Worst Royal Jewels 2

[magnik]

Scarab necklace princess lilian image by goldenhill on Photobucket

Is this the necklace?

Little description here
Crownprincess Margareta`s Necklace
Bdw. I don't like it too.

 

[Lumutqueen]

I don't mind the necklace. It isn't the worst i've seen.

 

[Wisteria]

I don't mind the necklace. It isn't the worst i've seen.

Actually if someone wanted to give it to me I would be thrilled. I rather like it.

 

[iowabelle]

That's my awful necklace! There is a romantic history to the necklace, but I don't like the linear arrangement of the scarabs. Maybe it would look better on a lady with a larger decolletage than Princess Lillian's. I think I'd even like it better if the scarabs were on a flat chain that ran horizontally as opposed to vertically.

And the odd thing is, I like Egyptian art and artifacts.

 

[Roslyn]

I like the necklace, but it's a distinctive piece and needs to be worn with an Art Deco styled dress to match the geometric lines, not with puffy sleeves and a rounded neckline.

AND it needs to be worn on a much, much younger neck.

 

[udyusa]

I agree but I hesitate whether it should be worn with a larger decolletage. I fear that it may be lost in the ladie's , errrm, bosoms?

 

[wymanda]

On a plain, high necked dark dress it would look great!

 

[Marsel]

The necklace isn't a complete horror, however it looks a bit cheap, like something you could buy for 1$. There is no feeling the necklace is actually made of precious gems or that it has a romantic history behind it.

 

[claypoint2]

Great, fun thread. I don't know if this piece has been nominated before.... It is an aquamarine & diamond necklace presented to Queen Elizabeth II on her coronation by the Brazilian government. It looks like a weapon... something that you could swing round and round, and then conk your opponent on the head.

Too much of a heavy clunker to be elegant -- but surely an effective method of taking out your enemy, I say.

Royal Collection - Dress for the Occasion

 

[Marsel]

I always liked the Brazilian aquamarine & diamond parure.

 

[jcbcode99]

I also dislike the scarab necklace (I believe I added it to this thread about a year ago and we had a fantastic discussion on it's position in the thread!!!). I don't hate the brazillian necklace--but that tiara---UGH.

Another piece is that ruby necklace of QEII's--the one set in yellow gold which she received from the Saudi's. I hate it. I really do. It's cheap looking. I vastly prefer Queen Victoria's ruby necklace or the Baring ruby necklace.

 

[iowabelle]

Does anybody have an idea who the scarab necklace would look good on? Maybe we could photoshop it on a few people. Maybe Camilla could carry it off.

 

[udyusa]

Camilla seems to be able to carry off just about everything and anything, Iowabelle, but I do have my doubts about this piece! However, I wouldn't doubt that she would give it a try...

 

[Katrianna]

Speaking of rubies, the ruby and diamond necklace that Camilla received when in Saudi Arabia is just too big and almost looks like a bib, but Camilla pulled it off when she wore it and looked pretty good. Now if someone offered me a chance to try this necklace on, I'd be breaking my leg and knocking people out of the way to get it around MY neck.

 

[Connie Cutmantle]

I love this thread! I have been lapping up the comments and making various mewing noises here and there for an age as I have ploughed my way self indulgently through!

I still grimace as an image of Wallis Windsor's amethyst and turquoise bib looms before me! It was a monstrosity IMHO! The gems themselves are magnificent but the setting was almost criminally hideous!

Camilla's Ruby bib thing is 'wantonly' vulgar and barbaric too IMHO! Almost as vulgar as Mrs Ronnie Greville's diamonds.....all five together... simply de trop!!!! But I suppose the adage goes...if you've got it you may as well flaunt it! But there is something rather 'filthy' and over the top about such pieces IMHO!

The Brazilian aquamarine parure....I adore aquamarines and drool at the magnificence of these wonderful stones but I find the setting barbarous! The tiara in particular is simply .......urgh!

The Burmese tiara contains such a glut of superbly hued rubies as to leave one breathless...but the setting is underwhelmingly unimaginative and seems to me almost tacky!

I also loathe the gold ruby necklace that QEII received from the Saudis mentioned earlier in this thread! It is dreadful!

Queen Mary had a rather odd 'looped' diamond tiara that always put me in mind of a rabbit with more than two ears! I feel it was one of the least successful of her trove of goodies!

I love the comment made about Nanette Newman making cheese on toast with her emeralds on! It brought to mind an image of Princess Margaret in the bath clad only in her tiara!

 

[Connie Cutmantle]

Omigod.........I have been perusing these jewel threads today and really it is all such delicious guilty fun! On occasion I have come across references to horrors with which I am familiar such as Queen Sonja's Wonder woman/Star trek monstrosity and Sophie Wessex's cobbled together Klingon aquamarine 'demi'-tiara, and I love the concept of the scarab necklace thing....but it just doesn't work. Anyway, I have been increasingly intrigued when posters kept mentioning Princess Astrid's Wings in pained tones! To be honest I assumed the wings would be like one of those rather pretty Chaumet affairs and my interest was naturally whetted! But then I finally came across a picture of the Princess sporting her wings, with Haakon and MM... OHhhh goodness me....the music from The Omen mixed with the shower scene Eeeek Eeek Eeeek from 'Psycho' started pounding in my ears and I choked on my glass of Chablis..... Ohhhhhh......Hmmmm......Ooooh....well needlees to say it was one of those moments.....what can one say!!! Initially, the Princess reminded me rather of Mavis Cruet the Fairy from the 1980s animated cartoon Wilo' the Wisp! It is terrible......because after a moment of utter near hysterical pitched shock and awe, as I regained my composure and wiped the tears from my eyes, those wings sprouting out from Astrid's hair began to look rather like a pair of mini diamante encrusted bunny ears! The sort of headdress that a certain Mr Hefner may give one of his playmates to don!!!! Oh my....why has no one told Astrid!!!! This atrocity absolutely must be accidently on purpose lost sooner rather than later!

Then again, perhaps they are Chaumet diamond wings and Astrid has been fiddling with them rather more than she aught to have done, perhaps in a bid to try to make them look 'elevated'.....if so they simply must be sent to nearest master goldsmith to be restored to a less disneyesque and gruesome elevation at once! If Astrid hasn't been fiddling with them....well I am confounded by the seeming cruelty being demonstrated in permitting such a 'vintage' Princess to be obliged to don such a horror!

 

[jcbcode99]

Oh my word, you had me in complete stitches!!!

I hate, hate, hate the brazillian tiara--UGH-O-LA. I prefered the smaller version--she really messed it up. Same with the rubies--messed it up. The sapphire tiara is the best of the worst of her creations--but thank you! The Saudi ruby necklace in yellow gold is UGLY and I hate it. And yet, she seems to trot it out regularly.Perhaps HM reads this board and enjoys toying with us??? If so, wear it Your Majesty, I do enjoy your sense of humor.
Now, I had completely forgotten about Wallis' turquoise and amethyst bib! http://www.solitaire.com.sg/magazine/jun_jul05/media/story3a_pix.gif I think is must be photoshopped pic, but the necklace we are discussing is the bottom one (the top tiara with emeralds is lovely and should not be in this thread). That was pretty ugly--
http://blog.rewarestyle.com/wp-content/cartier1947.jpg
better pic.
she also had a studded gold collar thing that she had made as well (it's in Menkes book, black and white photo) and it is wretched as well. It looks like some kind of medieval breast plate.

 

[Connie Cutmantle]

The Brazilian tiara really is the pits!!!! Yes...QEII does seem to favour the yellow gold and ruby necklace....I simply do not understand WHY!?!?! I tend to hope that Camilla wears the saudi ruby and diamond barbarity out of duty rather than preference and that the Queen's yellow gold and ruby necklace will to permanently confined to the darkest recesses of the vaults in due course!!!!

As for Bib necklaces...I simply never could find a way to really appreciate them, and that infamous Amethyst Turquoise dinosaur armoured plating monstrosity Wallis Windsor owned has to be the most barbaric incarnation of this design! Thank you Jcb for providing the links to pictures....as a newbie I am still unsure about how to do links properly!

I have found a picture of another bib like 'breast plate' that Wallis wore and hope it is ok to add a link and will not cause issues about copyright infringement and the like.....-

Google Image Result for http://www.divasthesite.com/images/Wallis_Simpson/Wallis_Simpson_intro.jpg

This bib thing looks pretty busy and breastplate-ish to me too! It may not be as bad as the amethyst horror but it makes it look like the Duchess has had an outbreak of some dermatological ailment which needs immediate attention to me! Perhaps the angle of the photograph does not do this bib justice and I may be being a bit harsh! I do remember another bib she owned which was studded with cabochon rubies and emeralds and was contrived on a plate like base divided up into lattice work lozenges....which was not too bad on the eye IMHO!

 

[Connie Cutmantle]

Princess Astrid's wings tiara!!!!!!

I have found this agonizing explicit web page full of images of the diabolically awful wing tara or feather tiara as others call it! OMG......be prepared as it is not a pretty sight........ actually it really should be censored as R or 18+ or whatever is the most strict rating possible internationally!!!!!!
The Mods here may actually feel obliged to remove the link!!!!!! Anyway for the brave.........

http://www.angelfire.com/la3/lone_mor/kongelige_a_feather.html

Eeeeeeek Eeeek - is it not akin to the 'Psycho' shower scene in its horror?!?!?!?!


But I suppose at least close up the 'horror' doesn't actually look like the malformed mini bunny ears I equated it to in a previous posting!......Oh dear! I think I must have a rest on the chaise lounge and take a mogadon to calm my shattered nerves! It's my own fault though as I did set out deliberately to find some more pictures of the wretched thing!!!!! I suppose it's just the jewel troll in me!!!

 

[udyusa]

I do believe we get what you are trying to show us.... difficult as it may be. May I be so daring as to ask what is it that you are taking? I believe you referred to it as .. mogadon? I have my chaise but alas, no mogadon.

 

[Connie Cutmantle]

I do believe we get what you are trying to show us.... difficult as it may be. May I be so daring as to ask what is it that you are taking? I believe you referred to it as .. mogadon? I have my chaise but alas, no mogadon.

I wish I had some Mogadon after subjecting myself to those link pictures....even valium would suffice! But never mind, I suppose I aught to just try and recover my near shattered nerves by having a look through some of the really splendid 'nice' jewel threads as recompense and to help restore my wobbling faith in royal jewels!!!!

 

[udyusa]

Oh indeed, Connie. Take your time....

 

[Lighthouse]

It looks like a child's headband.

 

[Connie Cutmantle]

Yes it does Lighthouse, you are soooo right.....just like those silly deely boppers that were all the rage in the early 1980s!!!!!!!

 

[Roslyn]

Oh that wing tiara is a gem, isn't it! I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face if I had it on my head. I'd be wearing the same silly expression I have when I pop on a reindeer antler headband at Christmas time.

 

[Tilia C.]

Oh, I have often wondered why on earth Ps. Astrid bothers to wear this thing again and again and again and.... The wings themselves seem rather nice and I wouldn't mind seeing them worn as brooches, but as a tiara the thingy is just ridicules. I wonder for what kind of fashion and coiffure it was designed??? Well, certainly not for Astrid's!!! Maybe they were meant to be worn on the forehead, 1920's style; women in that era got away with a lot of things which nowadays should be reserved for carnival and Halloween.

As for the poppies: I don't think that I could bear them even as brooches. They would simply always remind me of their origins. My idea is to chuck them where they belong: a flower vase! Imagine a state banquet with golden poppies popping out of the centerpiece! Team them up with a lot of red and real poppies and a couple of roses. Now, that would be impressive!

 

[jcbcode99]

Sigh......I feel sorry for Astrid, thinking she has to wear that pitiful "tiara". I don't know how we've missed the winged tiara's inclusion on this board--but it has livened it up.

 

[Tilia C.]

Sigh......I feel sorry for Astrid, thinking she has to wear that pitiful "tiara". I don't know how we've missed the winged tiara's inclusion on this board--but it has livened it up.

It must be her own free will to wear the wing-things, because she has other tiaras at her disposal. The turquoise tiara http://www.angelfire.com/la3/lone_mor/kongelige_a_turquoise.html, the Vasa tiara http://www.angelfire.com/la3/lone_mor/kongelige_a_vasa.html and her bandeau http://www.angelfire.com/la3/lone_mor/kongelige_a_bandeau.html are between very nice and not too bad. Only this thingy http://www.angelfire.com/la3/lone_mor/kongelige_a_unknown.html should stay hidden in the vaults and honestly deserves it's place in this thread.
Maybe she likes lightness of the wing-thing? Let's hope they get caught in the wind someday and are blown away forever

 

[jcbcode99]

Ah, I had forgotten about the Vasa tiara--and I do love the turquoise parue. I have a think for turquoise parues--I wonder if Margaret's is in the Royal Collection--and the Gloucester's have one that belonged to the Teck family (Queen Marys' family). Back on track--perhaps Astrid is headache prone and wears the butterfly, ahem, "tiara" because of that. I think it's silly and childish looking--but would make a lovely brooch, possibly. As for that bandeau-not too impressed over but perhaps there is a better pic somewhere.

 

[iowabelle]

Astrid's wings are pretty awful. But in general I don't think she wears tiaras well. IMO she pushes them too far to the back of her head and at an angle, and then she usually pairs them with ugly (and very large) glasses. Tiaras don't seem to look good when worn with glasses (although I've seen Queen Elizabeth II wear them together... what are you going to do, you need to see!).