Re: V&A Al Thani exhibition: the world's most amazing Indian jewellery lights up London Archived Message
Posted by Beth on July 10, 2018, 9:18 pm, in reply to "Re: V&A Al Thani exhibition: the world's most amazing Indian jewellery lights up London"
Many thanks for the link to that very interesting item on the exhibition MarcA. It is possible that Queen Alexandra's ruby was one of the gifts given to the Prince of Wales on this trip. Most of the items were exhibited, but I suspect not all, as I don't recollect reading about much jewellery in the press commentaries at the time, some of which were less than flattering. Apart from what was given to Edward VII on his trip to India, Queen Victoria is known to have received a number of ruby items from the King of Thailand in 1857 and from the Queen Oude in September 1856, which leaves the field open for speculation. (It is possible that items from the Queen of Oude may have been the source of the cabochon rubies and emeralds Queen Alexandra used in two of her specially commissioned Cartier necklaces -- bu that is pure speculation on my part. The gems may have come from other sources) Sir Jung Bahadoor of Nepal (he was the first of the Rana dynasty of hereditary Prime Ministers) is said to have given the Prince of Wales a large ruby necklace for Queen Victoria during this trip. It was this necklace which furnished the rubies now set in the Oriental circlet tiara, the earrings and necklace worn by QEQM --what numerous people refer to as the "crown rubies" According to Twinning Queen Alexandra ordered rubies from the Bahadoor necklace be used to replace the opals in Queen Victoria's necklace on 27 April 1902. HM ordered the earrings to be changed on 11 July 1902. To change the earrings one new ruby was purchased, but Twinning does not say which stone was purchased, whether one of the round stones in the studs or one of the drops.
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