Diana, Princess of Wales, Jewellery, Part 2 - Page 4

**Warren** · #61 11-01-2005, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sara1981

im not sure about British Royal Jewels?
but i knew Camilla wores Diana's necklaces but im little disappointment about it and im sure Prince William wanted kept his mother's jewels for his future wife's jewels.
Sara Boyce

Sara, Camilla has NOT worn any of Diana's jewels. Camilla has a necklace which is similar to one Diana wore, and that is all.

branchg · #62 11-01-2005, 08:25 AM

All of Diana's jewels, with the exception of Queen Mary's Lovers Knot Tiara and the Cambridge emerald choker, were left to Princes William and Harry for their future wives to wear. The tiara and emerald choker were returned to the Queen.

The Spencer tiara was loaned to Diana since her brother was young at the time of her marriage and not yet married. But it belonged to him as the tiara was a bequest from his grandfather after his death in 1975. He asked Diana to return it once he married Victoria, as she had the Lovers Knot tiara to wear and was separated by then.

Panther2000 · #63 11-01-2005, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sara1981

im not sure about British Royal Jewels?

but i knew Camilla wores Diana's necklaces but im little disappointment about it and im sure Prince William wanted kept his mother's jewels for his future wife's jewels

Sara Boyce

Call me crazy, But when it is time for william to marry wouldn't some of Diana's jewels. I thought that I read somewhere that William would get so much of her Jewels & such.

Incas · #64 11-01-2005, 07:46 PM

Seriously, what woman would want to be caught wearing Diana's things? There will be endless photos comparring the wearers. If William or Harry could part the jewels, they would probably be reset.

tiaraprin · #65 11-02-2005, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Incas

Seriously, what woman would want to be caught wearing Diana's things? There will be endless photos comparring the wearers. If William or Harry could part the jewels, they would probably be reset.

I don't think it would be awful if William's or Harry's wife wore Diana's jewels. I think it would be expected that they would wear them because they belong to the boys. Unless William and Harry marry women that are completely hated, I do not think there will be too many comparisons.

MoonlightRhapsody · #66 11-02-2005, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by branchg

All of Diana's jewels, with the exception of Queen Mary's Lovers Knot Tiara...

Why would the Lovers Knot Tiara go back to the queen when she gave it to Diana as a wedding present? Correct me if I'm wrong, but Diana retained that tiara even after her divorce. I would think that since her death that the tiara would go to one of her sons since it was hers.

tiaraprin · #67 11-02-2005, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moonlightrhapsody

Why would the Lovers Knot Tiara go back to the queen when she gave it to Diana as a wedding present? Correct me if I'm wrong, but Diana retained that tiara even after her divorce. I would think that since her death that the tiara would go to one of her sons since it was hers.

The tiara was designated by Queen Mary to become part of the Crown Collection in her will in 1953. This means that it is to be worn by future Queens or lent out at their discretion. Diana maintained the tiara because she was still the mother of the future king after she divorced. Upon her death, the tiara and other Crown Collection jewels were returned to Her Majesty. This is the accepted form for any female member of the family who is gifted something from the Crown Collection.

Squidgy · #68 11-02-2005, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by branchg

All of Diana's jewels, with the exception of Queen Mary's Lovers Knot Tiara and the Cambridge emerald choker, were left to Princes William and Harry for their future wives to wear. The tiara and emerald choker were returned to the Queen.

The Spencer tiara was loaned to Diana since her brother was young at the time of her marriage and not yet married. But it belonged to him as the tiara was a bequest from his grandfather after his death in 1975. He asked Diana to return it once he married Victoria, as she had the Lovers Knot tiara to wear and was separated by then.

Yes, and even after Charles Spencer married, Diana still frequently borrowed the tiara, and was wearing it as late as November 1993 (see picture below). In this picture, she is also wearing the Art Deco-style chocker, which was a wedding present from the Queen. This choker was originally part of Queen Mary's famous Cambridge and Delhi Durbar Emerald collection. The antique emerald and diamond bracelet she sports on her right arm was a wedding gift from Charles. The emerald & diamond drop earrings were also a gift from Charles. Charles also gave her a diamond & emerald ring for Christmas 1981. Although I'm not sure if she wore it on this occasion, she did often wear it when she was wearing her emerald jewels.

(Thanks Warren, for the tip.)

Photo: T. Graham

Incas · #69 11-03-2005, 07:49 AM

I believe Charles Spencer married Victoria Lockwood in September, 1989. The stories about him asked for the Spencer tiara back surfaced much later. I think it was after he refused Diana a cottage on his family grounds in the mid 1990's. The two had a fallout after that and he asked for the tiara back.

Lady Jean · #70 12-02-2005, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CasiraghiTrio

Hmm, maybe you're right it's not a tiara, but I don't think it's made of cloth. It looks like a twist of pearls to me. Maybe it was a gift from a visiting ambassador or one she was paying a visit to, so she wore it out of courtesy.
It can still be a tiara if it's pearls, right? I think not all tiaras have to have diamonds. There are some tiaras that don't have diamonds, I think.

This Emanuel item (Diaghliev ballet-inspired gown) also included a matching headband. I just watched a tv show about Diana's dresses that were auctioned. The new owner allowed this to be worn for something like a fashion show, and the video shows the model wearing the gown with the headpiece.

Jackswife · #71 12-03-2005, 08:56 AM

I personally cannot wait to see William and Henry's wives (Kate? Chelsy? whoever?

) wearing Diana's jewels. The sense of family continuity and also of honoring Diana's memory is I think the gist of the matter. Each wearer can express her own personality while also paying homage to the previous wearers. Maybe nobody will ever have Diana's exact flair and style, but still I think her sons' wives are perfectly entitled to wear the Princess' pieces.

Lady Jean · #72 12-28-2005, 06:51 PM

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 · #73 12-29-2005, 12:06 AM

Quote:

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.

corazon · #74 01-21-2006, 04:21 PM

why diana used band only 2 times? in australia and for the official visit to england of queen beatrix and prince claus.

kelly9480 · #75 01-21-2006, 08:57 PM

Spencer didn't ask for the tiara back from his sister. The Spencers keep their tiaras in a vault in London. Any time Diana wanted to wear it, she had to ask the head of the family if she could use it, and the head of the family had to authorise it's removal from the vault (for insurance purposes). It didn't remain with Diana. It remained (and remains) in the vault for security.

Diana received an amethyst demi-parure of a necklace, bracelet and earrings as a wedding present. I never read who gave them to her, but they were amethysts and they were a wedding present.

The suite from the Sultan of Oman are sapphires, not jet. They were listed as sapphires in the Morton Windsor Wealth book and she wore them with her blue gowns (though because they are so dark, they didn't seem to show up well).

Like all of Diana's other wedding presents (that were gifts to HRH The Princess of Wales), they went back into the royal family's vault after her death so that William and Harry could have them for their wives. Diana had a number of pieces that were gifts to her as a person rather than her as PoW, and these pieces have either gone into the vault for safekeeping for her sons (the majority of the pieces), to her sons directly, or been sold (Swan Lake suite).

Diana's jewellery was estimated (by a professional), based on the worth of the stones alone, not their royal provenance, to be worth about L2million in Andrew Morton's mid-1980s book about the Windsor wealth. Nowhere near $40 million and that book came out after Diana had received her best pieces. A lot of the gems Diana received from the Windsors were older pieces that would have to be recut significantly to get the sparkle modern jewellery lovers prefer, but that would require a loss of carat-weight, thereby decreasing the worth of the piece.

iowabelle · #76 01-30-2006, 08:40 PM

I'm not convinced that Diana ever owned the Swan Lake suite. I think I had read that it had been loaned to her and worn just once before her death. Maybe someone has better information on that?

Squidgy · #77 02-01-2006, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iowabelle

I'm not convinced that Diana ever owned the Swan Lake suite. I think I had read that it had been loaned to her and worn just once before her death. Maybe someone has better information on that?

I agree Iowabelle. I think the necklace was only borrowed. From what I've read, Diana helped to design the necklace with Garrard's in the Spring of 1997. She wore it that one night, then returned the necklace to the jewellers. According to the article posted below on BBC News, Diana returned the necklace because Garrard's needed to do work on the matching earrings. The article mentions that an unnamed English businessman bought the necklace after he was discretely informed by Garrard's that the princess had returned it. So to me it sounds like she just borrowed it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/568818.stm

branchg · #78 02-02-2006, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kelly9480

Like all of Diana's other wedding presents (that were gifts to HRH The Princess of Wales), they went back into the royal family's vault after her death so that William and Harry could have them for their wives. Diana had a number of pieces that were gifts to her as a person rather than her as PoW, and these pieces have either gone into the vault for safekeeping for her sons (the majority of the pieces), to her sons directly, or been sold (Swan Lake suite).

The Swan Lake suite was on loan to Diana at the time of her death and was sold by the jeweler. She had intended to purchase it, but never had the chance to do so.

Most of Diana's jewels were gifts to her as POW and, by tradition, these were her personal property to dispose of as she wished. The pieces that were given to her by The Queen and The Queen Mother were returned and will be given to Prince William when he marries.

The rest of her jewels belong to William and Harry for their future wives.

Boris · #79 02-14-2006, 10:30 AM

It's definitely a demi-parure of cabochon- (round) cut amethysts in the most desirable dark, rich lilac shade. The wrong info originates from Suzy Menke's book which unfortunately full of mistakes on newer jewels.
My guess is that Diana's amethysts might have been a gift from an Arab ruler during the Wales' 1986 tour through 4 Arab countries, because the set did only appear after that - during the 1987 tour of Germany, I believe -, and it seems to be of modern design.
Matching all those cabochon amethzsts in color is quite an achievement, and I always loved the set - Diana wore the matching bracelet & earrings right until shortly before her death with a matching lilac Versace gown in Chicago.