History of Famous Jewels and Collections: Re: 1934 Queen Mary Sapphire Brooch

Very interesting. The jewels on Queen Camilla looks so very bigger than when the late Britanic Queen Queen Elizabeth II wore them. These sapphire brooches continue to puzzle us, I think I did 3 prior post on these said brooches already I.e. the one given by the late QEQM to the PoW and then this Russian one Camilla seems to have debuted.

Remember I did a post with a picture of Queen Alexandra in a painting or picture and she had running down the front of her dress some large dark hued stones which were then identified as the Kent Amethysts. While that could be true it is still not proven that all of those said dark colored stones may have been amethysts.

The sapphire and ruby and pearl earrings are outstanding peices and I wonder if they are legacies from her late Majesty or are they personally belonging to the Queen consort.

I recall in a discussion on said sapphire brooches, it was pointed out that the Princess Royal also has a similar shaped sapphire and diamond brooch but it seems to be smaller.

Regards,

Dave.

Previous Message

At today’s Commonwealth service, Queen Camilla wore a sapphire brooch that’s usually referred to as having Russian provenance. In 2014, the royal family said it was purchased in 1934 by Queen Mary. No other information was given.

The British Royal Jewels Instagram page said he thought the brooch was the one bought by Queen Mary shortly before the Kent marriage. In a November 2, 1934 article in the Nottingham Evening Post, it said Mary bought a striking sapphire brooch with a double row of diamonds from a London jeweler. It also said it traced back to the Burdett-Coutts family*. It was to be a present for Marina. Maybe Mary changed her mind or bought it for herself to replace the sapphires she was about to gift. Questions:

1. I’m not very familiar with all the pieces in the Cambridge sapphire set. Was there a new brooch addition in 1934? Or one that matches the double row of diamonds description? How quickly could a new fitted case be created to include one? This newspaper report was in November, the same month the Kents were married and I believe the Cambridge set was given and displayed prior to marriage.

2. The double row of diamonds has me wondering if it’s not the same as the “Russian” brooch. Mistake? But how many sapphire brooches was Queen Mary buying in one year? The last one is probably a dumb question!

3. If it’s not the “Russian”, could it be the brooch that ended up with The Queen Mother and given to Diana? I think we believe it came from Margret Greville, but we don’t really know.

Help!

*The Baroness Burdett-Coutts lost (and found) an “unmatched” diamond and sapphire brooch at Buckingham Palace in 1881. Not sure if it’s the 1934 brooch or not.