Dutch Royal Jewels of the Past

[An Ard Ri]

Is the jewel still with Dutch RF following the death of former queen Juliana in 2004?

[Marengo]

Eric Schoonhoven has researched the story of the Dutch sapphire tiara and has written down his findings on his own website:

https://erikschoonhoven.com/a-dutch-...-oscar-massin/

Earlier he already discovered that the tiara was not made by Mellerio.

He now has found letters between the jewel broker Emmanuel Vita Israël and Count Dumonceau, private secretary to the King Willem III, including some alterations suggested by Queen Emma.

The article also includes a photo of Princess Margriet, wearing the tiara without the middle/top plume.

[Tilia C.]

That is a really interesting article, thanks for the link, Marengo.
So Princess Margriet has worn this tiara without the central plume. Not, a successful look, tbh, it never looks good when the central part of a tiara is 'dented'. But anyways, it's exciting to see this old picture of Margriet wearing it.


According to the article, the tiara can also be worn in a smaller version as a hair comb. I'd love to see that look once in a while! And the article explains, why the tiara had long been thought to come from the jeweler Mellerio, and that the design is inspired by gothic architecture. A really interesting to read.

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by Tilia C.

That is a really interesting article, thanks for the link, Marengo.
So Princess Margriet has worn this tiara without the central plume. Not, a successful look, tbh, it never looks good when the central part of a tiara is 'dented'. But anyways, it's exciting to see this old picture of Margriet wearing it.

I agree it looks far nicer with the central plume and did not know that it had been worn by Princess Margriet previously

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by An Ard Ri

I agree it looks far nicer with the central plume and did not know that it had been worn by Princess Margriet previously

Queen Máxima wore it without the central plume (aigrette) as well, but "the gap" was filled: picture.

[Marengo]

The article explains that the plume was taken out to highlight that she was not a reigning Queen. I am not sure if I understand the logic. Neither was Queen Emma -though she had been a regent- and neither was Juliana when she started wearing it. But at the same time I am not sure what other reason there was to remove the plume.

[Stefan]

It is also said that the tiara in it's full form is only worn by dutch Queens. But Beatrix wore it already in the full version before becoming Queen and so did Juliana. From the version without plum i like the one worn by Máxima better but the best version is the full one.

[An Ard Ri]

From the article was there also seems to be a Marian connection to the original tiara?

[SirGyamfi1]

I recall Anna Pavlovna had jewels she gave to her sons who didn’t have children. One of them gambled, lost money and spent time in the brothels of Paris and a few years ago the emerald necklace was at auction at Sotheby’s or Christie’s. The second son was better at keeping his money and jewels but didn’t have children.

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by SirGyamfi1

I recall Anna Pavlovna had jewels she gave to her sons who didn’t have children. One of them gambled, lost money and spent time in the brothels of Paris and a few years ago the emerald necklace was at auction at Sotheby’s or Christie’s. The second son was better at keeping his money and jewels but didn’t have children.

I think that were the sons of Willem III. and Sophie of Württemberg not the one of Willem II. and Anna Pavlovna as both of her surviving sons had been married.

[Marengo]

Indeed, and Willem III made sure that the young widow of his brother Hendrik - Marie of Prussia- gave back all the jewels and most other assets before returning to Germany after her 2nd marriage to Albert of Saxe-Altenburg.

Queen Anna left most of her jewels to her daughter Sophie. As the Weimars already had a substantial collection -also due to a Russian marriage- the family ended up with one of the most impressive jewel collections in Germany.

[Duc_et_Pair]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Indeed, and Willem III made sure that the young widow of his brother Hendrik - Marie of Prussia- gave back all the jewels and most other assets before returning to Germany after her 2nd marriage to Albert of Saxe-Altenburg.

Queen Anna left most of her jewels to her daughter Sophie. As the Weimars already had a substantial collection -also due to a Russian marriage- the family ended up with one of the most impressive jewel collections in Germany.

Queen Anna apparently was of the opinion that daughters inherit jewels and sons buy jewels. There is some logic in that, as ladies seldom had an own source of income. It were the spouses whom had the resources for an appropriate lifestyle.