Countess of Wessex Jewellery

[QueenElizabeth]

The Countess of Wessex wore the brooch of The Rifles. She and The Earl are Colonels of the 2nd and 5th Battalion The Rifles and it was Salamanca Day, a battle honour celebrated in that Regiment. In the evening, they went to a joint engagement with the Rifles and I suppose it was worn for that occasion. The brooch

 

[bertie5252003]

Thanks for that info 'mystery' solved.

 

[noldorlord]

There is a bust of Sophie the she unvaieled- it has a great necklace dose anyone have a picture?

 

[jcbcode99]

The Countess of Wessex wore the brooch of The Rifles.

Many, many thanks!

 

[EllieCat]

I'd like to see Sophie wear ANY substantial jewellery.

After all, the Gloucesters and Kents do, and they are only married to and/or are grandchildren of a Monarch; Sophie is married to the son of a Monarch.

Princess Michael has some stunning jewellery, and has the looks to carry it off. Sophie has a more delicate look, but I still can't see why she can't wear something really substantial.

 

[wymanda]

HM has generously from time to time given Sophie jewellery (eg: the ruby and diamond set, the acquamarine necklace / tiara etc)

I still think the Aquamarines came from Princess Andrew (Prince Phillip's mother). If this is the case then they were a wedding gift from her Aunt Grand Duchess Elizabeth.

 

[branchg]

I still think the Aquamarines came from Princess Andrew (Prince Phillip's mother). If this is the case then they were a wedding gift from her Aunt Grand Duchess Elizabeth.

The only pieces from Princess Andrew were The Queen's engagement ring and diamond bracelet, both of which were made using diamonds from various Orders, and the Greek meander tiara, which was a wedding gift.

Whatever other pieces she may have possessed were sold by Prince Andrew during their long exile from Greece. This is discussed in Vickers biography of Princess Andrew.

 

[noldorlord]

HM has generously from time to time given Sophie jewellery (eg: the ruby and diamond set, the acquamarine necklace / tiara etc). The only ones to receive serious jewellery with a historic links have been Camilla and Diana.

Edward and Sophie seem very happy to me. They are making their marriage work! Please your Majesty give her a little something extra

 

[wymanda]

again supposition. I'm certain that Munn stated that those two items had been made from a minor tiara. Again this could possibly have been some of the superstructure from the aquamarine tiara. The tiara that Sophie wore at the danish wedding looked to be the lower portion of this piece and shortly afterwards she debuted the new aquamarine tiara.

The only pieces from Princess Andrew were The Queen's engagement ring and diamond bracelet, both of which were made using diamonds from various Orders, and the Greek meander tiara, which was a wedding gift.

Whatever other pieces she may have possessed were sold by Prince Andrew during their long exile from Greece. This is discussed in Vickers biography of Princess Andrew.

 

[Charlotte1]

again supposition. I'm certain that Munn stated that those two items had been made from a minor tiara. Again this could possibly have been some of the superstructure from the aquamarine tiara. The tiara that Sophie wore at the danish wedding looked to be the lower portion of this piece and shortly afterwards she debuted the new aquamarine tiara.

The tiara that Sophie wore at the Danish wedding gala, (the daisy style one) has only even made the one appearance so the speculation is that it was a loan from a jeweller. At the time Sophie only had the one tiara her wedding tiara, the aquamarine tiara came a year later. The internet jewellery reseachers have done close ups of Alice's tiara and the one Sophie wore in Denmark, while they look similar, close up the differences can be seen.

Originally Posted by branchg
The only pieces from Princess Andrew were The Queen's engagement ring and diamond bracelet, both of which were made using diamonds from various Orders, and the Greek meander tiara, which was a wedding gift.

Whatever other pieces she may have possessed were sold by Prince Andrew during their long exile from Greece. This is discussed in Vickers biography of Princess Andrew.

Sophie was given Alice's diamond horseshoe hairpins, there are photos of both Alice and Sophie wearing them.

Andrew sold diamonds from his Orders and replaced them with paste, he didn't sell jewellery. That's what was discussed in Vickers's biography, when Alice went to retrieve the jewellery in 1947 she was surprised to find out some of the Orders had paste jewels, but her Russian Star had good diamonds and so that was used for Elizabeth's engagement ring. There was at least one other tiara that was broken down for its jems, the meander was given to Elizabeth who in turn gave it to Anne for her 18th birthday.

 

[wymanda]

The tiara that Sophie wore at the Danish wedding gala, (the daisy style one) has only even made the one appearance so the speculation is that it was a loan from a jeweller. At the time Sophie only had the one tiara her wedding tiara, the aquamarine tiara came a year later. The internet jewellery reseachers have done close ups of Alice's tiara and the one Sophie wore in Denmark, while they look similar, close up the differences can be seen.

That year long gap would allow for the old tiara being completely dismantled to create the new one. I seriously cannot see HM allowing her daughter in law to borrow jewels to attend a major european royal event. I seem to recall that Princess Andrew was godmother to her youngest grandson so it would make sense that he was left what jewels she had left for his wife.

 

[Charlotte1]

Alice didn't leave any jewels to anyone, let alone her godson. At the time of Philip's engagement she went to Paris to retrieve all her jewellery which was inherited by her surviving children. After some demuring on the part of her daughter Margarita, her surviving daughters gave up their claim to the jewellery and it all went to Philip. Alice gave Elizabeth the Greek key tiara and Philip had the rest of the jewellery. It was also around this time that Alice became very religious and founded her order of nuns, she sold what she could to keep the nuns. Knowing that she was likely to sell anything in her name, when it was decided that an apartment should be bought for Alice so she would always have somewhere to live in Athens, it was put into Philip's name so Alice wouldn't be able to sell it! During her lifetime Alice sold or gave away anything of value that she had. She had nothing to pass onto any godchild after her death.

The tiara loan theory has legs as one of the internet jewellery experts found Sophie's tiara at the Danish wedding available for sale. The new tiara could well have been made from pieces of an old one, as a damaged tiara is one of the pieces that was retrieved by Alice in 1947. But it's not a certainty that the Danish wedding tiara was from Alice's collection.

 

[ayvee]

The tiara that Sophie wore at the Danish wedding gala, (the daisy style one) has only even made the one appearance so the speculation is that it was a loan from a jeweller. At the time Sophie only had the one tiara her wedding tiara, the aquamarine tiara came a year later. The internet jewellery reseachers have done close ups of Alice's tiara and the one Sophie wore in Denmark, while they look similar, close up the differences can be seen.

You are right about this. The Danish wedding was in May 2004. In November 2004, US Vogue published a Christmas gift list on which showed a flower tiara and being sold by Kentshire, a jeweler in NYC. When I called the phone number in January 2005, I was told that the flower necklace was actually a consigned piece to Kentshire from a jewelry store in London. It was still available for sale and I could arrange a viewing if I wanted to, but the necklace would have to be brought in from London.

Below is a comparison of the tiara that appeared in Vogue and what Sophie wore:
http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n374/royalmb/britain/flowertiarasophie.jpg
The Vogue picture was probably taken after the Danish wedding since the velvet ribbon around the tiara frame is a good match to Sophie's hair.

Sophie was given Alice's diamond horseshoe hairpins, there are photos of both Alice and Sophie wearing them.

This is a myth perpetuated on the internet, including this board. When you compare both hair combs, they are nothing alike as seen in this comparison photo:
http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n374/royalmb/britain/alicehaircombs.jpg
Princess Alice's hair combs are just curved lines that match the lines on her Greek Meander tiara. Sophie's hair combs have round stones in between the border.
I've made the comparison photo to have both of their jaws and forehead on the same line giving them similar-sized heads. The curvature on Alice's hair comb simply looks like a letter 'U' but with Sophie's, it actually narrows like a bottle-neck (there's a letter 'U' but it narrows as it gets closer to her hair). Also, the height on Sophie's hair combs where the diamonds (or paste stones) is taller than Alice's. Perhaps the height difference is coming from the angle, but certainly the design is different for both. There's only once conclusion you can draw from this and that Sophie did NOT wear Princess Alice's hair combs.

I personally would speculate that the pair of hair combs Sophie wore were also a loan like the flower necklace/tiara. I'll change my mind on this if Sophie wears the hair combs again - hopefully at the Swedish princesses' weddings this year!

 

[ada]

Yes, Sophie's wedding tiara is made from the four anthemions which were detachable ornaments that could be inserted into the frame base between the crosses and fleur de lys of the Regal Circlet. Impeccable provenance!

There is/was a fifth anthemion of larger size which acted as a mount for the Koh-i-noor diamond and could be inserted into the circlet, or worn as a rather impressive (!!) brooch.

I wonder if Prince Edward also designed the putting of the anthemions together, as he designed the wedding necklace and earrings. Poor Sophie, I bet her heart broke when she first saw them all, she deserves so much better.

 

[muriel]

I still find it diffcult to believe that HM would let Sophie borrow a tiara from a jeweller for an event at which Sophie is representing the BRF

 

[noldorlord]

I still find it diffcult to believe that HM would let Sophie borrow a tiara from a jeweller for an event at which Sophie is representing the BRF

So do I, just say it isn't so!

 

[Lady Karen]

Originally posted by purple_platinum in the Wessex news & picture thread.
[necklace pic] HRH The Countess of Wessex arrives at the Banqueting House to attend a Royal Gala dinner in aid of Childline and Mission Enfance 8 March 2006.
Pic courtesy GOFF. Pic of Sophie wearing tiara (cropped photo) courtesy Corbis

Wessex diamond and aquamarine tiara

On its frame in tiara mode >
as necklace V

. . . .

Hi everyone!

I do not post often, but read everyday. I have had an idea about Sophie's tiara/necklace for a few months and the more I look at it, I think I may be on to something.

One of Sophie's hobbies (per the British Monarchy website) is gardening. So I went to Google Maps to see if Bagshot Park has a formal garden, etc. From the aerial view, I was able to get a screen shot of one of the fountain gardens. I kept looking at it and I was saying that I have seen that design somewhere before and then it hit me that it looked like her new tiara!

I think that when the Crown Jewellers made the suite for Sophie, this design was used. I do not know if the tiara/necklace was designed from the gardens or if the gardens were designed from the tiara/necklace.

My drawings are not professional (obviously), but I think the similarities are too close to be a coincidence. I could not make them any bigger or the file would be too large to post!

What does everyone think....am I just crazy or do you think there may be something here?

...I have added another document that shows the garden without the markup!

Lady Karen

 

[jcbcode99]

It's me again....I have added another document that shows the garden without the markup!

Lady Karen

WOW! I have to say that the similarities certainly are there--it's very interesting and I think it is a theory well worth exploring!

 

[georgiea]

It's me again....I have added another document that shows the garden without the markup!
Lady Karen

Yes, there are striking similarities.

Lady Karen, did you know Prince Edward designed the Countess of Wessex cross necklace she wore on her wedding day? Maybe he design this necklace too. The large stone in the middle looks like the color of Sophie's eyes.

 

[PrincessofEurope]

I still find it diffcult to believe that HM would let Sophie borrow a tiara from a jeweller for an event at which Sophie is representing the BRF

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n374/royalmb/britain/alicehaircombs.jpg well the necklace the Countess is wearing in this picture is borrowed from a jewellers (Asprey's i think) a year or so later Sarah, Duchess of York was seeen wearing the exact same piece

She would not be the first borrow jewels from a jewellers - Diana did before and after marriage

 

[snowflower]

Regarding the tiara that Sophie wore at the Danish wedding and the speculation whether it was a heirloom from Princess Alice of Greece, I managed to find a close up from Princess Alice's tiara and I do think that they are suspiciously alike (from Filckr) :

 

[andrew]

.

This photo is a montage, a very good one but still a photo-montage. It has tricked me once, too!

 

[snowflower]

really? I had no idea! thanks for telling

 

[Lady Karen]

Yes, there are striking similarities.

Lady Karen, did you know Prince Edward designed the Countess of Wessex cross necklace she wore on her wedding day? Maybe he design this necklace too. The large stone in the middle looks like the color of Sophie's eyes.

Hi Georgiea!

Yes, I remember one of the television announcers at their wedding saying that the necklace was a wedding gift from Prince Edward that he designed.

 

[countess felicitas]

I might be ignorant but I thought that the aquamarine tiara is a historic piece - not a contemporary design.
Could someone help here with more information?
Thx

 

[ayvee]

I might be ignorant but I thought that the aquamarine tiara is a historic piece - not a contemporary design.
Could someone help here with more information?
Thx

It's a new design by Collins and Sons, the new crown jewellers. See post #127 on this thread.

 

[muriel]

ImageShack Album - 2 images

Does anybody recognise the tiara Sophie wore to the Swedish wedding? I think this is the one that was worn to the Danish wedding as well. AFAIK it is not her wedding tiara.

Also, does anybody recognise the diamond necklace Sophie is wearing?

 

[dbarn67]

The necklace is owned by QEII...thought to be a gift from one of the Middle Eastern royal family I think but, really, a mystery. I saw picture in one of the QE2 jewellery threads her at TRFs. I assume it is on loan to the Countess for the occasion. Warren may know exactly which one it is...

close up
http://members2.boardhost.com/royal-jewels/msg/1276994205.html

The tiara is her wedding tiara.
YouTube - ROYAL WEDDING 1999 - Edward & Sophie (2 of 8)

 

[Duchessmary]

I believe it's her wedding tiara.

 

[Lady Marmalade]

It is her wedding tiara. And funny enough, Victoria's wedding day was Sophie and Edward's 11th Anniversary! How wonderful three royal couples now share the same wedding anniversary. Those two, Victoria and Daniel, and her parents!

I believe the necklace is on loan from the Queen... I have seen it on her before.