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Emerald parure of Empress Carlota of Mexico Posted by mauriz on September 26, 2019, 5:06 am When Swiss billionaire Bruno Steffanini died in December 2018 he left behind a vast collection of artworks and historical objects, among them – as was recently discovered – an emerald parure once in the possession of Empress Carlota of Mexico, consisting of a tiara, a hair comb, a necklace and a large brooch. The four pieces are set with 89 emeralds weighing 400 carats and were acquired at auction house Stuker in Bern in 1978 (estimated price 675 000 CHF, winning bid supposedly much less). Article (in German)

Re: Emerald parure of Empress Carlota of Mexico Posted by Beth on September 26, 2019, 7:33 am, in reply to "Emerald parure of Empress Carlota of Mexico" Fascinating! Empress Carlota's emeralds! Thank you so much for sharing this with us Mauriz. A number of questions immediately popped into my mind. I wonder what was the chain of ownership prior to the auction in 1978? The use of gold, without any silver, is striking, as is also the small number of diamonds. I wonder why that was so? Was that characteristic of jewellery circa the early 1860s? (For example, I know that Queen Alexandra received a number of gold jewels for her wedding in 1863, the style/design drawing on antique styles) The base/band of the tiara caught my attention. How is that made? Why does the metal work show a different colour from the gold above? Are there small diamonds in the base/band?

Re: Emerald parure of Empress Carlota of Mexico Posted by mauriz on September 26, 2019, 7:04 pm, in reply to "Re: Emerald parure of Empress Carlota of Mexico" It's rather unfortunate that the only photo that seems to be released is so small that one can hardly see any details. I assume the different colour of the tiara's base is partly due to the angle of the photograph partly due to the large surfaces of the upper elements which let the gold more gleam. There are small diamonds visible on the upper border of the base, but I wonder if small diamonds are also set onto the crossing points. Would love to see the hair comb being worn. I imagine it to be used framing a chignon, with the emerald drops dangling sidewards.

Re: Emerald parure of Empress Carlota of Mexico Posted by Maria Olivia on September 26, 2019, 10:40 pm, in reply to "Re: Emerald parure of Empress Carlota of Mexico" This is very interesting too me , because we don't know precisely what happen with our Princess Charlotte, unfortunate Emmpress Jewels, bacause she lost her mind at the end of her life. Previous Message It's rather unfortunate that the only photo that seems to be released is so small that one can hardly see any details. I assume the different colour of the tiara's base is partly due to the angle of the photograph partly due to the large surfaces of the upper elements which let the gold more gleam. There are small diamonds visible on the upper border of the base, but I wonder if small diamonds are also set onto the crossing points. Would love to see the hair comb being worn. I imagine it to be used framing a chignon, with the emerald drops dangling sidewards.

Re: Emerald parure of Empress Carlota of Mexico Posted by Beth on September 29, 2019, 7:41 am, in reply to "Re: Emerald parure of Empress Carlota of Mexico" Many thanks Mauriz! Hopefully, at some stage, the museum will provide a detailed description of the jewels and some high definition photos. Because of their historical value the jewels warrant more investigation.

Re: Emerald parure of Empress Carlota of Mexico Posted by Dave on September 30, 2019, 5:29 am, in reply to "Emerald parure of Empress Carlota of Mexico" Thanks for exposing these beautiful pieces of jewellery mauriz. Regards, Dave. Previous Message When Swiss billionaire Bruno Steffanini died in December 2018 he left behind a vast collection of artworks and historical objects, among them – as was recently discovered – an emerald parure once in the possession of Empress Carlota of Mexico, consisting of a tiara, a hair comb, a necklace and a large brooch. The four pieces are set with 89 emeralds weighing 400 carats and were acquired at auction house Stuker in Bern in 1978 (estimated price 675 000 CHF, winning bid supposedly much less). Article (in German)

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