museum exhibit

Cartier Tiaras in Canberra

04.10.2018 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

Photo generously shared by Javier. DO NOT REPRODUCE.

The incredible exhibition of Cartier jewels currently on display in Australia is a treasure trove of glittering enjoyment. After our media preview here on the blog, I heard from several of you that you’d been able to attend. Lovely reader DeluxeDuck was kind enough to send along numerous fantastic photographs from the exhibition, allowing those of us across the world to peek inside. Today, I’m so thrilled to be able to share the first of two posts featuring DD’s fabulous photos from the show. This post focuses solely on the magnificent tiaras on display; the next post will feature additional non-tiara pieces.

At the top of the post, we’ve got a peek at the de Gunzberg Tiara, made for Baron Pierre de Gunzberg in Paris in 1912. The impressive kokoshnik-style tiara is made of diamonds, platinum, and intricately-carved rock crystal.

Photo generously shared by Javier. DO NOT REPRODUCE.

This diamond bandeau, set with a single round pearl, is decidedly geometric in its design

Photo generously shared by Javier. DO NOT REPRODUCE.

The gorgeous diamond and aquamarine tiara that belonged to Christian, Lady Hesketh is also on display. The tiara, which includes diamond myrtle leaves in its design, was made around 1910

Photo generously shared by Javier. DO NOT REPRODUCE.

Made in 1937 to be worn at the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, this diamond and aquamarine tiara is an excellent example of the Art Deco style; its central element can be detached and worn as a clip brooch

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The aquamarine tiara is usually shown alongside this unique citrine and diamond tiara, made in 1937 during the Art Deco period, which is convertible: the central element detaches and transforms into a clip brooch

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This striking tiara is often used by Cartier in promotional materials for its exhibitions; the small kokoshnik-style tiara is set with diamonds, pearls, and onyx

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Along with the Cartier Halo Tiara from the British royal collection, this diamond halo tiara is also on display; it was made in 1934 of diamonds and platinum with a lotus flower motif, which is especially noticeable in the shadows of this image. The tiara was purchased by the Aga Khan III for his wife, the Begum Aga Khan

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This tiara, inspired by Indian jewels, is packed with glittering diamonds

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Here’s a view of the magnificent Essex Tiara, made for the Countess of Essex in 1902; the design was reportedly inspired by Malaysian jewels. The tiara was later loaned to Clementine Churchill and to Margareta of Romania, who wore it at her wedding

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The fabulous diamond olive wreath tiara from the collection of Princess Marie Bonaparte, made around the time of her wedding to Prince George of Greece and Denmark in 1907, is also included in the show

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The ruby and diamond Bains de Mer Tiara, one of the wedding gifts presented to Princess Grace of Monaco, is shown as well; you can read more about it here!

Photo generously shared by Javier. DO NOT REPRODUCE.

Also on show: the diamond and pearl drop tiara that belonged to Grace’s mother-in-law, Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois. The tiara was made for Charlotte around 1949.

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This striking tutti frutti bandeau, featuring carved rubies, emeralds, and sapphires set with diamonds in platinum, belonged to Edwina, Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Made in 1928, it can be dismantled to form a pair of bracelets.

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And finally, the tiara showstopper: the incredible diamond, sapphire, and pearl tiara on loan from the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. Made for Princess Marie Louise (the Duke’s godmother), the tiara was inspired by jewels from India

Preview: Cartier in Canberra

04.03.2018 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

Attention, Aussies: a spectacular exhibition of Cartier jewels has arrived in Canberra! I’ve read comments from many of you who are planning to attend, and today I’ve got a bit of a preview of what you’ll see on display at the National Gallery of Australia. Enjoy!

Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

Pieces from Cartier’s signature animal collection are included, including this diamond snake

Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

The gold and diamond Dolphin Bangle, which features an emerald-studded eye, is also included

Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

The animal theme continues with a vanity case decorated with greyhounds

Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

Jewels from Cartier’s magnificent belle epoque period are also on show, including this diamond and pearl devant de corsage, which was made in 1902

Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

A faceless mannequin models a diamond tiara and choker necklace, plus the enormous diamond Lily Stomacher

Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

This diamond and pearl bandeau from the firm also sparkles on display

Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

Other tiaras are also featured, including this diamond and pearl kokoshnik, made in 1908

Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II has loaned several pieces to be shown, including the Cartier Halo Tiara, famously worn by the Duchess of Cambridge on her wedding day and by Princess Margaret at the 1953 coronation. Clearly we can firmly cross this one off the possible wedding tiara list for May!

Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

The Queen also generously lent one of her most spectacular brooches, the Williamson Diamond Brooch, which features one of the world’s rarest pink diamonds

Cole Bennetts/Getty Images

But the showstopper is undoubtedly the Patiala Necklace. We did a lengthy post on this incredible custom creation, which you can read here!

Tiaras Revealed at Kensington Palace

03.29.2018 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

© Historic Royal Palaces

We learned late last year that two magnificent tiaras made in the reign of Queen Victoria would soon be going on display at Kensington Palace, and on Friday, the public will finally see them sparkling in action. And even better — there’s a surprise third royal tiara involved! Here’s the scoop on the jewels you’ll see in the palace’s revamped “Victoria Revealed” exhibition.

© Historic Royal Palaces

All of the jewels that have been newly placed in the exhibition belonged to members of the British royal family. The diamond and emerald tiara, as well as its accompanying parure, were all owned and worn by Queen Victoria. The two all-diamond tiaras on display belonged to her granddaughter, Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife.

© Historic Royal Palaces

The amazing emerald and diamond tiara looks gorgeous under the museum lighting, doesn’t it? The tiara was designed for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert and made by Joseph Kitching. The symmetry of the piece is typical of the jewels designed by Albert for Victoria.

In a press release for the new exhibition, Historic Royal Palaces describes the tiara as “set with cushion-shaped diamonds and step-cut emeralds, and surmounted by a graduated row of 19 inverted pear-shaped emeralds, the largest of which weighs an astonishing 15 carats.”

Here, in the hands of one of the Historic Royal Palaces conservators, you get a good idea of the size of the diadem. Victoria was thrilled with her present, noting in her journal that her husband had “wonderful taste” and that she was delighted to wear the “lovely Diadem of diamonds and emeralds designed by my beloved Albert.”

Grand Ladies Site

Exactly how long Queen Victoria kept the tiara — and what she did with it — aren’t precisely clear. In the 1880s, a granddaughter, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (grandmother of the Duke of Edinburgh), was depicted wearing the tiara as part of a costume. And when an inventory of Victoria’s jewels was made in 1896, the emerald tiara was not included.

Decades later, Caroline, wife of the 3rd Duke of Fife, was photographed wearing the tiara and its accompanying suite of emerald jewelry at the 1960 State Opening of Parliament. It’s possible, then, that Victoria gave the tiara directly to the 3rd Duke’s grandmother (and her granddaughter), Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife.

Here’s a look at the rest of the jewels that make up the married parure. The other pieces — “a necklace formed of 9 oval emerald clusters, each set within a border of cushion-shaped diamonds, its accompanying pendant earrings and an impressive 20ct emerald and diamond brooch” — were made in 1843 and given to Victoria by Albert. The tiara was later made to “complement” the set.

Queen Victoria wearing her emeralds

Here’s a portrait of Victoria wearing the tiara with the earrings and the necklace. All of the diamond and emerald pieces, including the tiara, are on on long-term loan to Historic Royal Palaces from the estate of the 3rd Duke of Fife, who died in 2015.

As a part of the settlement of the late 3rd Duke’s estate, the grand Fife Tiara was accepted by Her Majesty’s Government in lieu of inheritance tax. The tiara was permanently allocated to Historic Royal Palaces, and it too is a part of the newly revamped “Victoria Revealed” exhibition. (We covered the news about the tiara’s new home in this post.)

Designed by Oscar Massin, the tiara was a wedding present given to Princess Louise of Wales, daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, by her new husband, the Duke of Fife, in 1889. A special issue of The Graphic, published in August 1889 to celebrate the Fife wedding, described the tiara as follows: “in a very uncommon and beautiful design, composed of hundreds of stones, ranging in weight from one carat to ten, the larger being what are technically known as briolettes — that is cut on both sides and turning on pivots so that they will flash with every movement of the head.” Another contemporary news report describes the tiara given by the duke as “a mass of diamonds, and one of the most valuable pieces of work in England.”

Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife

Here, Louise wears the Fife Tiara in an early postcard portrait, pairing the tiara with pearls.

After Louise’s death, the tiara was inherited by her elder daughter, Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife. She wore the tiara at a pair of coronations: the 1937 coronation of King George VI, and the 1953 coronation of his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

Alexandra’s only son, Alastair, died without issue, and the tiara was eventually inherited by her nephew, the 3rd Duke of Fife. It was worn by several family brides, including the current Duchess of Fife. Now the tiara belongs to the nation.

The press materials for the reopening of the “Victoria Revealed” exhibition also included a tiara surprise: the jewelry display also includes another tiara that belonged to Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife. This classic diamond fringe, which can be worn either as a tiara or a necklace, was given to Louise as a wedding present by her parents, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. The Illustrated London News described the fringe as composed “of fine brilliants, of elegant design of alternating and graduating rays, varying from nearly two inches long in the centre to half an inch at the extreme ends.”

Queen Alexandra (then Princess of Wales) with her daughters, Maud, Victoria, and Louise at the Duke of York’s wedding, July 1893

Louise was photographed wearing both the Fife Tiara and the diamond fringe necklace in July 1893 during the wedding celebrations for her brother, the Duke of York, and his bride, Mary of Teck. (They later became King George V and Queen Mary, grandparents of the present Queen.) Like the emeralds, the diamond fringe is also on long-term loan from the estate of Louise’s grandson, the late 3rd Duke of Fife.

If you’re in London, I highly recommend a visit to Kensington Palace to see the exhibit. I visited in 2013, long before the fabulous jewelry additions, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Other highlights include the room where Victoria held her very first privy council meeting (pictured above). When I was there, the exhibition also included Victoria’s wedding dress, though I’m not sure whether it still does. Regardless, you’re not going to want to miss a chance to see this one — especially with the new bejeweled additions! The exhibition reopens to the public tomorrow (Friday, March 30, 2018). Be sure to let us know if you stop by!