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Duchess of Gloucester. Another reset necklace
Posted by Beth on May 25, 2019, 7:29 am
Our recent discussion about the Duchess' necklace being reset reminded me that she has another which has undergone a transformation.
I have no clues about the provenance of this set (necklace and earrings). I haven't seen photos of Princess Alice wearing any part of it.
Here is the Duchess wearing the necklace and earrings in 1984.
By 1993 the necklace had been reset, small pearls substituted for the chains, the pendants removed and the necklace shortened to sit closer to the base of the throat.
Does anyone have any information about this suite?
I can never decide whether it is sapphires and rubies I can see or emeralds and rubies.
And I am clueless about which jewellery era the original necklace comes from.
I would definitely say black mother of pearl and diamonds. And I would definitely say contemporary, around 1970s. Perhaps a gift from the duke to his wife. I am amazed by the amount of jewelry the Gloucester have kept.
OH!! How I wish I could see this set in a modern photograph, or even better to see it with my own eyes. With the flashes of colour I can see in the existing photos, I have no doubt that the originals would be eye catching.
Thank you so much Vincent. Now it all makes sense.
I doubt if we have ever seen all the jewels that the current Duchess has at her disposal -- and we have discussed only a few of her pieces.
Re: Duchess of Gloucester. A possible provenance for one of the pink topaz brooches
In her will Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester left Princess Helena (Princess Christian) a set of pink topazes. There were earrings, a pendant and a brooch with a pendant.
These jewels have never been identified; however, I wonder if the jewels may have been inherited by Princess Marie Louise and/or Princess Helena Victoria.
In particular, I wonder if this brooch may have been left to the Gloucesters by Princess Marie Louise.
As far as I know this brooch did not come from Queen Mary -- or to phrase things differently, we don't have photos of Queen Mary wearing this brooch.
Does anyone know if stylistically the setting might come from the time when Princess Mary was alive?
Re: Duchess of Gloucester. A possible provenance for one of the pink topaz brooches
Both sisters seem to have more jewels than we thought. Many pieces left to lady Pat Ramsay. The rest to the current duke of Gloucester. Do we know if princess Alice wore queen Mary ‘s tiara with pink stone ? Or was it a new setting made by the current duchess of Gloucester ? The pink topaze you just mentionnés could explain the relatively new setting of that tiara. Some other could have been used on the strange necklace. And there is even a pendant made with one drop of pink topaze that the current duchess sometimes wear as the pendant of a pearl necklace.
Re: Duchess of Gloucester. Pink topazes. Tiara, necklace and brooches
Princess Alice began wearing the tiara with the pink topaz centre and the necklace after Queen Mary's death.
1959
undated but dress and hair style indicates the 1950s-60s, and Duchess has QEII's family order.
The pink topaz elements in the tiara and necklace were worn by Queen Mary throughout her time as Queen, and throughout WWII.
Queen Mary. Both photos 1938
The larger brooch used in the tiara can be seen worn by Queen Mary during the Delhi Durbar tour in 1911
Princess Alice and the current Duchess have sometimes worn a large oval pink topaz with a drop.
The upper section of that brooch was from Queen Mary, and presumably the drop also -- the photo below is not 100% clear.
Queen Mary wearing the brooch in 1929
I think that the large pink topaz drop also comes from Queen Mary.
Queen Mary
The only pink topaz jewel which does not appear to come from Queen Mary is the brooch in the post above. The setting of it is so different from jewels associated with Queen Mary that I wondered if it originated with Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, who had a considerable amount of jewellery about which we know very little. Not all of it (or even the majority) went to Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck.
on May 25, 2019, 7:29 am
