A number of writers have mentioned Empress Eugenie's black pearl necklace without ever giving any particulars about what happened to it or who owned it subsequently.
After Empress Eugenie settled in England and before the famous Christie's auction on 24 June 1872, the Empress sold a number of her jewels through a London jeweller, Harry Emanuel of New Bond Street.
A number of these jewels appeared later in the Christie's auction, but some didn't.
One significant jewel which was sold by Emanuel was the black pearl necklace.
Below is a list of the jewels for sale at Emanuel's.
[This extract mentions the black pearl necklace, as well as the famous emerald cross]
This extract is dated 28 December 1871.
In early January 1872 the pearls were still mentioned for sale by the press.
But a report in late February 1872 has no mention of the black pearl necklace.
So what happened to the famed black pearl necklace?
It was purchased by the young 5th Earl of Ilchester as a wedding gift for his bride, Lady Mary Dawson, a fact which was widely publicised in descriptions of the wedding gifts to the bride following their wedding. The Fox Strangways family was very wealthy and so could afford jewellery of this nature.
This item is dated 14 February 1872.
And also see
From the list of wedding gifts we know that the necklace had 33 black pearls plus a pearl in the snap.
The news item below says that the pearls were all of the same size.
Other items which I have read, but do not seem to have taken a cutting of, indicate that the pearls were large and had green overtones, indicating to me that these were what we today call Tahitian pearls; these pearls were not greyish in colour.
If the insights gained by journalists are correct the pearls remained with Mary, Countess of Ilchester and so did not automatically pass to her daughter-in-law, Helen, wife of the 6th Earl when the 5th Earl died in 1905.
Even if the 5th Earl made this necklace a family heirloom, his will confirmed Lady Mary's marriage settlement which may have given her a life interest in jewels given to her. They may even have been given to her as her personal property.
Although I haven't checked every reference in the available media for the jewels worn by Helen, wife of the 6th Earl, the first mention I found of her with the pearls was in 1937, two years after the death of her mother-in-law, Mary.
The pearls were mentioned in dramatic circumstances in April 1947 when Helen, Countess of Ilchester was tied up by thieves who broke into her home and stole some jewellery. It was speculated that the thieves were after the famous black pearls but, according to Lady Ilchester's daughter-in-law, the pearls had been stored else where during the war and were still in storage.
As the pearls haven't appeared at auction in modern times, I suspect that they are still with the heirs of the 7th Earl, but that is only speculation.
Unfortunately, I have never found any photos of Mary, Lady Ilchester and of those of Helen, Lady Ilchester where she is wearing pearls, only white pearls can be seen.