Queen Silvia Jewellery 2: September 2005-December 2015


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i still hope we will see it more in close up in the future. As for now i am not to keen on the new set of jewllery.
 
For the first time since Prince Joachim of Denmark's wedding in 1995, Queen Silvia has worn the Connaught ruby tiara again. The occasion is the gala dinner during the Swedish Royal couple's state visit to Japan. She also seems to wear a (new?) ruby & diamond pendant on her diamond necklace. Link to pics, thankfully posted by Marianne on the Royal Jewels MB:

Royal Jewels of the World Message Board: Queen Silvia in the ruby tiara!
 
I like it much better now, perhaps the present hairstyle is better suited to match the tiara? It is the first time that I look at it and I don't get the feeling that it should have stayed a necklace anyway...
 
Boris said:
For the first time since Prince Joachim of Denmark's wedding in 1995, Queen Silvia has worn the Connaught ruby tiara again. The occasion is the gala dinner during the Swedish Royal couple's state visit to Japan. She also seems to wear a (new?) ruby & diamond pendant on her diamond necklace. Link to pics, thankfully posted by Marianne on the Royal Jewels MB:

Royal Jewels of the World Message Board: Queen Silvia in the ruby tiara!

Is this the Tiara that the king has a fight about with one of his uncles? another thing, Why is Sylvia wearing a tiara if the Empress isn't? It seems to me that QSylvia has a knack at being the only royal wearing a tiara at certain events, please comment if this is true.
 
Yes, that is the one. I believe he had a fight with his uncle Sigvard about it.
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As others stated in other threads, the empress might have scaled down her appearance due to the earthquake that hit a part of Japan.

Here a picture of Sylvia on her second day in Japan, wearing more lovely jewels from the swedish collection.
 
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Queen Silvia wore the cameo tiara last night at a state banquet during a state visit to Austria.

Corbis
 
Queen Silvia is so elegant! I love seeing her in all these jewels. But, I can't seem to find any pics of her in the amethyst tiara--can anyone share?
 
Boris,
Many thanks! I do agree, the amethyst tiara looks much better on Queen Silvia; it sits a little better on the head or something. It just works better for her, I think.
And that necklace--its so pretty. I like seeing Royals wearing amethysts. They're beautful stones, we dont' really see them a lot.
 
I love amethysts too. The Bernadotte amethyst parure is really unique since the stones are so large and rich in color. You might know that the tiara was originally a (rather chunky) necklace before Queen Silvia had set in on a frame in the late 1970's. The frame isn't too pretty though; it needs the right hairstyle to cover it, and CP Victoria's hairdresser never seems to get it right, with the tiara also ending up at weird angles.
In its present form, the necklace comes apart in two bracelets and there are two different brooches with an additional detachable amethyst drop.
These days, the only comparable Royal amethyst sets are Queen Elizabeth II's Kent demi-parure (far too rarely worn), the modern Norwegian parure (not as beautiful) and the Luxemburg amethysts which unfortunately have a rather brownish shade.
Queen Silvia showing the new parure in 1980:
IBL Bildbyrå | 0435 44 07 65
 
As you are saying ´her new parure´ does that mean she bought the it new or were the stones already there? If it is a Bernadotte piece, do you have any idea about it´s provenance?
 
I am sorry that I didn't express myself clearly. By 'new parure' I strictly meant the jewelry's present form with the tiara that Queen Silvia has created from what was originally the suite's larger necklace. In fact, it's among the old Bernadotte jewelry and has an interesting provenance:
Like many other jewels, it came to the Swedish Royal Family through Queen Josefina, born of Leuchtenberg (1807 - 1876).
Her paternal grandmother was Empress Josephine, Naboleon's first wife. The amethyst parure is of Napoleonic origin, made in the early 19th century, and Empress Josephine herself probably left it to her son Eugène, Josefina's father.
He gave the amethysts to his daughter when she married Swedish Crown Prince Oscar in 1823... Oscar being the son of the first Bernadotte King and his wife Desiree, born Clary - who happened to be Napoleon's first love.
Maybe it's complicated but absolutely fascinating, IMHO. If only these amethysts could talk... :queen3:
 
Thanks for the interesting story about the provenance Boris, it gives me the perfect excuse to shamelesly promote the article on Eugene´s sister Hortense ;) But does Queen Silvia have other pieces that came from Queen Josefina? The Topaz necklace maybe? I believe the emerald parure of the Norwegian RF comes from Josefina too, or did it belong to Desiree?

I was also wondering about the provenance of the Braganca diademe, esp. as I don´t recal any anscestors of the King ever married a Braganca...
 
Not the pink topaz necklace. It was a gift to Grand Duchess marie of Russia by her father Tsar paul I. she left it to her daughter the german Empress Augusta, who left it to her daughter Grand Duchess Luise of baden who left it to her daughter Queen Viktoria of Sweden,

But the Leuchtenberg sapphire parure and the Cameo's come both from Queen Josephine.
 
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You're absolutely correct, Stefan.
Regarding Marengo's question about the Braganca tiara: Brazil comes into the play here because the tiara belonged to Empress Amelie of Brazil (1812-1873) born Leuchtenberg, Queen Josefina's sister. The tiara is even older though, from the end of the 18th century, and was remodeled for Empress Amelie who left it to her sister along with more diamonds, all of them called by Josefina 'The Brazilian parure'. Among them were this brooch, worn here with the Braganca tiara:
Förhandsvisning av ' tr2430.jpg ' - Sjöberg bild +46 (0) 940 360 14 *|*registrera dig eller e-posta
and the diamonds in these earrings, which were created by Queen Silvia by using the old stones (note the size of the lower single diamond!):
IBL Bildbyrå | 0435 44 07 65
The Norwegian emerald parure again dates back to Empress Josephine, were given to Empress Amelie and later found their way first into the Swedish and then the Norwegian Royal Family.
The Leuchtenberg jewelry vaults ca. 1820, before Josefina's and Amelie's marriages, must have been an amazing sight!
 
PS, I just had to post the following picture:
Queen Elizabeth II being (almost?) out-glittered by awesome Queen Silvia before the gala dinner at Stockholm Palace during the state visit from Great Britain to Sweden in 1983.
As far as I know, this is the very first time Queen Silvia ever wore the Braganca tiara in public. During her first seven years as Queen, she only wore it for official portraits - maybe due to the tiara's immense weight.
Pic:
IBL Bildbyrå | 0435 44 07 65
 
The Leuchtenberg jewelry vaults ca. 1820, before Josefina's and Amelie's marriages, must have been an amazing sight!

It sure must have been amazing! The Napoleonic cut steele tiara also came to Sweden with Josephine, it was once worn by her aunt Hortense, Queen of Holland and mother of Napoleon III. The Norwiegan diamond tiara also belonged to Josephine, I think she left it to her only grand daughter, Queen Lovisa/Louise of Denmark, who also inherited Queen Desideria's rubies and her mother's Orange-Nassau pearls.

I agree with you that the amethyst tiara looks better on the Queen in its present form, but I think the colour of the stones suits Victoria better. I think they should have the tiara reset for the CP, she doesn't have that many tiaras. The queen has so many beautiful pieces to choose from, but she doesn't seem to keen on sharing them with her daughters and Princess Lilian. Several years ago we could see Princess Lilian wearing both the Baden fringe and the nine prongs tiara, but now a days she has to fight the Princesses for the horrible button tiaras unless she wears her own. Such a shame. Imagine the sight if the ladies would wear the more important pieces of the collection all at once!
 
Thanks again, very interesting information! But as you might expect, such replies only give more questions, such as: the Emerald necklace seems to be from the Napoleontic period too, so I suppose it also came from a Beauharnais or Clary?
As we name the steel tiara ´the Napoleontic Steel tiara´, I suppose it has a french provenance too?
 
Regarding the cut steel tiara, please check out Hannah Reginas post # 80, Marengo!
The story surrounding the tiara of the cut steel parure (there's a matching choker necklace and earrings) is amazing as it seems it was FOUND by Queen Silvia in some Stockholm Palace cupboard in the late 1970's. It was 'lost' until she re-discovered it by accident.
There's no 'Clary' inheritance among the Bernadotte jewels - the Clary family wasn't nobility but fabric traders...
The historic Bernadotte emerald necklace and brooch used to be part of the first Bernadotte King's jeweled sash, so it was originally men's jewelry! Pic:
IBL Bildbyrå | 0435 44 07 65
As for sharing jewelry or not: After all, Queen Silvia IS the Queen... and as a matter of fact, there are 'only' five tiaras left which Queen Silvia wears exclusively these days: The Braganca, the Leuchtenberg sapphire, the cameo, the Edward VII ruby and the nine prong tiaras. All the other tiaras are being shared with the Princesses, also the King's sisters.
I actually like the concept that while some tiaras are shared, others do stay with one Royal lady as their signature pieces. Better than everybody grabbing everything (like in The Netherlands) or everybody clinging to what's theirs (Great Britain). Seems like the best of both worlds to me in Sweden.
 
I have to say that I am enthralled by the jewels of the Swedish Royal Family--in all truth, I've only ever really paid attention to the jewels of the BRF. My mistake--Queen Silvia wears these pieces so beautifully! I am going to enjoy educating myself about these pieces.
That story about the Cut Steel tiara being "found" is wonderful! I think it is safe to say that we never know what we have in our houses!
Also, are there any books that can be recommended about the SRF Jewels?
 
A definite book about the Bernadotte jewels has yet to be written... the best so far is a combination about Queen Silvia's Nobel gowns and the Royal Family's jewelry, 'Drottning Silvias festklänningar & det kungliga smyckena' by Cay Bond and Göran Alm, published by Atlantisbok in 2006. It's highly recommendable - although the main focus lies on the Queen's gowns, it provides lots of background information and gorgeous photos of the jewels - but it's available in Swedish only, unfortunately.
I hope that one day someone will write a whole book devoted to the jewels only. IMO, they are not only one of the historically most interesting Royal collections but also esthetically the most beautiful one - never mind a 'Jeep tiara' or two... :rolleyes:
As a treat, one of the very few times that Queen Silvia wore the whole cut steel parure, early this year:
IBL Bildbyrå | 0435 44 07 65
And a peek at the most beautiful sapphire parure of the world:
IBL Bildbyrå | 0435 44 07 65
 
As for sharing jewelry or not: After all, Queen Silvia IS the Queen... and as a matter of fact, there are 'only' five tiaras left which Queen Silvia wears exclusively these days: The Braganca, the Leuchtenberg sapphire, the cameo, the Edward VII ruby and the nine prong tiaras. All the other tiaras are being shared with the Princesses, also the King's sisters.

Don't forget the beautiful Connaught-tiara!
I don't mind that Queen Silvia keeps the grander tiaras to herself, but I do think she could let the Crown princess wear the ruby or Connaught tiara when she herself is wearing the incredible sapphires or the Braganca tiara. Perhaps I would be more content if they had the button-tiaras reset. At prescent, they look rather cheap compared to the Queen's jewellery. The buttons would look much better if they were mounted somewhat like the roses in the British Strathmore rose-tiara or the top part of the Palffy-tiara.

I wonder why Victoria doesn't wear the Cut steele tiara more often? Together with the fringe and amethyst tiaras, she wouldn't have to wear the buttons, or her own invisible tiara.

It must have been year's since we saw the king's sisters wear something other than the button-tiaras, but they don't attend tiara events that often, so I don't mind that since they have their own tiaras. Their private tiaras aren't very grand, but both bigger and more beautiful than Victoria and Madeleine's private pieces.:ermm:
 
I didn't include the Connaught tiara in the list of Queen Silvia's 'exclusive' tiaras because Princess Christina continues to wear it from time to time, for example at the 2001 Nobel banquet:
IBL Bildbyrå | 0435 44 07 65
Regarding the two 'Button' tiaras, their label is misleading: Those diamond flowers were originally not buttons at all but rosettes adorning the crown of King Erik XIV (1553 - 1577) and removed by the first Bernadotte King when he remodeled this crown. This makes them the oldest items of jewelry worn by the Bernadotte ladies today.
I totally agree about their present ugly setting. It's not historic but recent - the six rosettes tiara was first created in the early 1970's. Therefore it wouldn't exactly amount to heresy to have them reset in a more appealing style, just like you suggested. I pray that someone out there gets the idea!
 
I really enjoy reading your posts, Boris. You seem to have a lot of information!
I hadn't seen that picture of Princess Christina, but I'm glad to see her wearing it. After all, it belonged to her mother, who worn it so often that it is now known as Princess Sibylla's diadem in Sweden (not historically correct at all, and that's a shame, I think).

Where did you find the information about the "buttons". I have read several different theories about their history, but no one seems to really know. Perhaps you have found the answer!
I wonder what people thought about the six-button tiara in the 70s, maybe it was modern at that time? I think both tiaras look as if someone thought:
"Hey, we have a lot of princesses right know, we need more tiaras. Let's wipe the dust off those round button-flowery things from the back of the safe and glue them on to some wires"

To make something of those buttons they will need more diamonds, but if the King could afford the tiara he gave his wife as well as expensive cars and boats, he can afford some diamonds!
 
Regarding the two 'Button' tiaras, their label is misleading: Those diamond flowers were originally not buttons at all but rosettes adorning the crown of King Erik XIV (1553 - 1577) and removed by the first Bernadotte King when he remodeled this crown. This makes them the oldest items of jewelry worn by the Bernadotte ladies today.
I totally agree about their present ugly setting. It's not historic but recent - the six rosettes tiara was first created in the early 1970's. Therefore it wouldn't exactly amount to heresy to have them reset in a more appealing style, just like you suggested. I pray that someone out there gets the idea!

Do you have a picture of the way it was at the time of King Erik XIV?
 
I don't have a picture of the original Erik XIV crown, but the crown as remodeled by Bernadotte is still the present King's crown, pictured here on the left next to the Queen's crown:
Regal symbols - Kungahuset [NS4 version]
The book by Bond and Alm (see my post # 84) contains the information about the rosettes being part of the ancient crown. This book is really the best and most reliable source, but two things about it can drive you crazy: There is no index, and trying to translate special Swedish jewelry vocabulary is some challenge...
In the 70's, they really might have felt the need for more tiaras especially with the King's and Prince Bertil's impending marriages, so I guess you're totally correct about throwing in the 'button-flowery things', Hanna Regina!
As for a resetting, any uneven number would help, and I believe there are enough diamonds around to create a new tiara. The Bernadottes have many similar diamond-only collet necklaces which could be used to frame the rosettes, plus the six rosette tiara already has two (badly positioned) diamond bands at the base:
IBL Bildbyrå | 0435 44 07 65
Fingers crossed for a new beautiful 'flower tiara' one day...
 
The book by Bond and Alm (see my post # 84) contains the information about the rosettes being part of the ancient crown.
Now you make me feel quite a shamed of myself, since I have read the Alm/Bond book and should have known that! :rolleyes: I'll be happy to help you with any translation problems, although some vocabulary is really difficult even for native speakers of Swedish!

What are your opinions of the Edward VII ruby tiara? It certainly was made for an other time and hair fashion, but so was the Connaught tiara and the Queen wears that one so beautifully. Has she only worn it twice? At Prince Joachim's wedding to Alexandra and to a foreign (state) visit?

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