Mary's Russian fringe
necklace: - tiara mounted in
gold and silver and set with
diamonds. This tiara is made in such
a way that when the clasp at the
back is unhinged from the frame, the
tiara can be turned into a necklace.
It contains diamonds from the
collection of King George III. This
was made by Garrard and is based on
a Russian prototype and is extremely
popular with the Queen having worn
it a number of times.
The Grenville Chandelier
earrings: - and the King George
VI Festoon Necklace gifted by her
parents on her wedding. The earrings
with drop diamond have every known
modern cut of diamonds at that time.
The Goodman necklace: -
consists of seven large emeralds and
3 smaller ones set on a platinum
filigree base sprinkled with
diamonds. This once belonged to the
famous naturalist Goodman in 1890.
After his death his daughters
offered it to the Queen thinking it
once belonged to the Queen Josephine
of France.
Mary Opphenheimer: - gave her
a 6 carat blue and white diamond of
flawless quality for promoting Anglo
American monopoly. This enhanced the
prestige of diamonds when they were
running low.
Queen Victoria's: - bow
shaped brooch which she generally
wears on the left hand side
Prince Philip: - gave her a
brooch on their 5th wedding
anniversary. It consists of
interlocking alphabets E and P, the
Prince's naval badge set in diamonds
and roses made with diamonds and
rubies in memory of Queen's father.
The Nizam of Hyderbad: -
presented her with a flat platinum
necklace with a double drop pendant
set with 13 diamonds. The pendant
can be detached from the necklace
and is made up with 38 brilliant cut
open back brackets.
Wedding gift: - given by her
father consists of sapphire and
diamond suite, ruby and diamond
ring, sapphire and diamond earrings.
The diamond watch: -
presented to her by the oldest Swiss
watch company, Vacheron & Constantin
in 1947. It was a wedding gift. She
gifted this to Diana.
T. Williamson: - a wealthy
diamond mine owner presented her
with a rare 23 carat pink diamond,
flawless and perfect shaped into a
daffodil brooch.
King Faisal of Saudi Arabia:
- gifted her with a necklace
resembling a lace made with
diamonds. This was designed by none
other than Harry Winston.
The Flower Basket brooch: -
presented to her by her mother after
the birth of Prince Charles. It is
made up of diamonds, rubies and
sapphires. It carries the
photographs of Queen Elizabeth and
baby Charles. This is also her
favorite.
Pink Corals: - a simple
string of corals which once belonged
to her mother was given to her when
she was a baby. This is a very
sentimental piece and is priceless
for her.
The Rhodesian Flame Lily: - made
with diamonds and set on platinum
was gifted to her on her 21st
birthday by the school children of
Rhodesia.
South African Government: -
gave her a necklace set with 21
diamonds of the finest quality.
The City of London: -
presented with a diamond Lily
brooch.
The Austrian Wattle brooch: -
with 150 diamonds, carrying many
rare yellow and some blue and white
diamonds. It is designed as a spray
of wattles.
The Brazilian Government: -
presented her with a large necklace
with square cut aquamarines and
diamonds and a pair of earrings
during her coronation year.
The Cullinam diamonds: - she
possesses the pear shaped Cullinam
diamond set as a brooch. This was
one of the pieces that were cut from
the original diamond weighing 1.25
pounds.
The Cullinam II & IV diamonds: -
weighing 94 and 63 carats which
she fondly calls "Granny chips" is
also a part of her collection.
This is not the full and complete
list of her Majesty's personal
jewelry collection. But the famous
Leslie Field's the American author
notes that she has: -
34 pair of earrings
98 brooches
46 necklaces
37 bracelets
5 pendants
14 watches
15 rings
She ranks 23 among the 100 richest
people in the world.
Princess MargaretThe
younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II
was known for her spirit and beauty.
She too possessed some priceless
pieces given to her by her mother
Elizabeth I and her grandmother
Queen Mary. After her demise they
were auctioned off to pay for her
children's inheritance tax. Her ex
husband Lord Snowdown was
displeased. The sale produced
unexpected results. They got more
than what they had expected. There
were 192 pieces in all that were
auctioned.Poltimore Tiara: - is the most
famous of all her jewels. She wore
it on her wedding to Lord Snowdown
in 1960. It is styled into leaves
and flowers all made of diamonds. It
was made by Garrard and was given to
her by her grandmother Queen Mary.
It is set in silver and gold and has
clusters of diamonds with diamond
set scroll motifs and each circled
by cut diamonds. It can be converted
into a circlet, 11 brooches and a
necklace. This piece was sold to an
Asian collector for 1.7 million $ by
Christies.
Pearl and diamond necklace: - gifted
to her by her grand mother Queen
Mary on her 18th birthday in 1948.
The Antique Riviere Necklace: -
again given by Queen Mary. A single
row of 34 graduated diamonds which a
cushion shaped.
Five Rows of pearl necklace: - with
a diamond clasp mounted in platinum
made in 1928 and is 30.0 cms long.
The Famous M shaped brooch: - this
is a diamond monogram brooch set
beneath a crown.
A Ruby and cultured pearl necklace:
- made in 1930 which was worn by her
when she was three years old.
A Rose of York Brooch: -made by
Cartier in 1955.
A diamond and ruby ring: - given by
her mother Elizabeth I with a note
"now you have lost a son you must
have something new'. This was given
when her son Linley married.
A Gilt hedgehog Brooch: - which was
valued at 50 pounds was actually
sold for 5, 760 $ in the auction by
Christies.
A Jabot Pin: - designed as a
butterfly with cultured pearl, sold
for 6,000 $ when it was valued at 60
pounds.
A marquise: - cut diamond ring.
Two Art Deco Bracelets: - one made
with a solitaire marquise cut
diamond surrounded with rubies and
the other is a half hoop with three
rubies. Also an art deco brooch made
with sapphire and diamonds. A hand
written note says 'For darling
Margaret on her confirmation day
from her loving granny Mary Rose'.
A grey cultured pearl Bermuda Cedar
Brooch: - bought in 1990 when she
visited the "jungle island of
Cedar'. Made in gold shaped as a
sprig of Bermuda Cedar and is
studded with cultured pearls as
berries".
A pair of cultured pearl and diamond
earrings: - made by the top notch
Canadian jewelers Birks. Each pearl
is set above a trefoil of brilliant
cut diamonds. Also accompanying it
was a brooch shaped like a maple
leaf. These two were presented by
the city of Montreal.
Not all the jewels that were
auctioned by Christies are listed
here. This is just a fragment.
DianaHer father was Lord Spencer
and his ancestry can be traced back
to Marie Antoinette of France.
Princess Diana was married to Prince
Charles and for her wedding she wore
the Spencer Tiara made in 1767 or
1830. It is difficult to pin point
the exact date as it was reset. It
is designed with tulips and long
stemmed flowers and stars molded in
gold and silver. She loved it and
worn it often.
From Queen Mary's: - collection she
got the emerald and diamond choker.
She wore this as a head band. Prince
Charles bought her a matching art
deco style emerald and diamond
bracelet to match this choker. She
also wore the Queen Mary's famous
"Cambridge Lover's Knot" Tiara which
was designed by the Queen in May
1914. In 1935 the queen had the top
row of pearls spikes removed. This
was loaned to Princess Diana by the
present Queen for state functions.
It had a pair of matching pearl drop
earrings which she wore with the
tiara.From her mother Frances: - she got a
pair of stunning diamond earrings
which she wore for the wedding in
the chapel on 29th July 1981.
The Queen mother: - gave her a
brooch made out of sapphire and
surrounded by diamonds. Diana got it
remodeled and had it set on her 6
strand pearl choker. She wore it
frequently and this blue sapphire
matching her blue eyes became her
signature style.
Prince Charles: -The famous blue
sapphire engagement ring was
surrounded by 18 brilliant cut
diamonds. She gifted this to her son
William. This was made by Garrard
Jewelers. Sapphire was her favorite
gemstone. Prince Charles gave her
numerous gifts like the heart shaped
necklace of gold and pearls, a heart
shaped gold bracelet, a green
diamond set of necklace, earrings
and bracelet set in white gold.
Charles gave her numerous bracelets
like the charm bracelet, one for
each year of their marriage. In
1982- 84 he presented her with the
two alphabets W and H in gold to
celebrate the birth of their sons,
Prince William and Harry. Ballet
shoes because she loved ballet, a
tennis racquet because she loved the
game, polo cap because he loves
polo, St. Paul's cathedral, the
church where they were married, a
bear because she loved cuddy
teddies, an apple for her love for
Manhattan city and a pig a private
joke. She never wore the bracelet!
She wore a silver bracelet with the
word 'Princess'.
The Swan Lake: - jewelry set which
she wore to the Royal gala
performance was made by Garrard in
1997. Princess Diana had it designed
and made with South Sea Pearls with
matching pearl and diamond earrings.
It was sold after her death for
326,500 pounds.
One of her favorites was a three row
pearl choker with a turquoise flower
clasp
Costume Jewelry: - her favorite
fashion accessories were mainly
costume jewelry fashioned and sold
by Butler and Wilson in London. The
large snake brooch which she wore,
the pair of heart shaped earrings
with starburst clips was bought from
him. Simon Wilson says, "She used
costume jewelry to customize her
clothes and to add wit and
individuality to her wardrobe".
Most of her jewelry was inherited
from the Spencer's and the Royal
family. They were mostly family
heirlooms. She got some gifts from
head of states like the watch from
the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
The National Associations of
Goldsmiths presented her with a
pretty gold and white necklace with
sapphire flowers. It also had the
Prince of Wales feathers in the
center. She donated this sapphire
and gold necklace to the Kazanjian's
Jewels for Charity.
It can be noted easily that with
minimal jewelry and simple dress
style Diana became the most popular
and sought after celebrity who
became the "Queen of Hearts" for
millions of people around the world.
Reference
Book The Jewels of Queen Elizabeth
II by Leslie Field.
Book "Famous Jewelry Collectors" by
Stephano Papi and Alexandra Rhodes.
Christie's website
www.royal.gov.uk
www.Iatwn.com
www.antiquesandthearts.com
Related Links :
|
 |
Belly Button Piercing
The Egyptians, the Indians and many other cultures pierced this humble button to show the significance of the person sporting a pierced navel - Royalty, Warriors, exceptional Beauty. |
|
|
|
|
|
