Regards,
Dave.
Like, her mother-in-law, Rachel, Countess of Dudley was a noted beauty and wearer of grand jewels.
Below are some images and information about jewels she wore following the 1902 sale.
Rubies
From August 1902 to December 1905 the second Earl of Dudley was Viceroy of Ireland, where he was said to have entertained extravagantly. At the time the Viceroys funded much of the official (and all private) entertaining themselves.
1904
1905
1908
1908
I strongly suspect that Rachel, Countess of Dudley can be seen with the rubies in the images below. I don't recollect seeing a caption saying these were her rubies, but the stones are relatively small. Her other noted necklace contained sapphires (so said the press) and I think it is more likely that the sapphires would have been larger stones.
From the 1902 coronation.
Some details
The image below is also from the 1902 coronation. It was published when the Earl was appointed as Governor General of Australia in 1908. This shows that Rachel was wearing jewelled tassels hanging down her gown.
Detail of tiara
Detail of stomacher
Pearls and diamonds
When the Earl and Countess hosted official functions in Ireland, the press reported on her jewels and occasionally photos of her in grand jewels were published.
One set of such photos shows a largish diamond and pearl tiara, strings of pearls and a brooch with large pearls.
The photo below comes from Australian records and is dated 1911 during the time of the Earl's tenure as Governor General of Australia 1908--1911. Rachel appears to have used it as an official image, but the photo was taken at the time of the Empire Ball in March 1905 ball in Dublin.
1905 publication of photos from the series.
In 1910 during a sojourn in the UK and before resuming her role as wife of the Governor-General in Australia this series of photos appeared in the UK media. For this photo session, Rachel was wearing an impressive brooch and strand of pearls.
Detail
Another diamond tiara
Rachel Dudley also owned a diamond laurel leaf tiara which she wore for the opera gala evening during the Spanish state visit in 1905.
She may have also owned another significant diamond tiara as per this 1908 report, although it is possible that it was the laurel leaf tiara which contained the Dudley diamond.
Dudley Diamond
The Earl of Dudley or his mother, Georgina also had the 47.69 carat diamond known as the Star of South Africa. It had been purchased by the first Earl for Georgina, some time before 1882 when Edwin Streeter mentioned it in his 1882 book. No one seems to have published when it was sold to the owner who auctioned it at Christie's in 1974. Ian Balfour in his book on famous diamonds noted that the owner said it had been owned by the family for 60 years.
1
Responses
« Back to index | View thread »