Queen Silvia Jewellery 2: September 2005-

[Boris]

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...

[Hanna Regina]

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! 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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[Boris]

Thank you Hanna Regina for your offer to help translate Alm - I might take you at your word!
The Edward VII ruby tiara is not a favorite piece of mine simply because of the proportions - not wide enough to be so high in the center - but I still think it's a pretty, delicate tiara. There was a matching ruby necklace among the wedding gifts of CP Margaret, given by the then Prince of Wales couple, but this was unfortunately sold.
Queen Silvia has worn the tiara exactly three times: Once as a necklace for the return dinner during Queen Betrix' state visit to Sweden in 1987, and twice as a tiara, for Prince Joachim's 1995 wedding and for the state visit to Japan early this year. On that occasion, she attached a ruby & diamond brooch as a pendant to her collet necklace for the first time:
IBL Bildbyrå | 0435 44 07 65
What I would really love to see is the two wedding gifts of CP Margaret combined - the ruby tiara and the Connaught tiara. Both are convertible to necklaces, so that makes for a few opportunities, and they would nicely complement each other!
It's a pity that Queen Silvia's modern ruby demi-parure, supposed to be a gift from the Sultan of Brunei, is so different in style from the ruby tiara that they can hardly be worn together:
ANP Beeldbank
If the modern rubies had a more neo-classical design, Queen Silvia would have a complete ruby parure... btw, maybe you could post the pic you tried to attach again, as a link?

[Hanna Regina]

I would love to post the picture again, if I knew how to do it! It was a close-up of the tiara that I have photographed off a book.

It's a shame that the matching necklace is gone. Considering the price of rubies, the stones have probably been removed and sold individually. They might even have been re-cut.
I have read parts of the autobiography of Count Carl-Johan Bernadotte, were he wrote about finding some of his mother's jewellery in a shop in New York when he and his first wife were newly-weds. He borrowed money from a friend to buy some things back, but couldn't afford all of it, since he had just lost his title and apanage. I think the ruby necklace was among the items he didn't buy. I read it years ago and don't remember the details, perhaps someone else does?

[Warren]

Originally Posted by Boris

maybe you could post the pic you tried to attach again, as a link?

There's no need to repost it as the same pic appears just two pages back, here.

NB.. This picture was posted prior to the introduction of the revised copyright rules. Following legal advice in November 2006, the direct posting of copyright images in the Forums is no longer permitted.

[jcbcode99]

I LOVE that ruby tiara when I see it in a picture like the one Warren linked us to, but when I see it on the Queen it looks a little cumbersome. I imagine that back when women had more substantial hairstyles it was a vision to behold, and even in sixties with beehive hairdos it may have looked good. I do wish the necklace was in the family--the design of the tiara is so delicate, I'm sure the necklace was as beautiful. I suppose there were earrings, too? Brooches? Bracelet? Was it a complete parue? As for the Saudi rubies--they're lovely, but I vastly prefer a more classic style. But, she wears these well, too.
I have to say that Queen Silvia is a beautful woman who wears these pieces so well!
Oh, and the emerald necklace--OH MY GOODNESS!!!! That is one serious necklace, the size of thoe emeralds are just beautiful. Is is such an interesting contrast to Queen Elizabeth's Emerald necklace she generally wears (Delhi Durbar) that has cabochon emeralds. Such a different effect here with Queen Silvia's necklace---I think it is a breathtaking piece--and the color of the emeralds is so rich and vivid. THey must be worth a fortune.

[Boris]

Among the many jewelry wedding gifts to CP Margaret, the ruby tiara and the necklace were a perfect match, but there were no earrings or bracelet so it wasn't a complete parure. The necklace had five ruby pendants and was very delicate and romantic as well, with the motifs above the pendants matching the lower elements of the tiara.
I remember the story told by Hanna Regina about Prince Carl Johan trying to buy the jewelry back, though I believe it was at a New York auction. Prince Carl Johan happened to be in New York and found out about the auction by chance, borrowed as much cash as he could but not enough to purchase the necklace.
As jbcode 99 seems to be drooling over the Bernadotte emeralds, here are two other pics. Originally, the necklace was a bit longer - Queen Silvia shortened it about ten years ago, probably by removing two of the clusters (I'm waiting for them to re-appear as earrings!). Shorter version:
IBL Bildbyrå | 0435 44 07 65
Original version:
IBL Bildbyrå | 0435 44 07 65
Seems Queen Silvia is drooling over emeralds as well...! I guess I mentioned it once already, but all in all, she has three complete modern demi parures of emeralds and diamonds by now, more classical in style than her rubies.
# 1, emerald cut, gift from her husband ca. 1986:
Förhandsvisning av ' lfi1567.jpg ' - Sjöberg bild +46 (0) 940 360 14 *|*registrera dig eller e-posta
# 2, cabochon, first seen in 2000 (long dangling errings hidden):
IBL Bildbyrå | 0435 44 07 65
# 3, another cabochon set, first seen in 2006:
ANP Beeldbank
Must be Queen Silvia's favorite colored stone.

[Hanna Regina]

Do you know how the ruby-necklace turned up at an auction? Was it left to Sigvard along with the tiara, and in that case, did he sell it??

It's such a pity there's no emerald tiara in the Bernadotte-foundation. It holds so many beautiful pieces, but no emerald or pearl tiara (unless you count the cameo tiara, but I don't). And to think that Queen Silvia could have been wearing the norwegian emerald parure today, if only Queen Sofia hadn't been such a fair and generous mother-in-law..

Here's a picture of the tiara from viola's album at webshots.com. There are lots of goodies there for royal jewellery lovers! Check out the other emerald tiaras, perhaps we could recommend one to Silvia!
Emerald & Diamond Tiara pictures from history photos on webshots

I don't know whether this link has been posted here before, if so I'm sorry for re-posting it.

This is a great site about the jewellery of the Swedish royal family and there are lots of photos of the Queen and the Princesses wearing them. It's in Dutch, but the pictures speak for themselves. Just click the links in the list of jewellery on the left.
ZweedseJuweeltjes

[Boris]

CP Margareta's ruby necklace is reported to have been among the jewels sold at the New York auction.
I never really liked the emerald parure which is now with Queen Sonja... the design of the tiara is somehow awkward with all those geometric motifs, and the removal of two emeralds from it in order to create matching earrings didn't help to make it more elegant either.
By the way: The emerald parure is going back to Empress Joséphine but was inherited by Empress Amelie of Brasil before finding its way to Sweden.
Among the emerald tiaras in Viola's great album, this beauty would look splendid on Queen Silvia, IMO (in theory):
Emerald & Diamond Tiara pictures from history photos on webshots
Regarding the pearl and diamond combination: Of course there once was a grand diamond tiara with swinging drop pearls in the Bernadotte collection, owned by Queen Lovisa - but this crowns the head of Queen Margrethe these days. I mourn its 'loss' far more than the one of the emeralds:
Förhandsvisning av ' 0234684.jpg ' - Sjöberg bild +46 (0) 940 360 14 *|*registrera dig eller e-posta
Originally, the Leuchtenberg sapphire tiara could be worn alternatively with large upstanding pearl spikes on top. I always wondered what happened to those pearls. Someone should alert Queen Silvia!

[Hanna Regina]

I knew I would find the french emerald tiara of Empress Eugenie when I clicked your link! That one is my favourite as well. I actually like Sonja's tiara, but they should have changed it a little when they removed the stones for the earrings. They could have used only one or two geometric themes and placed the big central emerald in the same way as the other square stones.

This picture shows Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden wearing the emerald parure for the coronation of her cousin, George V. Here the stones have not yet been removed from the tiara and the necklace is also different, it's much grander than today.
http://worldroots.com/brigitte/gifs3...tain1882-3.jpg
from left: The Duke of Connaught, Princess Patricia of C, The Duchess of C. Prince Arthur of C. and the Crown Princely couple of Sweden.

[Her_Majesty]

Nobel Prize 2007

Queen Silvia 1
polfoto
Queen Silvia 2
anp

The necklace and tiara are stunning!

[Josefine]

i think its the first time Silvia wore her hair doen for a nobel event,
i my self like her grand hair styles at the nobel

[Hanna Regina]

I also prefer her grander hairstyles, it's almost as exciting to see how she wears her hair as it is to see the dress and jewellery. There's usually a lot of artistic work done by her hairdresser, but I don't know what to say about this. She is beautiful when she wears her hair down on other occasions, but this time it doesn't work for me. It looks like she's trying to look younger than she is, and this is not the first we've seen of that lately...
The jewellery, however, looks great as usual. I really like the nine-prong tiara, but then, I love most tiaras!

[Josefine]

we got to see a tiara event i januuary
she wore the none prog tiara
it starts to get boring with that tiara
can´t they find something new

[jcbcode99]

She looks wonderful in everything, but that piece always looks a touch awkward to me--I love the amethyst tiara.

[LadyFinn]

What do you think about this combination of jewels with the red dress?
Queen Silvia attends the Carlson's 70th Anniversary Gala at the Planet Hollywood Hotel on Febuary 28, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Getty Images
Getty Images

[Marengo]

I am not too fond of this demi parure, but it is nice to see that the Swedish are actually enlarging their collection, the Queen has aquired some new demi-parures over the years! Any idea where she got this one from? Maybe a gift of a sultan or sheikh?