Royal Jewels

[JewelFreak]

A tiara that belonged to Princess Marie Boneparte, a great-grand nices of Emporor Napoleon I.

Tell me a bit more about this one...it looks like it would sit really high above the head. Is it just an optical illusion with how the back part is bent and curved? I know one criticism some of us have had about the Countess of Wessex's wedding tiara is how high it sits and it never looks like the frame is properly covered with her hair. I think there might be a similar problem with this tiara.

Maria, yeah, it does. Maybe hair was high enough then that it would have covered the frame. It could also have been changed later, though I don't know why anyone would. It's especially surprising because she seemed often to wear tiaras low on her head, as in the photo below with a different one (isn't it? or has this one been re-modeled?) -- a wedding present.

And, because it's so beautiful I couldn't resist it, one of her Court dresses.

 

[AGBF]

A tiara that belonged to Princess Marie Boneparte, a great-grand nices of Emporor Napoleon I.

I looked up Marie Bonaparte earlier today because I knew her only as a renowned psychoanalyst. I read that she was Princess Marie Bonaparte, great-graddaughter of Napoleon's younger brother, Lucien (which would, indeed, make her Emperor Napoleon I's great-grand niece). She was Aunt of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband to Queen Elizabeth II of England.

That is quite an interesting background for a psychoanalyst!

Deb/AGBF

 

[Fly Girl]

I would find it distasteful if William was buying her loads of expensive jewels with "Daddy's money".

We had a similar comment over on the "Tiaras" thread when the Westminister Pearl Parure went up for auction. Danny summed it up best..."Buying an insanely expensive tiara at auction for Kate would = huge PR fail."

However, William and Harry should have inherited their mother's jewelry collection. It appears that some of Catherine's recent pieces may be from Diana's jewels. I expect that we will see more of these in the future at the appropriate time.

 

[CrystalIce]

Hi everyone.
New here. Lovely pictures, how do the ladies keep there Tiaras in place some seem heavy looking

 

[neil31uk]

A tiara that belonged to Princess Marie Boneparte, a great-grand nices of Emporor Napoleon I.

Tell me a bit more about this one...it looks like it would sit really high above the head. Is it just an optical illusion with how the back part is bent and curved? I know one criticism some of us have had about the Countess of Wessex's wedding tiara is how high it sits and it never looks like the frame is properly covered with her hair. I think there might be a similar problem with this tiara.

Hi Lady Marie,

Accordingt o the exhibition guidbook (which is essentially the same information given in the exhibition) this tiara was made from hair orniment that was worn at the back of the head and could be worn as a bandeau and was originally made for Princess Marie's marrage to Prince George of Greece and Denmark in 1907. It was later converted in the tiara seen today. It is made of platinum, old cut diamonds, natural pearls and uses milligrain settings. I should say that the wire frame for wearing it was not attached when I saw it at the exhibition and sadly there were no pictures of it being worn.

Neil

 

[neil31uk]

A tiara that belonged to Princess Marie Boneparte, a great-grand nices of Emporor Napoleon I.

I looked up Marie Bonaparte earlier today because I knew her only as a renowned psychoanalyst. I read that she was Princess Marie Bonaparte, great-graddaughter of Napoleon's younger brother, Lucien (which would, indeed, make her Emperor Napoleon I's great-grand niece). She was Aunt of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband to Queen Elizabeth II of England.

That is quite an interesting background for a psychoanalyst!

Deb/AGBF

Cartier all state that Princess Marie was a patient, deciple, friend and patron of Sigmund Fraud and the first person to translate his works into French and she founded to societies dedicated to psychoanalysis.

 

[centralsquare]

Thanks for the eduction on the tiaras! They are beautiful as tiaras, but probably get more use as necklaces. Deb, in the video you posted, I almost died when I saw them lay out all those diamonds on the table. To just have one of those....

 

[centralsquare]

Also, on the subject of Catherine's jewelery. Agree that it would send a bad message in this economy to be buying a lot of jewels. She's also really new to her princess-hood....it would be awkward to have a whole new collection of stunning jewels right off the bat. Look forward to watching her collect over time!

 

[VRBeauty]

A year ago this month I saw the Cartier Collection exhibition at Prague Castle and I have finally gotten around to getting some pics of the magnificent jewels that I saw there.

First up is a tiara of rubies, diamonds, platimum and Blackened steel, may for a friend of Queen Mary of Romania for the occation of the Coronation of King Ferdinand.

I think it is simply stunning, and it was incredible to see in real life.

I agree - it is stunning to see diamonds against a black background like this, and I love the overall simplicity of this piece.

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

Hey, I'm Danny, since you sort of quoted me in your complaint thread on Hangout ("I'm new and read the last 20 pages"), I thought I'd come here and say that no, I'm not another poster under a fake name, just someone who found the thread interesting and wanted to join. So...

 

[CrystalIce]

I was wondering the tirar with the blacken steal, does anyone know how it's done?

 

[CrystalIce]

does anyone know how to add pictures with there post??

 

[CrystalIce]

question

 

[Imdanny]

Danny is a man.

Yes, I think my avatar is kind of a clue. Thanks, Deb!

 

[Imdanny]

Hey, I'm Danny, since you sort of quoted me in your complaint thread on Hangout ("I'm new and read the last 20 pages"), I thought I'd come here and say that no, I'm not another poster under a fake name, just someone who found the thread interesting and wanted to join. So...

Of course. I didn't really mean to quote you at all. I was just a little upset by that point and working from memory. My apologies and welcome!

 

[BubblyBear]

question

Took me about 30 mins of googling, but I've identified it a the crown of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III. Link to Wikipedia page: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_of_Empress_Eugenie

 

[prince.of.preslav]

HSH Charlene at the Red Cross Ball with her Ocean tiara in necklace form.

It looks better than I'd imagined. Thans for the photo I can't wait to see The Princess wearing it as tiara.

Bobby

 

[prince.of.preslav]

this would be great! I absolute support this. or a thread about own jewel collections (if not exists).
as I know, my own collection some pages ago, was also "off-topic" but on the other hand, when such off topics talked about their "own" royal jewels - why not. wasn't here not at the lower pages no. a lady with nice rings from her collection?
.....

There's a difference, Alexander - you have replicas of royal jewels, while neither Maria, nor Jena (I don't remeber her actual nickname) have such. Also, Jena helped us undrestand that Diana's sapphire isn't 18 carats, but rather 7-8.

 

[prince.of.preslav]

That is amazing necklace. How interesting that it's both a tiara and a necklace! Are all tiaras like that?

Another thing about the tiara/neklace bit is that it makes the pieces more versatile. If you are going to spend a bunch of money on a piece of jewelry, it's nice to be able to wear it different ways. If you want to wear a certain piece at a non-tiara event, you could wear it as a necklace. Some tiaras also break down into brooches or bracelets too.

Here's another good example, the George III Fringe tiara. It can be worn as a tiara (Queen Elizabeth II wore this for wedding) or dismounted from its frame and worn as a necklace. The top picture shows it as a tiara. The bottom picture shows it worn as a necklace (and QEII is wearing the Russian Kokoshink as a tiara in the second picture)

I think we have established long ago that this is not the George III Fringe tiara (aka the Hannoverian fringe; worn by Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra), but Queen Mary's fringe tiara. This is even stated on the Royal Collection's website - http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/m...s=WEDDINGDAY&object=200184&row=3&detail=about

Another think - The Queen is not wearing this fringe in your second photo, Maria. It's not even a tiara. What HM's wearing is in fact the London Fringe Necklace - http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/m...947/object.asp?row=15&exhibs=GIFTGB&grouping=
The last person to wear Queen Mary's fringe as necklace was Queen Elizabeth:


Bobby

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Hi Lady Marie,

Accordingt o the exhibition guidbook (which is essentially the same information given in the exhibition) this tiara was made from hair orniment that was worn at the back of the head and could be worn as a bandeau and was originally made for Princess Marie's marrage to Prince George of Greece and Denmark in 1907. It was later converted in the tiara seen today. It is made of platinum, old cut diamonds, natural pearls and uses milligrain settings. I should say that the wire frame for wearing it was not attached when I saw it at the exhibition and sadly there were no pictures of it being worn.

Neil

Actually there are photo of the tiara being worn, but they are rather rare. One reason I can think of is because this branch of the Greek Royal Family has always kept a low profile and there aren't many glittering photos of them.
See here - http://www.royal-magazin.de/griechenland/olive-pearl-branch-tiara.htm
I'll post another photo later.

I also made this (poor) scan of Marie Bonaparte's wedding presents, exhibited by Cartier on the window of thier Paris shop. The diamond and pearl hair comb is on right of the tiara:


PS: Strange that there aren't any photos of Princess Marie (and of her daughter) with most of the wedding presents.

Bobby

 

[AGBF]

Actually there are photo of the tiara being worn, but they are rather rare. One reason I can think of is because this branch of the Greek Royal Family has always kept a low profile and there aren't many glittering photos of them.
See here - http://www.royal-magazin.de/griechenland/olive-pearl-branch-tiara.htm
I'll post another photo later.

Bobby-

Once again, I thank you! Once again, I say you are a treasure. I cannot believe what a wealth of knwledge you have! That you know more than the people who put together an exhibition on Princess Marie (for, as I recollect, it was on she) is simply astonishing! I do not know how you knew that a picture of her wearing the tiara was extant while people commissioned to gather photos for an exhibition did not, I do not know, but they should, of course, have hired you to put together the exhibit!

Thank you once again.

Deb

 

[AGBF]

OK...I see, upon closer inspection, that it was not Princess Marie, but her daughter, who was wearing the tiara, but the point was that the tiara was, indeed, being worn! Just as you said, Bobby!

Deb

 

[CrystalIce]

Thank u for the info. The crown in the picture kinda looks like glass.
Is it a copy?

 

[alexander1917]

Thank u for the info. The crown in the picture kinda looks like glass.
Is it a copy?

the glass case at the Louvre, Paris shows the original crowns, tiaras and other jewels from the Royal and Imperial French Court.

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Bobby-

Once again, I thank you! Once again, I say you are a treasure. I cannot believe what a wealth of knwledge you have! That you know more than the people who put together an exhibition on Princess Marie (for, as I recollect, it was on she) is simply astonishing! I do not know how you knew that a picture of her wearing the tiara was extant while people commissioned to gather photos for an exhibition did not, I do not know, but they should, of course, have hired you to put together the exhibit!

Thank you once again.

Deb

Thanks for the nice words, Deb!
If a person is as devoted to royal jewels as much as I am, it would be easy to find the needed info and photos. One just has to know where to search and the photos will turn up (RoyalMagazin is a great source of info). That said, there are pleny of photos and information that I've never seen, especially from old times.
Anyway, the photo of the pearl and diamond tiara that Neil kindly posted is not from an exhibition on Princess Marie. It is (along with those of the bib necklace, the Art Noveau tiara, etc) from the catalogue of the (touring) exhibition of jewels from the Cartier Collection, to which the tiara now belongs. They (Cartier) are, of course, by no means required to provide photos of the jewels being worn, even more so when they can not give credit to the owners of the pix.

Bobby

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Thank u for the info. The crown in the picture kinda looks like glass.
Is it a copy?

the glass case at the Louvre, Paris shows the original crowns, tiaras and other jewels from the Royal and Imperial French Court.

As already pointed out by Alexander, the crown in your photo is real and is exhibited in Galerie d'Apollon, the Louvre, alongside Napoleon I's Crown.
Here you can find more information and photos - http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/de...LDER<>folder_id=9852723696500908&bmLocale=en# I find the two details (the mond and the eagle and pallmetes) very interesting.

Bobby

 

[prince.of.preslav]

OK...I see, upon closer inspection, that it was not Princess Marie, but her daughter, who was wearing the tiara, but the point was that the tiara was, indeed, being worn! Just as you said, Bobby!

Deb

Yes, that's Princess Eugenie of Greece & Denmark in the photo, not her mother. And yes - I did not state who wore the tiara. Sadly, there are no photos of Pss Marie wearing this piece (this doesn't mean that she hasn't worn it) and it seems it was made available to her daughter many years before she inherited the rest of her moter's jewels.
Here's the second photo of Princess Eugenie that I promised:


By the way, Princess Marie's olive-leaf tiara is a very interesting piece, certainly one of my absolute favs with its different variations.

Bobby

 

[CrystalIce]

As already pointed out by Alexander, the crown in your photo is real and is exhibited in Galerie d'Apollon, the Louvre, alongside Napoleon I's Crown.
Here you can find more information and photos - http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226126&CURRENT_LLV_NOTICE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226126&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500908&bmLocale=en# I find the two details (the mond and the eagle and pallmetes) very interesting.

Bobby


thanks for the info i knew it could be real was not sure. the picture did not come with a name so i did not know what to google, let alone put in a name to search by.
thanks

 

[CrystalIce]

i like this

 

[sweet_pea]

This is a small crown that Queen Victoria wore. I saw it in person at the Tower of London and it's much more impressive in person, and so dainty and pretty! Pictures just don't do it justice.


The Kent aquamarine tiara (England)


Portland diamond tiara (England)


A good site I just stumbled upon for looking at royal jewels is http://knowingtheroyals.wordpress.com/category/france/
You can pick what country you want to look at which is neat. It seems like we usually just see the British royal jewels.