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Queen Mary and large pink topaz brooch
Posted by Beth on December 30, 2018, 6:03 am
The Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alice were both photographed wearing a large oval pink topaz with a pendant as a corsage ornament. Both ladies have been photographed wearing it on the centre of their bodice at evening functions.
I had always assumed, but never had proof, that the brooch came from Queen Mary, although the following news item did make me wonder -- but without an image any of the pink topaz brooches could have been lent to the exhibition mentioned.
July 1956
Now I have found a very clear image showing Queen Mary wearing the brooch for day time wear in 1929. The photo which comes from the Wellcome Collection makes sense of a blurry newspaper photo I had of Queen Mary.
Queen Mary on a visit to the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital on 8 May 1929.
Clear photo from the Wellcome Collection
Detail
This photo raises another query for me. I wonder if Princess Alice changed the lower gemstone? In the photo of Queen Mary it looks rounder. In the photos of the Duchesses it looks more pear shaped. I wonder if the lower gemstone was used in the bracelet now worn by the Duchess of Gloucester?
Very interesting Beth. Thank you for sharing this clearer photo of Queen Mary. I do not have a reply to your question. In fact I have another question. Could the Queen also be wearing a stone of the same colour in front of her hat?
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The Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alice were both photographed wearing a large oval pink topaz with a pendant as a corsage ornament. Both ladies have been photographed wearing it on the centre of their bodice at evening functions.
I had always assumed, but never had proof, that the brooch came from Queen Mary, although the following news item did make me wonder -- but without an image any of the pink topaz brooches could have been lent to the exhibition mentioned.
July 1956
Now I have found a very clear image showing Queen Mary wearing the brooch for day time wear in 1929. The photo which comes from the Wellcome Collection makes sense of a blurry newspaper photo I had of Queen Mary.
Queen Mary on a visit to the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital on 8 May 1929.
Clear photo from the Wellcome Collection
Detail
This photo raises another query for me. I wonder if Princess Alice changed the lower gemstone? In the photo of Queen Mary it looks rounder. In the photos of the Duchesses it looks more pear shaped. I wonder if the lower gemstone was used in the bracelet now worn by the Duchess of Gloucester?
Yes, Kongetro. Queen Mary is wearing the brooch which the Duchesses use in the centre of the diamond necklace when the pink topazes are worn.
In this 1938 photo Queen Mary is wearing it on the centre of her bodice.
At her throat with a pendant which I think now belongs to the Duchess of Gloucester.
In 1928
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Very interesting Beth. Thank you for sharing this clearer photo of Queen Mary. I do not have a reply to your question. In fact I have another question. Could the Queen also be wearing a stone of the same colour in front of her hat?
Previous Message
The Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alice were both photographed wearing a large oval pink topaz with a pendant as a corsage ornament. Both ladies have been photographed wearing it on the centre of their bodice at evening functions.
I had always assumed, but never had proof, that the brooch came from Queen Mary, although the following news item did make me wonder -- but without an image any of the pink topaz brooches could have been lent to the exhibition mentioned.
July 1956
Now I have found a very clear image showing Queen Mary wearing the brooch for day time wear in 1929. The photo which comes from the Wellcome Collection makes sense of a blurry newspaper photo I had of Queen Mary.
Queen Mary on a visit to the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital on 8 May 1929.
Clear photo from the Wellcome Collection
Detail
This photo raises another query for me. I wonder if Princess Alice changed the lower gemstone? In the photo of Queen Mary it looks rounder. In the photos of the Duchesses it looks more pear shaped. I wonder if the lower gemstone was used in the bracelet now worn by the Duchess of Gloucester?
An incredibly nice and important find Beth, you have beaten me to it for I was also going to post on the topaz's you now mention. It proves that QM was not too adverse to coloured stones as many may have thought. To me I believe QM had sets of these stones and may have also left some to her grand daughter the present Queen who also hardly wears coloured stones. I often wonder if Vincent never thinks of maybe having an interview with one of the minor royals such as the DoG to have a dig in on her jewel collection? Sending a nice letter of intent may not be such a bad idea.
Regards,
Dave.
Previous Message
The Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alice were both photographed wearing a large oval pink topaz with a pendant as a corsage ornament. Both ladies have been photographed wearing it on the centre of their bodice at evening functions.
I had always assumed, but never had proof, that the brooch came from Queen Mary, although the following news item did make me wonder -- but without an image any of the pink topaz brooches could have been lent to the exhibition mentioned.
July 1956
Now I have found a very clear image showing Queen Mary wearing the brooch for day time wear in 1929. The photo which comes from the Wellcome Collection makes sense of a blurry newspaper photo I had of Queen Mary.
Queen Mary on a visit to the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital on 8 May 1929.
Clear photo from the Wellcome Collection
Detail
This photo raises another query for me. I wonder if Princess Alice changed the lower gemstone? In the photo of Queen Mary it looks rounder. In the photos of the Duchesses it looks more pear shaped. I wonder if the lower gemstone was used in the bracelet now worn by the Duchess of Gloucester?
I wonder if Queen Mary owned pink topaz earrings? It seems from the image below that there is a dark coloured gemstone surrounded by diamonds in the earrings.
I thought that I had a photo showing the Duchess of Gloucester wearing pink topaz earrings but I cannot locate it this morning. Does anyone have one?
Congratulations Beth, the photograph clearly shows the same brooch. I think that the pendant is partly obscured by a shade, but that it is the same as the one worn by the Duchesses.
I do like pink topaz, and I am not surprised that pink stones appealed to Queen Mary: pink was her favourite colour!
I think that Queen Mary might have worn the brooch (seen in the image OmerH posted) minus the pendant during the Delhi Durbar in 1911.
What do others think? Are there any better photos?
Duchess of Gloucester wearing the brooch.
The black and white detail (first image) comes from the photo below which Alamy dates as India 1914, but I think 1914 is a typo.
I feel that I should point out that Queen Mary was photographed wearing the same dress and hat but with the Garter sash and orders on another formal occasion in India in 1911. It was not uncommon for Queen Mary to wear the same clothes frequently in any season and I have seen examples where she has worn the same dress on successive days but with different jewels.
Other occasion. This detail comes from an image in the French National Library (BnF)
In the photo above HM is wearing another of the pink topaz brooches -- the one now worn in the Gloucester tiara.
I am certain that the two photos were not taken at the same event as, apart from the lack of sash and orders in the Alamy image, HM does not have a hat veil and the anchor brooch is pinned in a higher position on the dress in the image from the French National Library.
on December 30, 2018, 6:03 am
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