Diana, Princess Of Wales Jewellery 1

[reynard]

Originally Posted by Reina

I agree that they would not want some of Diana's jewelry cuz of the strong connection and this is esp. true of the lover's knot tiara.

I don't know, I think William's wife should get the Lover's Knot tiara

[Josefine]

what jewllery did she keep after her divorce

[branchg]

Originally Posted by Josefine

what jewllery did she keep after her divorce

Diana had a fortune in personal jewels ($40 million by some estimates) mostly gifts which were given to her over the years from Middle Eastern monarchs (Saudis, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar) and the Sultan of Brunei. Many of these pieces, in the royal tradition, were not completely to her liking and were later reset in new pieces. All of these jewels were left to Princes William and Harry.

The Spencer tiara, which was a loan from the Earl Spencer, was returned to him at his request after her separation from Prince Charles. Diana also had a few pearl and diamond pieces and some earrings which were returned to the Spencers after her death.

The rest of her jewels, mostly gifts from Her Majesty, Prince Charles, and the Queen Mother, were returned to the Queen. As part of her divorce settlement, Diana was permitted to keep all royal jewels for her lifetime, with the proviso they could never be lent or sold. The agreement also stated these jewels would be given to Prince William for his future wife after her death.

[tiaraprin]

Here is Diana in the "Swan Lake Necklace" shortly before her death.

Photo from http://www.bemine.com/tributes/princess.htm

[tiaraprin]

Can anyone tell me where this amethyst demi-parure came from?
People have told me it is sapphires from the saudi wedding gift, but it looks like amethysts to me.

Picture courtesy of Getty Images

[scooter]

Originally Posted by tiaraprin

Here is Diana in the "Swan Lake Necklace" shortly before her death.

Photo from Princess Diana...The Queen of Hearts

That necklace is one of my favorites. I dont think she ever wore it with the lover's knot tiara, but they would have been smashing together. If she did wear them together and some one has a phots, please share!

[wymanda]

Originally Posted by branchg

Diana had a fortune in personal jewels ($40 million by some estimates) mostly gifts which were given to her over the years from Middle Eastern monarchs (Saudis, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar) and the Sultan of Brunei. Many of these pieces, in the royal tradition, were not completely to her liking and were later reset in new pieces. All of these jewels were left to Princes William and Harry.

I really wonder if these "gifts" could be considered as Diana's "personal" possessions? Surely they were given to The Princess of Wales, that is the position not the woman. I think it rather bad form to have reset them and would have thought that they should be set aside for future Princess's of Wales ie Williams wife.

[Squidgy]

Originally Posted by wymanda

I really wonder if these "gifts" could be considered as Diana's "personal" possessions? Surely they were given to The Princess of Wales, that is the position not the woman. I think it rather bad form to have reset them and would have thought that they should be set aside for future Princess's of Wales ie Williams wife.

I agree. She should have looked at her role in regards to these jewels as that of custodian - to safekeep them for future generations. And not just future generations of the Windsors, but for future generations of her fellow countrymen/women.

I also have a problem with the idea of royals receiving lavish gifts when they are touring. For example, I was just reading that during their Gulf tour of 1986, Charles received a convertible Aston Martin worth approx. 80,000 pounds, and Diana received the sapphire/diamond necklace, earrings and bracelet in crescent shape. They were touring the Gulf completely at taxpayers expense (with everything down to their clothes paid for by the State). It's Ok, I think for them to personally receive small token gifts (say of 1000 pounds or less), but I feel any more valuable gifts that they receive should be considered as gifts to the State, not to the couple personally.

[branchg]

Originally Posted by wymanda

I really wonder if these "gifts" could be considered as Diana's "personal" possessions? Surely they were given to The Princess of Wales, that is the position not the woman. I think it rather bad form to have reset them and would have thought that they should be set aside for future Princess's of Wales ie Williams wife.

According to Leslie Fields, all gifts of jewelry to members of the royal family from private individuals, companies or heads of state are considered to be their personal property. Gifts of jewelry from the Sovereign are considered to be "loans" that return to the Crown after the death of the royal, unless the Sovereign agrees they may remain in the possession of the family line of the late royal. Most of Diana's jewels were her personal property and were left to Princes William and Harry.

The jewels Diana received from the Queen and the Queen Mother were retained by the Princess as part of her divorce agreement with the proviso she could not sell or lend them during her lifetime. These pieces were returned to the Queen and will be given to Prince William when he marries.

[wymanda]

I always thought that amethyst necklace might have been fake but, then again, it might have come from the jewels of Queen Alexandra who had quite a fondness for the stone.
Interestingly, the Spencers have a third tiara that is made from tortoiseshell with amethyst accents. When I saw the picture of it in Munns book I thought how well it would have gone with this necklace.

[tiaraprin]

Queen Alexandra often wore the jewels of semi-mourning long after the death of her son, The Duke of Clarance and Avondale. Amethyst is among those choices.

[branchg]

The parure utilized sapphires reset from a bracelet from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia with black Tahitian pearls.

[tiaraprin]

Originally Posted by branchg

The parure utilized sapphires reset from a bracelet from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia with black Tahitian pearls.

That is sapphires with Tahitian Pearls?

[Squidgy]

Originally Posted by tiaraprin

That is sapphires with Tahitian Pearls?

No, it is not sapphires, but is, as you suspected, amethyst. At least, according to Debrett's Illustrated Fashion Guide : the Princess of Wales. This seems to make sense because the only times Diana wore the necklace was with purple gowns. Like you Tiaraprin, I have always wondered where the necklace came from and unfortunately, Debrett's does not indicate this.

Photos: Tim Graham (left); Jayne Fincher (centre, right)

[tiaraprin]

Originally Posted by Squidgy

No, it is not sapphires, but is, as you suspected, amethyst. At least, according to Debrett's Illustrated Fashion Guide : the Princess of Wales. This seems to make sense because the only times Diana wore the necklace was with purple gowns. Like you Tiaraprin, I have always wondered where the necklace came from and unfortunately, Debrett's does not indicate this.

Photos: Tim Graham (left); Jayne Fincher (centre, right)

We need an expert on these matters, perhaps a moderator might know the answer!!

Thank you for confirming it is Amethysts, which is what I thought all along!

[Squidgy]

Originally Posted by branchg

The parure utilized sapphires reset from a bracelet from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia with black Tahitian pearls.

What I still find odd about these purple sapphires is that if this necklace is made out of a bracelet, then where is the original necklace? I mean the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is not a poor man, so I can't see him being cheap and only giving Diana the earrings and the bracelet. He must have given her a purple sapphire necklace as well, but I have never seen it. And I would imagine that if Diana had been given such a necklace, then she would have had the courtesy to wear it at least once. Something just isn't ringing true here for me ...

[Lady Jean]

The Saudi Arabian suite did not contain black pearls. Those are cabochon cut (not faceted, smooth top) sapphires in the center of the earrings.

[sassie]

Originally Posted by Lady Jean

The Saudi Arabian suite did not contain black pearls. Those are cabochon cut (not faceted, smooth top) sapphires in the center of the earrings.

I was refererring to the choker having black pearls, not the earrings. :) The earrings with the detachable pendant drops, though, are from the Saudi Arabian parure, as seen in this picture (sorry, don't have a larger version) of the parure on display with the other weddings gifts in 1981.

[ayvee]

Originally Posted by HRHAmy

Does anybody know how the get the bracelet to stick onto the velvet choker in the first picture?

I remember reading in one of the royalty magazines way back when - so I don't have the actual source of info; just my memory - that the bracelet was actually sewn onto the velvet fabric. I actually tried doing this with a bracelet and the thread went through the setting on the back of the bracelet so you can't see it over the bracelet. Hope that helps.

-ayvee

[Elspeth]

Sapphires are basically any colour of corundum that isn't red; the red ones are rubies. Usually sapphires are shades of blue, and if they're other colours they're usually called "yellow sapphires" or "pink sapphires" rather than just sapphires, but the blue is obviously the best-known colour.

Tiaraprin, to answer the comment in your last post, if Reynard the moderator shows up he might well know some more details about the necklace. My expertise in jewellery tends to be in knowing some stuff about gems and minerals, not jewels themselves.