Another fabulous photo! Thank you Mauriz.
The ball Mauriz referred to was said to be the only public ball ever held in the mansion belonging to Cornelius and Grace Vanderebilt. The house was dismantled the following year.
In 1941 Beaton did a series of portraits of Grace Vanderbilt wearing these jewels, but sadly the details are not very clear.
I haven't read anything about the fate of these diamonds. Cartier has the original plaster mould and several photos of the necklace which were displayed in the exhibition in Canberra last year.
We all know that the famous rose brooch of Princess Mathilde Bonaparte has survived and was auctioned again in recent years. I was very surprised to see that Grace Vanderbilt wore it to the opera. The photo below highlights the enormous size of this jewel.
I haven't seen anything in the press about the fate of her jewels, although it is clear that her heirs sold the rose brooch (and very quietly). Perhaps the same fate befell her other jewels. The website below indicates that money was fairly limited towards the end of Grace Vanderbilt's life. http://thegildedageera.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-last-home-of-grace-vanderbilt.html
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