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Imelda Marcos' Jewelry Collection
Posted by Al13 on March 3, 2020, 2:35 am
Hello everyone, I am new to this board. I thought it would be interesting to start a discussion on Mrs. Marcos' jewelry collection, especially since her and her collection has been in the news recently.
From my estimation, Mrs. Marcos owned at least five tiaras (that we know of). We know of the existence of these because these were among the items seized when she and her family escaped to exile.
Aside from the well-known tiara belonging to the Russian Royal Family, Mrs. Marcos also possessed:
1. An pearl and diamond tiara by Catchpole and Williams:
2. A diamond tiara with French markings (possibly Cartier - it shares a similarity with other Cartier designs). I think this was the tiara worn by Mrs. Marcos to the Persepolis celebrations (but worn upside down on her chignon)
Caveat: Mrs. Marcos' collections (and indeed her life) is a controversial topic. The Philippine government claims that these are proceeds of corruption while Mrs. Marcos maintains that these were bought with her private funds. Although I doubt Mrs. Marcos' claims, I think it would be better to leave that topic from this discussion.
Hi AI13, welcome to this space and I hope you stick around. Your topic is of great interest and I do wonder if the authorities will have those jewels auctioned later on. I heard some time ago that Mrs. Marcos also had acquired the tiara QA had once owned, please see below.
Hello everyone, I am new to this board. I thought it would be interesting to start a discussion on Mrs. Marcos' jewelry collection, especially since her and her collection has been in the news recently.
From my estimation, Mrs. Marcos owned at least five tiaras (that we know of). We know of the existence of these because these were among the items seized when she and her family escaped to exile.
Aside from the well-known tiara belonging to the Russian Royal Family, Mrs. Marcos also possessed:
1. An pearl and diamond tiara by Catchpole and Williams:
2. A diamond tiara with French markings (possibly Cartier - it shares a similarity with other Cartier designs). I think this was the tiara worn by Mrs. Marcos to the Persepolis celebrations (but worn upside down on her chignon)
Caveat: Mrs. Marcos' collections (and indeed her life) is a controversial topic. The Philippine government claims that these are proceeds of corruption while Mrs. Marcos maintains that these were bought with her private funds. Although I doubt Mrs. Marcos' claims, I think it would be better to leave that topic from this discussion.
Regarding the sale of these jewelry - there have been several attempts. Most recently the government has given its assent regarding the sale, but so far none has taken place.
The jewels have recently re-appraised though.
I've never seen a picture of that tiara in her possession, but it is still a possibility.
The ones we know are only those which were confiscated by the government. The real number could be much higher - and hidden from view.
During the latter years of her jewelry buying spree, Mrs. Marcos had decided that she no longer wanted 'new' jewelry but would only buy 'historical' jewels. So I think it's possible that she could have bought that tiara, though I don't have any proof of this (yet).
For example, she is also said to have bought a large diamond called the 'Idol's Diamond'. There are several reports of this and yet it is not included in the confiscated jewels, nor was she ever photographed in it. But several society insiders have confirmed that she has bought it.
So the real extent of her collection is really unknown.
This was Mrs. Marcos at the Persepolis celebrations:
I thought she wore the Cartier tiara then, but on second glance it looks like a different tiara and unlike anything in the government's possession. Which brings me to my point that most of her collection is still undocumented.
Welcome to the board A113! What an interesting topic! I am delighted you have introduced it as Imelda Marcos has an extraordinary collection of jewels which, as far as I know, has not been discussed at any length.
Thank you for collecting these photos of the tiaras now in the care of the government. I hadn't realised she owned so many. And, as you note, Imelda Marcos is likely to have more items which haven't yet been publicly documented.
My immediate reaction on looking at the ruby and pearl tiara was jejune to say the least --that it shows the disadvantages of silver settings in a humid climate!! On a more serious note, I wonder if its provenance has ever been established?
I agree with you that the Cartier tiara
is not the one Imelda Marcos wore at Persepolis. For that she wore another tiara.
At Persepolis
Re Queen Alexandra's tiara.
I strongly suspect that this tiara was dismantled. Hugh Roberts referred to it as having been "disposed of" rather than having been sold. It is possible that I am reading too much into Roberts' phraseology, but it is strange that no reference to the tiara has surfaced since the death of Queen Alexandra.
There's an image button in the bottom line of the text field where you're typing your message in. If you click on "image" an additional field will appear below the text field where you can paste the image URL. Be careful: The "https://" part of the URL is already there. When you paste the image URL, you've to replace it. If it's doubled, the image won't appear.
Alternatively you can just type:
[img][/img]
and put the image URL in between:
[img]image URL[/img]
Images from your PC
You need an image hosting service to post images from your harddisc. An image host is a server which allows you to store your image online thus providing you with an image URL which you can use to post the image on a message board.
There are several free and paid solutions. The only one I've ever used is postimage and I've never experienced any problems with it. But there are others like Photobucket or freeimage.host.
You can use postimage without creating a free account, but I'd advise to create an account in order to be able to organize your photos. Comes in handy as soon as you've uploaded a larger number of images.
This is how the upload page looks like:
"No expiration" makes sense at least for this board, where archived messages are a valuable source of information. Resizing the image without apparent loss of quality is better achieved in the photo editing program of your choice before uploading the image.
Once you've uploaded the image you get to a page with several links:
The link you need for posting images is the penultimate one: "Hotlink for forums" You click on the button on the right of the URL to copy the link and paste it into your message. That's it.
Postimage will add a link to its website (the outer part of the links in the screenshot above: (url=https://postimages.org/) and (/url)) which I usually remove, but it doesn't harm to leave it. The first photo has the link removed, the second is still linked to postimage:
Georgina Countess of Dudley.
Posted by Ruth on March 5, 2020, 9:51 pm, in reply to "Posting images"
Georgina E. Ward, Countess of Dudley. (1846-1929) 2nd wife of William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley (2nd creation).
Oil on canvas, by Richard Buckner. H 197 x W 129 cm The dress worn by Lady Dudley is her wedding dress. Jewels are pearls and diamonds.
Painting originally was hung in the Board Room, Dudley Guest Hospital, Tipton, West Midlands for many years. it was removed to Himley Hall, Staffordshire, UK on long term loan to Dudley Museums Services. Himley Hall was once the property of the Ward family.
Sorry Mauriz, I've sent the message to wrong board, plus the photo has disappeared. I tried postimage-trying to master it, again apologies. Ruth
Re: Posting images
Posted by Al13 on March 6, 2020, 2:14 am, in reply to "Posting images"
Hello everyone, thank you for helping me out, especially to Beth and Mauriz. I am posting some more photos of her jewelry.
A yellow gold and diamond stomacher/brooch, currently in the possession of the Philippine Government:
Antique Old Cut Diamond and Ceylon Sapphire Necklace, also in the possession of the Philippine Government. I believe this photo comes from the recent re-appraisal of her jewelry collection.
A bangle with a 30 carat diamond in it, still with a price tag of $1,000,000 USD, from Bulgari.
Mrs. Marcos had a penchant for large stones. Here is a 150-carat ruby. The note says "Sir - Ma'am liked this when she saw this in New York but she couldn't afford this! - Fe"
The note was written to her husband, by Imelda's trusted secretary who handled her finances and her jewelry collection.. Clearly Mrs. Marcos found a way to buy it even when she 'couldn't afford it1!'
Finally, a recent discovery - a pink diamond, originally thought to be paste when the jewels were first appraised in the 1990s.
Re: Posting images
Posted by Beth on March 6, 2020, 6:33 am, in reply to "Re: Posting images"
The image of the ruby with the handwritten note made me laugh. There was a limit to Imelda Marcos' budget/financial resources?!! Did the jewellery firm allow her to take the ruby on approval? I can imagine the latter as, with high end purchases by known clients, there is a lot of trust so as not to offend clients.
The stomacher interests me. I feel that it is a modern recreation in an antique style. The large diamonds definitely have a modern cut and the gold setting would, I think, be unusual for an old European piece.
I wonder what price the pink diamond would fetch if it went to auction?
Thanks A113!
Re: Posting images
Posted by Beth on March 6, 2020, 6:44 am, in reply to "Posting images"
Thank you so much Mauriz! Not only have you given us the steps for using Postimage, we got to see the wonderful jewel from the collection of Lady Jane Cory again! (I hope my memory is correct -- I haven't checked)
Re: Posting images
Posted by mauriz on March 6, 2020, 6:10 pm, in reply to "Re: Posting images"
It's a wonderful piece, isn't it?! Still grateful you introduced me to the Cory collection and bequest. The thread was an absolute delight!
Re: Posting images
Posted by OmerH on March 6, 2020, 11:51 pm, in reply to "Re: Posting images"
This video on the appraisal of jewels is interesting watch. Apparently there were 750 pieces and these were just the ones they were trying to escape with!!!!! At the end of the video I think we can spot the Predopolis tiara.
BTW welcome to all the new posters. Hope to learn and share lots of sparkle with you!!
Re: Posting images
Posted by Al13 on March 7, 2020, 12:31 am, in reply to "Re: Posting images"
The collection (that we know of) is comprised of three parts:
1. The Malacanang Collection - called because they were found left in Malacanang Palace, the official residence of the Philippine President, when the Marcoses fled.
2. The Hawaii Collection - This refers to the items confiscated when they arrived in Hawaii.
3. The Roumeliotes Collection - So called because these were confiscated from a person attempting to smuggle it out of the country, believed to be an agent of Mrs. Marcos, George Roumeliotes.
So far the only collection that has been subject to appraisal by auction houses is the Hawaii collection.
Mrs. Marcos still wears expensive jewelry from time to time, so perhaps the real number of jewelry she owned could never be known.
The Marcoses exile was very hastily planned. When the palace doors were opened to the mob, they found half-eaten dinners and trays and trays of jewelry in Mrs. Marcos' walk-in closet. In fact, even the Governor of Hawaii was not informed that the Marcos were being sent to exile - they thought the Marcoses had comed for a visit and very hastily welcomed them with diplomatic honors at Honolulu.
I don't think the tiara at the end is the Persepolis tiara -
As you can see that tiara featured in the latter part of the video is very small, whilst the Persepolis tiara almost wraps around her large chignon.
The story of why she wore an upside down tiara is quite amusing. I believe it was Christina Ford who relates this story. Apparently, Mrs. Marcos was getting ready for the grand dinner and her tiara was accordingly brought out by her dresser. Someone (I think it was Christina) objected, saying that since it was a royal celebration, only royalty could wear their tiaras. Mrs. Marcos apparently said that this would not be a problem; she would simply wear it upside down. Lol!
Re: Posting images - QEII and Imelda Marcos
Posted by Franck on March 7, 2020, 1:46 am, in reply to "Re: Posting images"
Dear all,
I have once read that QEII had been offered a watch by Imelda Marcos.
Unfortunately, I have not saved the information.
Very best regards,
Franck
Previous Message
The collection (that we know of) is comprised of three parts:
1. The Malacanang Collection - called because they were found left in Malacanang Palace, the official residence of the Philippine President, when the Marcoses fled.
2. The Hawaii Collection - This refers to the items confiscated when they arrived in Hawaii.
3. The Roumeliotes Collection - So called because these were confiscated from a person attempting to smuggle it out of the country, believed to be an agent of Mrs. Marcos, George Roumeliotes.
So far the only collection that has been subject to appraisal by auction houses is the Hawaii collection.
Mrs. Marcos still wears expensive jewelry from time to time, so perhaps the real number of jewelry she owned could never be known.
The Marcoses exile was very hastily planned. When the palace doors were opened to the mob, they found half-eaten dinners and trays and trays of jewelry in Mrs. Marcos' walk-in closet. In fact, even the Governor of Hawaii was not informed that the Marcos were being sent to exile - they thought the Marcoses had comed for a visit and very hastily welcomed them with diplomatic honors at Honolulu.
I don't think the tiara at the end is the Persepolis tiara -
As you can see that tiara featured in the latter part of the video is very small, whilst the Persepolis tiara almost wraps around her large chignon.
The story of why she wore an upside down tiara is quite amusing. I believe it was Christina Ford who relates this story. Apparently, Mrs. Marcos was getting ready for the grand dinner and her tiara was accordingly brought out by her dresser. Someone (I think it was Christina) objected, saying that since it was a royal celebration, only royalty could wear their tiaras. Mrs. Marcos apparently said that this would not be a problem; she would simply wear it upside down. Lol!
Mrs. Marcos was very fond of giving out expensive gifts to head of state, so this could be true. I have also read that she gave Princess Grace a haircomb composed of extremely large pearls and diamonds - but I have not found any corroborating images regarding this claim. I believe she also gave Mrs. Reagan a string of large pearls and commissioned a set of paintings as gifts.
Re: Posting images
Posted by OmerH on March 10, 2020, 7:34 pm, in reply to "Re: Posting images"
Many thanks Al13 for the comprehensive response. Now a lot of news about Mrs. Marcos's jewels makes a lot of sense.
Re: Imelda Marcos' Jewelry Collection...welcome great topic
Hello everyone, I am new to this board. I thought it would be interesting to start a discussion on Mrs. Marcos' jewelry collection, especially since her and her collection has been in the news recently.
From my estimation, Mrs. Marcos owned at least five tiaras (that we know of). We know of the existence of these because these were among the items seized when she and her family escaped to exile.
Aside from the well-known tiara belonging to the Russian Royal Family, Mrs. Marcos also possessed:
1. An pearl and diamond tiara by Catchpole and Williams:
2. A diamond tiara with French markings (possibly Cartier - it shares a similarity with other Cartier designs). I think this was the tiara worn by Mrs. Marcos to the Persepolis celebrations (but worn upside down on her chignon)
Caveat: Mrs. Marcos' collections (and indeed her life) is a controversial topic. The Philippine government claims that these are proceeds of corruption while Mrs. Marcos maintains that these were bought with her private funds. Although I doubt Mrs. Marcos' claims, I think it would be better to leave that topic from this discussion.
on March 3, 2020, 2:35 am
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