Yesterday, the Hohenzollern Sapphire Parure from the estate of Stephanie de Beauharnais and the Sapphire Tiara of Queen Isabella were sold at Christie's Magnificent Jewels Auction. Financially, it ended up quite successful.
The description says it's gold, as nineteenth century jewellery is mostly gold and silver, except towards the end of the century when platinum and later white gold came along. So I had expected to see perhaps silver frames with gold settings for the sapphires, silver settings for the diamonds and gold plating on the back to prevent the silver from coming into contact with the skin.
Instead, the entire parure is set in brilliant white material, without the slightest sign of tarnish, except for a few tiny golden spots on the back of the bandeau.
I found the same thing with Queen Isabella's tiara.
Could it be that the Hohenzollerns had the jewels rhodium-plated or that the settings are completely renewed in white gold (I donīt believe that for real)?
My inner custodian is horrified. On the other hand, it would be much more practical to use and would save cleaning, which is certainly stressful for the material.
https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6315864
What are your thoughts?
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