Princess Elizabeth by Yousuf Karsh, 1951 (© The Estate of Yousuf Karsh)
One of Queen Elizabeth II’s landmark jewels is the beautiful ‘Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar’ necklace, a wedding gift from the Indian ruler in 1947.
As most of you know, the necklace was chosen personally by the then Princess Elizabeth in the stock of Cartier London, so it reflects the Queen’s taste more than most of her jewels.
I have always been intrigued by the “Oriental” (Geoffrey Munn) pattern of the elements, a common inspiration for many Cartier jewels made in the 1930s, when the firm’s style gradually evolved from the neoclassical lines of the Louis XVI style, to more daring, exotic designs.
According to Hugh Roberts in The Queen's Diamonds , the diamond and platinum necklace was first listed in the stock of Cartier London in November 1935. It seems to have been made for stock.
In its original version the necklace was composed of a central element, flanked by two links on each side, and continued by a chain of collet-set diamonds. There were 10 pendants, of the same pattern as the necklace links, only bigger, suspended in pairs, and completed in the middle by a small pear-shaped diamond.
This early drawing from the Archives of Cartier London was published by Isabelle Cerboneschi on her website ALL.I.C. It is dated ‘August 1935’ and corrects a slight error in Robert’s book: the pendants on the first, rather heavy-looking, version of the necklace, were detachable from the start to be mounted in a head-ornament.
Preparatory drawing for the necklace, Cartier London, 1935 (© Cartier)
The necklace (large version) in the Cartier Archives, Cartier London, circa 1935 (© Cartier, illustrated in Hugh Roberts, The Queen's Diamonds )
The necklace (small version) in the Cartier Archives, Cartier London, circa 1937 (© Cartier)
The tiara in the Cartier Archives, Cartier London, circa 1937 (© Cartier, illustrated in Geoffrey Munn, Tiaras Past and Present )
Rose Greville, née Bingham, was Countess of Warwick during her short marriage to the 7th Earl, from 1933 to 1938. She was photographed by society-photographer Paul Tanqueray wearing the tiara and necklace in the 1930s. It is unclear whether the Countess ever owned the jewels, or if she was just modelling them.
Rose Greville, Countess of Warwick by Paul Tanqueray, London, The National Portrait Gallery, NPG x27283 (© estate of Paul Tanqueray)
Still according to Roberts, the necklace was sold without the additional pendants (or tiara) in July 1936, and repurchased by Cartier in May 1937, the month when George VI and Queen Elizabeth were crowned. It remained in stock until 1947, when Princess Elizabeth finally selected it.
The necklace illustrated in a publication from 1947
The Queen wore it frequently in her young years, and it was famously photographed by Yousuf Karsh shortly before the death of George VI; and a few months later, by Dorothy Wilding, in the first series of Accession portraits.
Princess Elizabeth by Yousuf Karsh, 1951, Chicago, Art Institute, 1953.312 (© The Estate of Yousuf Karsh)
Queen Elizabeth II by Dorothy Wilding, 26 February 1952, London, The National Portrait Gallery, NPG P870(5) (© William and Georgina Hustler/NPG)
At some point, the chain was reduced from 46 to 38 collets to suit the Queen’s diminutive stature. The necklace current length is 38.5 cm.
The necklace in its current form, RCIN 200154 (© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, The Royal Collection Trust)
Though the fate of the tiara isn’t known, two similar jewels have surfaced on the international market in recent years.
Their similarities and differences demonstrate the evolution of Cartier style, and the practice of creating very similar jewels for different customers. The provenance of both jewels hasn’t been revealed.
This remarkable diamond necklace, by Cartier, and dated circa 1930 was sold at Sotheby's Geneva, on 15 November 2018, as lot 554 of the Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale, it fetched 699,000 CHF.
The necklace, Cartier London, circa 1930 (both photos © Sotheby’s)
The lot note doesn’t mention the remarkable similarity between the necklace and the suite of jewels made in 1935. However, the date suggested by Sotheby’s seems quite right: indeed, the necklace still displays the typical flatness of early Cartier jewels, which was observed in late 1920s and early 1930s pieces, though the ‘oriental’ motif already draws on exotic inspirations.
Sotheby’s necklace was made by Cartier London (signed on the central link), and like the Queen’s necklace, it is convertible: the central element can be worn as a brooch, and the length (54 cm) can be adjusted, most likely by shortening the back section.
The other necklace, offered for sale by the Pat Saling Jewel Collection, New York, is described as an “Extraordinary Diamond and Platinum Necklace and Earring Suite by Cartier, London. Circa 1935”
The necklace and earrings, Cartier London, circa 1935 (© Pat Saling)
This necklace, composed of a central element flanked by six links on each side, is closed by a similar clasp to that of the Queen’s necklace. It is also accompanied by a pair of earrings, each composed of a big diamond in a diamond border, suspending an element of the same Oriental motif.
The necklace and earrings worn by a model (© Pat Saling)
The workmanship displayed in this piece is closer to that of the Queen’s necklace, and the necklace, which achieves tri-dimensionality, undoubtedly looks more modern than Sotheby’s’.
On the whole, it looks even more lavish than the Queen’s: the stones are much bigger, and the chain is made of continued elements, instead of a line of collet-set diamonds. The motif, which is rather blurry in Sotheby’s necklace, and somewhat too sharply cut in the Queen’s, reaches its best development here, and I think that this necklace was indeed made after the two others.
Without access to Cartier’s archives, it is difficult to elaborate more on the recurrence of this particular motif in 1930s jewels, but I hope that other examples will be identified with the help of this short study.
Thomas Ghysdaël
References:
Hugh Roberts, The Queen's Diamonds , 2012
Geoffrey Munn, Tiaras Past and Present , 2002
Isabelle Cerboneschi, “L’étrange histoire du collier Nizam of Hyderabad de la reine d’Angleterre”, in ALL.I.C (online), 6 May 2019:
https://all-i-c.com/collier-nizam-of-hyderabad/ Sotheby’s necklace:
https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/magnificent-jewels-and-noble-jewels-ge1805/lot.554.html# Pat Saling, New York:
http://www.patsalingjewelcollection.com/