The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

The Best Royal Jewels of 2019: #7 (Royal Fabergé in the Spotlight)

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Photo generously shared with us by Jeanne; do not reproduce
2019 has been a banner year for royal jewelry auctions, but few sales drummed up as much interest as a pair of Fabergé tiaras…
#7: Royal Fabergé in the Spotlight

Sotheby’s
Examples of tiaras made by the Faberge workshop are rare, and to have to royal ones come to the market in the same year is astounding. The first was this diamond kokoshnik-style tiara, made in 1903. Two years later, the sparkler was given as a wedding present to Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on her marriage to Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany. The tiara was a gift from her Russian relatives.
The tiara’s most prominent royal appearance came in 1949, when Crown Princess Cecilie’s daughter, Princess Cecilie of Prussia, married an American designer, Clyde Harris. The younger Cecilie wore the tiara on her wedding day at Hohenzollern Castle.
Sotheby’s
The tiara was sold by Sotheby’s in Geneva on May 14, exceeding its auction estimate by fetching more than $430,000.
Christie’s
The day after Crown Princess Cecilie’s Faberge tiara was sold, another fantastic tiara from the jeweler was offered at auction. This spectacular diamond and aquamarine tiara was made by Faberge in 1904. It was also a wedding present, offered to Princess Alexandra of Hanover by her new husband, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. (Friedrich Franz and Cecilie, the owner of the diamond tiara, were siblings.)
Grand Ladies Site
Grand Duchess Alexandra wore her new tiara for the first time at a court ball held shortly after her wedding, and she posed for portraits in the sparkler around the same time. The tiara was inherited by her descendants after her death in 1963.
Christie’s
Christie’s sold the tiara in Geneva on May 15, and when the hammer fell, the tiara fetched more than a million dollars. While we don’t know who bought Crown Princess Cecilie’s tiara, we do know who bought Grand Duchess Alexandra’s: Dorothy and Artie McFerrin, who own one of the largest private collections of Fabergé in North America.
Photo generously shared with us by Jeanne; do not reproduce
The McFerrins have generously placed much of their collection on display in a permanent gallery at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the diamond and aquamarine tiara has now joined the exhibition. One of our lovely readers, Jeanne, has kindly shared this photo of the tiara on display in its new home. It sits between two other excellent examples of tiaras by Faberge: the Leuchtenberg Fabergé Tiara, once owned by Queen Marie-Jose of Italy, and the Westminster Blue Enamel Kokoshnik.

Grand Duchess Alexandra’s Faberge Tiara Finds a Home!

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Christie’s

Great news, tiara lovers! The grand aquamarine and diamond Fabergé tiara that belonged to Grand Duchess Alexandra of Mecklenburg-Schwerin has found an excellent new home in the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Grand Ladies Site

The tiara was made by Faberge as a wedding gift for Princess Alexandra of Hanover on her marriage to Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1904. The tiara’s elaborate diamond base features numerous elements typical of belle epoque style, including forget-me-knots and ribbons. You’ll also note that the large, pear-shaped aquamarines are set atop cupid’s arrows — a touching design element for a tiara given as a wedding present. We covered the tiara’s history extensively in this earlier post.

Christie’s

The tiara arrived shortly after the couple’s wedding, and Alexandra immediately wore it for royal portraits and a grand court ball. It remained a cherished part of her jewelry box until her death in 1963, and it was passed down through her descendants until May 2019, when it was sold at Christie’s for more than a million dollars.

Christie’s

And now we’ve learned the identity of the buyers: Dorothy and Artie McFerrin, who own one of the largest private collections of Fabergé in North America. They generously share their bejeweled bounty with the public through a collaboration with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which features a permanent gallery of pieces from the McFerrin collection. The tiara joins two other spectacular Fabergé diadems in the display: the Leuchtenberg Fabergé Tiara, once owned by Queen Marie-Jose of Italy, and the Westminster Blue Enamel Kokoshnik. (Time to make Houston a part of your travel plans, magpies!)

Royal Jewels Fetch a Princely Sum

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Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s, Christie’s
We recently showcased five pieces of incredible antique jewelry here on The Court Jeweller that would soon be sold at auction. Now that the sales have happened, here’s a look at the amount each piece fetched in the auction room…

Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s
Likely made ca. 1903 by Fabergé, this diamond kokoshnik was given to Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin when she married Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia. The piece features three distinctive circular elements set in the middle of the tiara’s lattice and quatrefoil design. Auction estimates for the tiara ranged from just around $200,000-$300,000. When the hammer fell at Sotheby’s on May 14, the tiara sold for almost $435,000.
Christie’s
On May 15, Christie’s sold a diamond and aquamarine tiara made by Fabergé in 1905 for Princess Alexandra of Hanover. The piece was a wedding gift from her new husband, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and the tiara’s design appropriately incorporated many love symbols in its design. The piece was estimated to fetch around $230,000-$335,000, but it sold for significantly more: just over $1,020,000.
Christie’s

For the second time in recent memory, an emerald and diamond necklace that once belonged to Princess Helene, Duchess of Aosta was sold at auction. In May 2015, a buyer purchased the necklace at auction for more than $2.5 million. On May 15 in Geneva, the necklace sold for a lesser sum of $1.8 million — though this price fell within the piece’s auction estimate, which was set between $1.5 million and $2.5 million.
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s
This versatile, convertible emerald and diamond necklace, made by Van Cleef and Arpels, is an excellent example of the Art Deco style. It belonged to one of the wealthy socialites of the period, Helene Beaumont. The auction estimate for the stunning piece was set at around $3 million-$4 million. When the bidding finished at Sotheby’s on May 14, the necklace sold neatly within that range, fetching more than $3.5 million.
Christie’s
One of the most impressive auctions of royal jewels last week was the sale of an emerald that once belonged to Grand Duchess Vladimir. The stone, which has since been recut and is now set as a pendant in a diamond necklace, weighs more than 75 carats. Christie’s set the auction estimate for the necklace at a whopping $2.3-$3.5 million, and on May 15 in Geneva, it shattered those numbers, selling for more than $4.2 million.