France: Imperial, Royal and Noble Jewellery


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Such a shame, they should have sold the large baroque pearl and kept the rest of the pieces if they were in need of money.
 
duke of poliganc said:
Such a shame, they should have sold the large baroque pearl and kept the rest of the pieces if they were in need of money.
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According to Marlene Koenig who runs the blog Royal Musings the main reason for selling the items was the enormous insurance costs. Also the difficulty to divide them between the many heirs of Infanta Alicia - she had three children, seventeen grandchildren and thirty-eight great-grandchildren.
I agree that it's a shame that the items had to be sold and I'm sure the family did so with a heavy heart, but they have no use for them really.
 
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A diamond necklace was made in 1811 and was presented by Napoleon I to his wife Marie Louise. This was a gift to celebrate the birth of their son, Napoleon Francois.
 
Princess Allice, the owner of these sold jewels did give jewels to her 2 daughters when she was alive. (Ruby tiara).
Princess Anne de France, Don Carlos wife was never allowed to wear any of her jewels. I don't think they had a heavy heart.
 
A rare picture of Alix, Dowager Princess Napoléon wearing a floral tiara with the family's diamond pendant necklace.
Is anything know about the tiara? I've only seen HIH in what looks like a convertible sapphire necklace in an old official portrait.
Also, any idea on the event? Looks like it might've been taken at the wedding ball for King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola, and Princess Alix's presence would be logical, given the family connection.
 
Thanks for the identification I was wondering if it was a historic piece or a loan.
 
On the left, Countess Marie Adelaide d'Andigne (mother in law of Duchess Sophie von Württemberg) wearing an interesting diamond and pearl tiara:

https://www.merkur.de/bilder/2018/1...d-comte-maximilien-trauen-sich-bilder-Oa6.jpg

She is daughter of Vicomte Amaury de la Barre de Nanteuil and grand-daughter of Princess Monique Imperiali de Francavilla.

So, this tiara could be either Freanch or Italian heirloom.
 
Interesting picture, as we saw so few pics from the wedding gala. And it is rare to see French aristocrats wearing their jewels. So it is difficult to find out where the tiara comes from.
 
Tilia C. said:
Interesting picture, as we saw so few pics from the wedding gala. And it is rare to see French aristocrats wearing their jewels. So it is difficult to find out where the tiara comes from.
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True, unfortunately.

Marie Adelaide is married to a Frenach Count, daughter of French Vicomte and grand-daughter of Italian Princess, who is connected to all Italian grand families, so this lovely little tiara could be either French or Italian heirloom.

It is also interesting that Marie Adelaide d'Andigne is 5x cousin once removed of Princess Michael of Kent. They are both descendants of Count Philipp von Grünne (1732-1797) and his wife Madeleine Christine von Holstein (1744-1811).
 
Vincent Meylan has shared an important pair of diamond collet bracelets from the collection of Queen Marie Antoinette. The bracelets have an interesting story and will be sold at auction by Christie's this November.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTjZwuXoHev/

Given the Parma connection, I find it extremely likely that these bracelets eventually passed to Infanta Alicia. If I'm not mistaken, some of the jewels in the Bourbon-Parma auction (Nov 2018) were also photographed in 1909 (the pearls) and the late Infanta was seen wearing a similar bracelet here.

Her mother Duchess Marie-Anne of Parma (most likely) wore the bracelets as choker at the coronation of Emperor Karl and Empress Zita in 1916 - pic
 
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Reminds me more of a Crown than a tiara.
 
Where did Empress Eugenie's Pearl and Diamond Tiara originate from?
 
I would say the French royals had some of the best and well designed tiaras. It is unfortunate that the Orléans family were unable to keep the two sapphire tiaras and parure.

CyrilVladisla said:
Where did Empress Eugenie's Pearl and Diamond Tiara originate from?
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Lemonnier made the tiara. Or are you asking the origin of the pearls?
 
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