The pearl necklace appears at the auction and seems to have been recovered. At the Queen’s death in 1904 it is in the inventory of jewels, King Alfonso bought it before the collection was divided between the heirs. Queen Maria Cristina also bought some pieces.
The stones from that pearl tiara were used to create the Cartier Tiara still in Spanish collection. It is my favorite one so I’m not that sad about it!
is that the parure (absent the belt) survived Isabella's auction of her jewels and was still in her possession at the time of her son's marriage.
This raises questions why if she was in financial problems why her son or daughter in law did not buy it given it clearly was of historical importance, the emeralds having belonged to Queen Isabella's mother? It is not as if Queen Maria Christina did not have a passion for jewels, she had a grand collection. Maybe she just didnt appreciate the setting.
I seem to recall on Dinastas that the pearl necklace given by Alfonso XIII for his bride Queen Ena, was bought by him from an auction and that it belonged to Queen Isabella, so there was clearly a desire to preserve some of Isabella and the dynasty's heritage at that time.
Queen Ena's wedding gifts were really quite magnificent but I am very disappointing she broke up the pearl heart tiara at the centre
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