Earl Spencer, Family, Althorp Museum & Travelling Exhibition

[Emeralds and Opals]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/diana/6424991/Diana-Princess-of-Waless-niece-Lady-Kitty-Spencer-comes-out-in-Paris.html

[Lady Ann]

Originally Posted by EmpressRouge

The Spencer tiara was displayed with the veil and wedding dress. However, I'm not sure whether it's a replica and it's high on the mannequin's head, so you can't see it close up. But it does look authentic (i.e. made of diamonds and not of rhinestone) and if it is a replica, it is a very accurate.

Oh, I believe it was a replica.

[Patra]

Are there any photos one might post of this tiara on the display? I'd love to see it- thanks in advance!

[Lady Ann]

you could not take photos in the exhibit sorry I wish i could have.

[iowabelle]

Empress Rouge, I saw on TV a few years ago a report about how the dress was cared for in transit and how conservators have to work with the fabric to protect it, so at that time it was the real dress.

If it's any kind of a reputable display, if these things are replicas, they should be labeled as such.

[Lady Ann]

I thought the dress was real but the tiara did not look as bright and real as the pictures that I have seen in the past and even the ones at the exhibit....looked very fake to me but I am not a jewler....I may be wrong

[Zonk]

I still haven't seen the exhibit, but I would imagine taking the real tiara would be a security and insurance nightmare.

[iowabelle]

I would imagine that the Earl, any company transporting these items and the museums would all have insurance on them. And the Earl should provide security and insurance for them anyway (otherwise I'd be nipping into Althorp for a souvenir).

[Zonk]

Yes, I would imaginge that the tiara (among other things) do have security and insurance attached to them.

Buts it one thing to have those things (security and insurance) attached to it while its sitting in a vault in Britian, or on view at the Diana exhibit at Althrop, quite another to be touring all over the world. Which is what the big exhibits have to deal with on a regular, but would you consider this tour to be on the level of say the Hope Diamond?

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by Zonk

I still haven't seen the exhibit, but I would imagine taking the real tiara would be a security and insurance nightmare.

Apparently, both are the genuine article.

[Warren]

Originally Posted by Lady Ann

... the tiara did not look as bright and real as the pictures that I have seen in the past and even the ones at the exhibit....looked very fake to me but I am not a jewler....I may be wrong

This point has been mentioned before in relation to the exhibition. The problem is that jewels set in silver are difficult to keep "bright" as silver tarnishes quickly and requires regular polishing. Someone here or elsewhere saw the Spencer tiara up close and was very disappointed with it's dull condition.

[Lady Ann]

Oh then maybe it is the real deal....I hope you get a chnace to take the trip and see for yourself (Zonk) .... it was not as big as i thought it would have been and not a lot of stuff that has not been seen a thousand times before in public but it was nice to see the stuff in person for myself and not just in a book or on the internet..I guess it would depend on how big a fan you were to weather you thought the exhibition worth the drive...Oh one more thing in Philly I thought the sucurity was lax and that there were just regular gards with no guns just sticks.... odd I thought for having such pricles things such as Specer family jewls there....

[iowabelle]

I wouldn't think the Spencer jewels are priceless, not like the Koh-I-Noor, Hope Diamond or La Peregrina. I wouldn't even think the wedding dress is priceless.

I would guess at the most, the dress is $500,000, and only that because of the personal association with Diana. And I'd say $100,000 for the wedding tiara. I mean, it's a nice tiara but we see nice tiaras at Christie's all the time. And in this case the real value is the close association with Diana.

[Lady Ann]

Originally Posted by Grace Angel

It's interesting about the family films you had never seen,Iowabelle. Do you think these have been seen publicly before or not? Perhaps not, as Earl Spencer did have quite a bit of films and photos of his children, however, it seems everything associated with Diana has been seen publicly at one time or the other.

Grace these were the same faimly films that were shown at the concert for Daina in 2007. There were about 157 personal items shown most have been seen in public before.

[Wisteria]

Originally Posted by Warren

This point has been mentioned before in relation to the exhibition. The problem is that jewels set in silver are difficult to keep "bright" as silver tarnishes quickly and requires regular polishing. Someone here or elsewhere saw the Spencer tiara up close and was very disappointed with it's dull condition.

All I can say is thank goodness for platinum, but of course that came in much later than some of these jewels and tiaras, a favourite brooch of mine, which is Victorian, is very disappointing when seen in normal light. Candlelight must have made them look magnificent.
T
Although the Spencer tiara looked magnificent at Diana´s wedding.

[Lady Ann]

[QUOTE=iowabelle;1014441]I wouldn't think the Spencer jewels are priceless.


I guess what I ment by priceless was irrplaceable tokens of her! Diana will never have another wedding dress, wear that tiara again, write another letter to her family. To me that is what makes the Spencer Family things Priceless.. Like you said because of the fact that they are tied to Diana. The dress was a dress but because she wore it, you can not replace it and you can not put a price on it. At least IMO. BTW the dress was a massive ball of fabric and very plain nothing like the pics I have seen with her in it, she really made the Dress what it was.

[Wisteria]

I have never seen Diana´s wedding dress, I have seen the videos of her in it and there is no doubt she made it beautiful, it was really just a huge amount of crumpled silk, but on her with that really beautiful (perhaps not the most valuable) tiara, she looked a picture and the wedding photos with her bridesmaids were fabulous.
When we see how much people paid for her dresses when she herself sold them for charity we can see how the wedding dress could be described as priceless.
Though I can´t think of anyone in the world who could wear it and make it as beautiful as she did.

[iowabelle]

I do agree with you, Lady Ann. I was trying to be heartless and set a $ figure on everything. As you know, there's always the cost of the materials of the item and then the origin and history of the item. For example, the Liberty Bell probably wouldn't fetch much for its metal, but as far as we Americans are concerned it's a one of a kind and couldn't be replaced.

My figures for the wedding dress were pretty much a guesstimate, sort of based upon the price of the Travolta dress and the Elvis dress, etc. The greatest value is in our memories of that day... and it is priceless for that.

[Hereditary Thane]

So it isn't history, it isn't exquisite craft-work, it isn't even popular culture? It's money uh: are there any genuine people who don't look at something and see dolar signs before their eyes? Fortunately there are, so our condolences go out to the money grubbers and their fetid little minds.

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by Hereditary Thane

So it isn't history, it isn't exquisite craft-work, it isn't even popular culture? It's money uh: are there any genuine people who don't look at something and see dolar signs before their eyes? Fortunately there are, so our condolences go out to the money grubbers and their fetid little minds.

I'm sure they will thank you for your good wishes. The sad fact is that to any insurance company, sentiment, craftsmanship, culture etc is worth £0.