Royal Jewels

[Imdanny]

Second.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

i fully agree, the comment about diana was silly. considering she WAS the light in that family for so long. she was who the public connected with on so many levels..she was paid the most attention to for a reason! i think they were so lucky to have had her..and i think they know it. she brought a breath of fresh air to the monarch.

 

[T L]

Diana was more than just a royal, she was a star. She was one of those rare women, like Jackie O and Marilyn Monroe, that rose above celebrity to become a legend. I don''t think there will ever be another woman that could replace Diana. She had her own special brand of magic as her brother said in the famous eulogy.

 

[T L]

Have any of you seen this famous portrait of Elizabeth I with her coronation sceptor, crown and orb. I believe these were stolen or melted down during the dissolution of the monarchy during the Cromwell years. What a pity.

This famous gown and ermine robe, as well as all the regalia, by the way was masterfully recreated for the film "Elizabeth" starring Cate Blanchett, and reworn by Natalie Portman in "The Other Boleyn Girl" and Anne Marie Duff in "The Virgin Queen" and I think it was also worn somewhere else. They resuse costumes in Hollywood films quite a bit. Not meaning to get off the track of the beautiful jewels, but I thought that was an intersting tidbit.

 

[T L]

I also love this portrait of Elizabeth as a girl of 13 (attr. William Scots). There are only a few pictures of Elizabeth as a princess, and this is by far the most famous of them all. Notice the lovely broach at her bustline, pendant and pearls, and jewels encrusting her gown. Also notice the beautiful rings on her long slender fingers. Her fingers were known to be very long and slender and she wore many rings to emphasize them. This painting was thought to have been a gift to her father, Henry VIII.

This is from my Tudor and Jacobean Jewelry book.

Elizabeth wears the jewels suited ot her high rank. There are pearls on her French hood, in rows at her neck, hanging from her jewelled pendant, and alternating with gems in the square edging the neckline and the matching girdle. Gems in large settings clasp her sleeves. Drawing attention to the long slender fingers of which she was so proud are several importatnt looking rings. Below the "square" on the bodice hangs a lozenge-shaped pendant encloseing a diamond cross with filigree knotwork filling the space between the arms.

 

[T L]

This is my absolute favorite portrait of Elizabeth, called the "Darnley Portrait" and I think a very realistic example of what she actually looked like. Much of her portraits were copies of other paintings, and her look was tightly controlled as to make her appear appealing. However, I notice much of the same features in her face that I see as she was a girl in the Scrots painting above. Notice again more pearls. I don't think any woman loved pearls more than Elizabeth.

Notice the imperial crown on the table behind her.

 

[T L]

The very famous National Portrait Gallery of Elizabeth''s mother Queen Anne Boleyn, with her famous "B" necklace. This necklace was also recreated for many Hollywood films.

 

[T L]

Famous Holbein portrait of Anne Boleyn's successor, Queen Jane Seymour, with the beautiful jewel encrusted gable hood and the pendant INS which bears the Greek name of Christ, in diamonds.
She wears a gabled hood edged with a biliment of pearls alternating with gems matching the square at her neckline and belt of the same design. The emerald and ruby pendant high on her neck is framed in gold acanthus leaves similar to Holbein's designs.

I obtained this information from my book on Tudor and Jacobean jewelry.

Hans Holbein (the famous court painter of Henry VIII) designed much court jewelry himself.

 

[T L]

Date: 10/7/2008 11:55:08 AM
Author: SanDiegoLady

Date: 10/7/2008 11:21:16 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover
The very famous National Portrait Gallery of Elizabeth''s mother Queen Anne Boleyn, with her famous ''B'' necklace. This necklace was also recreated for many Hollywood films.

AH!! So it was real! Very cool, thank you for sharing!!!

It''s a pity they didn''t have photography back then to capture the true beauty of these costumes and gems worn by royalty and the aristocracy. So little of it survives, and I have much detailed in my Tudor and Jacobean jewelry book. There''s a 16th century example of a pearl necklace that Henry VIII gave to Prince Edward''s nurse. The book states that

"While pearl necklaces have survived from the seventeenth century, it is unusual for one of sixteenth-century dae to have been passed down from the first owner to the present day."

I know that James I (Elizabeth''s successor''s) wife Anne of Denmark inherited all of Elizabeth''s gowns and jewels, and much was lost, melted down or sold off when the nation became a Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell (1649).

 

[jewelerman]

Date: 10/7/2008 11:21:16 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover
The very famous National Portrait Gallery of Elizabeth''s mother Queen Anne Boleyn, with her famous ''B'' necklace. This necklace was also recreated for many Hollywood films.

You can see a copy of the B necklace on the telivision show Ugly Betty.

 

[T L]

Here''s the famous replica of the cornonation robes and regalia. This is from a BBC documentary called "David Starkey''s Elizabeth." This is the same costume and regalia worn in "Elizabeth," "The Virgin Queen", "The Other Boleyn Girl" to name a few. I think this one particular costume and it''s accompanying jewels were probably reused more than any other historical costume.

It gives you a good idea of what it would have looked like from life and not a painting.

 

[T L]

Date: 10/7/2008 12:20:37 PM
Author: jewelerman

Date: 10/7/2008 11:21:16 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover
The very famous National Portrait Gallery of Elizabeth''s mother Queen Anne Boleyn, with her famous ''B'' necklace. This necklace was also recreated for many Hollywood films.

You can see a copy of the B necklace on the telivision show Ugly Betty.

You can purchase a replica all over the internet. I think it''s a very popular and necklace and the recent Showtime series "The Tudors" showcased it a lot. I''m sure all those ladies with a name that has starts with a "B" love it.

It''s a very simple necklace, but it''s such a famed piece of jewelry from one of the most stylish women of the period. Anne was known for her great sense of style and taste. Elizabeth inherited her mother''s love of style as well.

 

[T L]

You can be stylish whether you''re Anne Boleyn or Ugly Betty!

 

[Sithathoriunet]

yes, very interesting piece, the B necklace of Anne Boleyn..i wonder if this may be why diana had a "D" necklace she wore so much???????

 

[Sithathoriunet]

d necklace again

 

[Sithathoriunet]

and one more time...

 

[T L]

Those last two are pictures of Diana when she was dating Charles, and they were taken at the kindergarten she worked at. It's nice to see she didn't leave behind that piece of jewelry when she became Princess of Wales, except that she switched the pendant to a neck wire in the "princess" picture. And of course, she's wearing her signature gold hoops in the kindergarten picture, except they became much more substantial in when she became Princess of Wales.

BTW, you can actually buy versions of the Anne Boleyn necklace in any initial, I saw one with a "D." I wonder if Diana would approved.

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Date: 10/6/2008 8:49:59 PM
Author: Sithathoriunet
now, here's something you just don't normally see...men with pearls!!!! lol...

these guys are: on the right Prince of Pearls

Late Rana of Dholphur in Pearl Regalia

on the left Maharajah of Patiala

and in the middle gaikwar Baroda of Pearls...

Men with pearls?! Strange. The Baroda pearls look great even worn by a man.
I found some jeweled men: Maharajah Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala and Sayajirao Gaekwad III,Maharaja of Baroda

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala

 

[prince.of.preslav]

and one more

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Sayajirao III Gaekwad, Maharaja of Baroda

 

[prince.of.preslav]

man don''t wear only peral this one (Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala I guess) is weraing a really heavy diamond necklace. I think it''s now DeBeers''s own and thew are trying to restore it, because some of the large diamonds are missing. BTW is he wearing a tiara? How do you think?

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Here is the restored necklace known as The Patiala Necklace

Some history:
"After its display in Paris the Maharaja of Patiala bought the De Beers. In 1928 Cartier of Paris set it as the centerpiece of a ceremonial necklace that came to be known as the Patiala Necklace. Sometime during the 1930''s the diamond was acquired by its present owners who loaned it in 1973 for an exhibition in Israel........
Cartier acquired the remains of the necklace and spent four years restoring it. They tried recreating the original replacing the missing diamonds with a variety of natural stones such as white sapphires or white topazes, but with disappointing results. Back to the diamonds. The original diamonds were of course not available including the De Beers Diamond itself. While the search for replacements continues, Cartier decided to use cubic zirconium to substitute for the seven diamonds and synthetic rubies to substitute for the original Burmese marvels. A replica of the De Beers Diamond was created and set in the necklace, but what type of synthetic material used has not been released to the press. (One source actually said synthetic yellow sapphire, but this would have taken a prohibitively long time to cut and polish due to the immense size of the replica and the fact sapphire is a very tough stone, being a 9 on the Mohs hardness scale. Therefore, it is more than likely tha yellow cubic zirconium was used, and another clue is that in a number of photos of the necklace, the De Beers replica casts off a number of different colors, something a synthetic yellow sapphire wouldn''t do to that degree, but which a yellow cubic zirconium would.) The necklace originally contained about 2,930 diamonds weighing about 962.25 carats."

 

[prince.of.preslav]

another view of the Patiala necklace. The man frot the previous photo isn''t Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala, it''s Bhupinder Singh, Maharaja of Patiala.

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Princess Diana''s "D" necklace is great. Thank you for the Diana posts Sithathoriunet

 

[Sithathoriunet]

hey prince.of.preslav! you are very welcome..i enjoy the posts! diana was so beautiful and a great subject for photos!
btw, great pics of men in jewels! sounds like a new seg. we can have here!!! lol i have more pics to post, i''m gonna go post them now...

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Hat Decoration
While this may look like a woman''s tiara, it is actually a decoration which Fathali Shah often wore on a tall black woolskin hat. It can be clearly seen on a number of minature paintings of Fathali Shah, usually holding two white egret feathers.

The gem stones on this item consist of spinels, rubies, and diamonds, mounted on gold with a silver frame. Total height: 13.5 cm. The largest diamond is 10 cts., the largest spinel is 50 cts.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Water Decanter and Basin
This water decanter and basin were used to wash the hands of the Shah and his guests prior to and after meals. According to accounts by 17th and 18th century French and English travellers, the water was usually warm and scented with rosewater. One servant would pour the water over the diner''s hands by tilting the decanter, while another servant held the basin beneath his hands to catch the water. The custom was common throughout the country and among all classes, so a basin and water decanter could be found in practically every household. Of course, few would have been as ornate. This particular water decanter and basin were carried by the Shah''s entourage, along with his slippers, his sword, mace and staff, his waterpipe and his tobacco humidifier.

The basin is 10.5 cm. high, 29.5 cm. in diameter, and weighs 1870 grams. It is made of solid gold, decorated with enamel and emeralds. The top of the basin is made like a sieve, designed to prevent any water from splashing out. The largest emerald on the basin is 25 cts.

The decanter is 42.5 cm. high and weighs 4224 grams and is also made of solid gold. It is encrusted with emeralds, rubies, pearls, and spinels. The largest ruby (which is not visible in the picture) is 22 cts. and the largest emerald is 30 cts.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Nader Shah''s Shield
Nader Shah carried this shield into battle during this campaigns in India. It is assumed that the gems were added to it at a later date in his honor. His bow, which is still in the Golestan palace, bears no adornments other than a layer of varnish.

The shield is supposedly made of rhinoceros hide, and has a diameter of 46 cm. It is covered with spinels, emeralds, diamonds, and rubies. Even the edge of the shield, which is not visible in the picture, is studded with emeralds. The center spinel is one of the largest in the world, weighing 225 cts. The four emeralds surrounding the center spinel cover screw holes that attach straps to the back of the shield, allowing the Shah to securely hold it during battle.

The largest emerald on the shield weighs 140 cts. Most of the diamonds range from 6 to 8 cts.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Emerald and Diamond Tiara
Not much is known about this tiara. Its basic design is of a sunburst, with a 25 ct. pink spinel in the center. Each ray ends in a diamond blossom with a single pearl or emerald. The emeralds have holes in them which are covered with small diamonds. The holes suggest that the emeralds were previously used in other pieces. The largest emerald is 20 cts.

The design of this tiara was more commonly used in aigrettes in the second half of the 19th century, and so the origins of this tiara may be attributed to that time. Height: 7.2 cm.