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Queen Marie of Romania Jewels Posted by RDavid on April 11, 2020, 3:39 pm I’ve found out that a book called “Bijuterile Regina Maria” was published last year. It is about the collection of jewels that belonged to Queen Marie of Romania including the famous jewels that were sent to Russia during WWI and lost forever. Apparently the author found an ilustrated inventory of everything that was sent to Russia which is great!! The YouTube vide I’m posting here is from a news report (in Romanian which I understand 0) that gives us a glimpse of what is the book and some images of the jewels. Worth to see! Is there any member who speaks Romanian and can help us with some more info?

Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels Posted by Janet on April 11, 2020, 10:10 pm, in reply to "Queen Marie of Romania Jewels" Thank you for posting. It strikes me as odd that the Queen's jewels were not photographed before they were sent for safe keeping in Russia. Of course few could have predicted what would actually happen but what if there was ever a dispute over what was sent? I like the turquoise parure she recieved as a wedding gift from the Duke of Edinburgh. It is simple but perfect when you consider Marie was just 17 when she was forced into marriage by her formidable mother. In Hannah Pakula's biography of Queen Marie, there is reference to her inheriting her mother's very valuable pearls. However I have never seen a picture of her wearing her mother's fabulous pearl tiara. Marie Alexandrovna of Russia had one of the finest collections. The world is crying out for a biography on Marie Alexandrovna, she is my all time favourite royal character, one of the most interesting and complex royal women in my view. My theory is that Queen Marie had her mother's tiara redesigned. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna wearing her fabulous pearls. In the early 1920s Queen Marie started wearing this tiara. Her mother died in 1920 so she had inherited her pearls and we know Queen Marie had to rebuild her collection after WW1, so she could have modernised her mother's tiara or of course bought an entirely new one. This is just a theory and I have no evidence, beyond Pakula saying Queen Marie inherited her mother's pearls, Queen Marie wearing a modern 1920s style pearl tiara in the years after her mother's death and no photographic evidence to suggest that Marie Alexandrovna's tiara was sold or is still in existence. Either way I love both tiaras, so it is a bit of a shame if one was scarified for the other!

Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels Posted by Maria Olivia on April 11, 2020, 11:59 pm, in reply to "Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels" Her Sister Ducky Princess of Hesse and then Grand Duchess of Russia was in money need and her Sister Missy/Roumanie bought some of her Jewels Could someone point these jewels ? Thanks MO Previous Message Thank you for posting. It strikes me as odd that the Queen's jewels were not photographed before they were sent for safe keeping in Russia. Of course few could have predicted what would actually happen but what if there was ever a dispute over what was sent? I like the turquoise parure she recieved as a wedding gift from the Duke of Edinburgh. It is simple but perfect when you consider Marie was just 17 when she was forced into marriage by her formidable mother. In Hannah Pakula's biography of Queen Marie, there is reference to her inheriting her mother's very valuable pearls. However I have never seen a picture of her wearing her mother's fabulous pearl tiara. Marie Alexandrovna of Russia had one of the finest collections. The world is crying out for a biography on Marie Alexandrovna, she is my all time favourite royal character, one of the most interesting and complex royal women in my view. My theory is that Queen Marie had her mother's tiara redesigned. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna wearing her fabulous pearls. In the early 1920s Queen Marie started wearing this tiara. Her mother died in 1920 so she had inherited her pearls and we know Queen Marie had to rebuild her collection after WW1, so she could have modernised her mother's tiara or of course bought an entirely new one. This is just a theory and I have no evidence, beyond Pakula saying Queen Marie inherited her mother's pearls, Queen Marie wearing a modern 1920s style pearl tiara in the years after her mother's death and no photographic evidence to suggest that Marie Alexandrovna's tiara was sold or is still in existence. Either way I love both tiaras, so it is a bit of a shame if one was scarified for the other!

Marie bought her sister's Greek key tiara Posted by Janet on April 12, 2020, 12:17 am, in reply to "Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels" from her, which remains with the Romanian royal family to this date. The Royal watcher blog has a nice article on it. http://royalwatcherblog.com/2017/03/26/romanian-greek-key-tiara/ Marie bought it specifically for her daughter in law Princess Helen of Greece, and according to the Hannah Pakula biography she grumbled as she bought this tiara for Helen, whereas Constantine I and Sophia of Greece did not buy her daughter Elisabeth a tiara when she married their son. I would love to know the whereabouts of Marie Alexandrovna's sapphire parure, which was received by Victoria Melita around the time of her second marriage. It apparently made Queen Victoria extremely jealous when Marie first arrived in London with this fabulous parure. The parure is styled with the different national flowers of the United Kingdom, the Rose of England, the Thistle of Scotland and the Shamrock of Ireland. Sadly Wales was ignored but even that cannot make me dislike this incredible piece of jewellery! I just refuse to believe that any responsible jeweller would have broken it up, it is just too beautiful.... It must be in a vault somwhere.

Re: Marie bought her sister's Greek key tiara Posted by Dave on April 12, 2020, 1:54 am, in reply to "Marie bought her sister's Greek key tiara" Yes Janet, so good of you to bring this set of jewels up as I too have always wondered where in heavens this could have disappeared to. It is just so grand and opulent and beautiful. I would love to see this set of jewels re-emerge on say the DoCorn or more likely the DoCam seeing that it has so much emblems of the UK. What are the chances that it is still around? I often wonder if they are jewellers out there from the older jewel houses who have a wealth of knowledge but has no outlet or knows of none to share it. Does anyone know who made this set of jewels? Regards, Dave. Previous Message from her, which remains with the Romanian royal family to this date. The Royal watcher blog has a nice article on it. http://royalwatcherblog.com/2017/03/26/romanian-greek-key-tiara/ Marie bought it specifically for her daughter in law Princess Helen of Greece, and according to the Hannah Pakula biography she grumbled as she bought this tiara for Helen, whereas Constantine I and Sophia of Greece did not buy her daughter Elisabeth a tiara when she married their son. I would love to know the whereabouts of Marie Alexandrovna's sapphire parure, which was received by Victoria Melita around the time of her second marriage. It apparently made Queen Victoria extremely jealous when Marie first arrived in London with this fabulous parure. The parure is styled with the different national flowers of the United Kingdom, the Rose of England, the Thistle of Scotland and the Shamrock of Ireland. Sadly Wales was ignored but even that cannot make me dislike this incredible piece of jewellery! I just refuse to believe that any responsible jeweller would have broken it up, it is just too beautiful... . It must be in a vault somwhere.

Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels Posted by Sam (The Beau Monde) on April 12, 2020, 4:51 am, in reply to "Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels" The most famous piece she bought from Ducky was the Sapphire Kokoshnik (I'd load a picture but I don't know how She also bought a Sapphire Sautoir which she gave to Helen of Greece too.

Ursula's site suggests... Posted by Janet on April 12, 2020, 5:22 am, in reply to "Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels" Queen Marie bought the Sapphire tiara directly from her aunt Grand Duchess Vladimir. She also states "Cartier has archival photographs of all of the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna’s jewels taken around 1920." WOW! Let us hope they are published eventually. https://royal-magazin.de/russia/tiara-safir-maria-pawlowna.htm Previous Message The most famous piece she bought from Ducky was the Sapphire Kokoshnik (I'd load a picture but I don't know how She also bought a Sapphire Sautoir which she gave to Helen of Greece too.

Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels Posted by RDavid on April 12, 2020, 5:52 am, in reply to "Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels" She bought a sautoir with two large sapphires that she gave to her daughter Elisabeth! Previous Message The most famous piece she bought from Ducky was the Sapphire Kokoshnik (I'd load a picture but I don't know how She also bought a Sapphire Sautoir which she gave to Helen of Greece too.

An interesting article about QM's legendary sapphire & how it almost ended up in Spain! Posted by Janet on April 12, 2020, 7:07 am, in reply to "Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels" http://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2015/09/queen-marie-of-romanias-sapphire-pendant.html Previous Message She bought a sautoir with two large sapphires that she gave to her daughter Elisabeth! Previous Message The most famous piece she bought from Ducky was the Sapphire Kokoshnik (I'd load a picture but I don't know how She also bought a Sapphire Sautoir which she gave to Helen of Greece too.

Re: An interesting article about QM's legendary sapphire & how it almost ended up in Spain! Posted by Beth on April 12, 2020, 5:15 pm, in reply to "An interesting article about QM's legendary sapphire & how it almost ended up in Spain!" According to Cartier. The Exhibition, National Gallery of Australia, the large sapphire pendant is today owned by the Qatar Museum Authority, where I presume it is on display when not been exhibited in Cartier exhibitions.

Queen Marie of Romania Jewels - Sapphire Kokoshnik Posted by Sam (The Beau Monde) on April 13, 2020, 10:10 pm, in reply to "Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels" This is an extract from John Van der Kiste's biography of Victoria Melita (Ducky). Taken from Queen Marie's Letters: "I spoke to Ducky about some of Aunt Miechen’s jewellery that Ducky wants to sell as these pieces represent the only fortune the family has left – thank God that the jewels of the old lady are fabulous! She was an extraordinarily greedy woman and she received, throughout her entire life, more than her share of anything. Nando gave me a generous sum of money to buy jewellery, since mine are lost forever. I want of course, in as much as it is possible, for our money to go to Ducky and her family. I chose a diamond and sapphire tiara, one of the most wonderful things I have seen in my entire life! It is however a horrible feeling to take these treasures from a person I love more than anything in the world. But at the same time I know that I am a gift from God to her, as I am ready to pay for the pieces in full and right away without negotiating the prices. Oh, and heaven, these jewels are wonderful, as seldom one can find!”

Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels - Sapphire Kokoshnik Posted by Beth on April 14, 2020, 6:59 am, in reply to "Queen Marie of Romania Jewels - Sapphire Kokoshnik" Wonderful quote! Thanks for sharing it with us Sam!

Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels - Sapphire Kokoshnik Posted by Janet on April 14, 2020, 9:33 pm, in reply to "Queen Marie of Romania Jewels - Sapphire Kokoshnik" Thank you for clarifying the correct position. Is JvdK's book any good? I read his book about the Scandinavian royal houses and it was great. Previous Message This is an extract from John Van der Kiste's biography of Victoria Melita (Ducky). Taken from Queen Marie's Letters: "I spoke to Ducky about some of Aunt Miechen’s jewellery that Ducky wants to sell as these pieces represent the only fortune the family has left – thank God that the jewels of the old lady are fabulous! She was an extraordinarily greedy woman and she received, throughout her entire life, more than her share of anything. Nando gave me a generous sum of money to buy jewellery, since mine are lost forever. I want of course, in as much as it is possible, for our money to go to Ducky and her family. I chose a diamond and sapphire tiara , one of the most wonderful things I have seen in my entire life! It is however a horrible feeling to take these treasures from a person I love more than anything in the world. But at the same time I know that I am a gift from God to her, as I am ready to pay for the pieces in full and right away without negotiating the prices. Oh, and heaven, these jewels are wonderful, as seldom one can find!”

Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels - Sapphire Kokoshnik Posted by Sam (The Beau Monde) on April 15, 2020, 5:04 am, in reply to "Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels - Sapphire Kokoshnik" Oh his books are fantastic, Victoria Melita is a really good read and so is his one on Grand Duchess Xenia, he goes into detail about her jewels Previous Message Thank you for clarifying the correct position. Is JvdK's book any good? I read his book about the Scandinavian royal houses and it was great. Previous Message This is an extract from John Van der Kiste's biography of Victoria Melita (Ducky). Taken from Queen Marie's Letters: "I spoke to Ducky about some of Aunt Miechen’s jewellery that Ducky wants to sell as these pieces represent the only fortune the family has left – thank God that the jewels of the old lady are fabulous! She was an extraordinarily greedy woman and she received, throughout her entire life, more than her share of anything. Nando gave me a generous sum of money to buy jewellery, since mine are lost forever. I want of course, in as much as it is possible, for our money to go to Ducky and her family. I chose a diamond and sapphire tiara , one of the most wonderful things I have seen in my entire life! It is however a horrible feeling to take these treasures from a person I love more than anything in the world. But at the same time I know that I am a gift from God to her, as I am ready to pay for the pieces in full and right away without negotiating the prices. Oh, and heaven, these jewels are wonderful, as seldom one can find!”

Queen Marie's jewelry purchases Posted by Alejandro E. on April 17, 2020, 3:31 am, in reply to "Queen Marie of Romania Jewels - Sapphire Kokoshnik" Thank you for this interesting quote, Sam! Do you know if there are more "quotes" about queen Marie's jewelry purchases to her sister? I am very curious about how she managed to acquire so many of Victoria Melita's jewels. Thank you so much in advance! Best wishes and stay safe, Alejandro E. Previous Message This is an extract from John Van der Kiste's biography of Victoria Melita (Ducky). Taken from Queen Marie's Letters: "I spoke to Ducky about some of Aunt Miechen’s jewellery that Ducky wants to sell as these pieces represent the only fortune the family has left – thank God that the jewels of the old lady are fabulous! She was an extraordinarily greedy woman and she received, throughout her entire life, more than her share of anything. Nando gave me a generous sum of money to buy jewellery, since mine are lost forever. I want of course, in as much as it is possible, for our money to go to Ducky and her family. I chose a diamond and sapphire tiara , one of the most wonderful things I have seen in my entire life! It is however a horrible feeling to take these treasures from a person I love more than anything in the world. But at the same time I know that I am a gift from God to her, as I am ready to pay for the pieces in full and right away without negotiating the prices. Oh, and heaven, these jewels are wonderful, as seldom one can find!”

Re: Queen Marie's jewelry purchases Posted by Sam (The Beau Monde) on April 18, 2020, 8:24 pm, in reply to "Queen Marie's jewelry purchases" Hi Alejandro I found that quote just from reading Victoria Melita's biography. When you read the later chapters about how hard her life became in exile it's not surprising Marie bought most of her jewellery. I'm planning on reading Marie's auto biography 'last of the romantics' soon so if I find anymore details I'll put them up

Thank you! n/t Posted by Alejandro E. on April 22, 2020, 7:21 am, in reply to "Re: Queen Marie's jewelry purchases" Thank you so much, Sam!

Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels Posted by RDavid on April 12, 2020, 5:51 am, in reply to "Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels" Yes Janet, I agree with you! Knowing that Marie inherited her mother’s pearls I think she redesigned the tiara! Previous Message Thank you for posting. It strikes me as odd that the Queen's jewels were not photographed before they were sent for safe keeping in Russia. Of course few could have predicted what would actually happen but what if there was ever a dispute over what was sent? I like the turquoise parure she recieved as a wedding gift from the Duke of Edinburgh. It is simple but perfect when you consider Marie was just 17 when she was forced into marriage by her formidable mother. In Hannah Pakula's biography of Queen Marie, there is reference to her inheriting her mother's very valuable pearls. However I have never seen a picture of her wearing her mother's fabulous pearl tiara. Marie Alexandrovna of Russia had one of the finest collections. The world is crying out for a biography on Marie Alexandrovna, she is my all time favourite royal character, one of the most interesting and complex royal women in my view. My theory is that Queen Marie had her mother's tiara redesigned. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna wearing her fabulous pearls. In the early 1920s Queen Marie started wearing this tiara. Her mother died in 1920 so she had inherited her pearls and we know Queen Marie had to rebuild her collection after WW1, so she could have modernised her mother's tiara or of course bought an entirely new one. This is just a theory and I have no evidence, beyond Pakula saying Queen Marie inherited her mother's pearls, Queen Marie wearing a modern 1920s style pearl tiara in the years after her mother's death and no photographic evidence to suggest that Marie Alexandrovna's tiara was sold or is still in existence. Either way I love both tiaras, so it is a bit of a shame if one was scarified for the other!

Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels Posted by Beth on April 12, 2020, 6:19 pm, in reply to "Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels" According to Cartier. The Exhibition, National Gallery of Australia, Queen Marie bought the pearl tiara from Cartier in 1921, the same year as her husband purchased the large sapphire pendant. To me the word "bought" suggests that it was probably a stock item as the word "commissioned" was not used. If the Queen had used her mother's tiara to make a new jewel, I would expect the word "commissioned" to be used. Perhaps Ashdean might know more about this tiara?

Re: Queen Marie of Romania Jewels Posted by Beth on April 12, 2020, 4:55 pm, in reply to "Queen Marie of Romania Jewels" Fascinating! Thank you for sharing this with us Rdavid! I enjoyed watching it all, even though I felt frustrated by not being able to understand Romanian.

A really interesting thread at Dinastas Posted by Janet on April 15, 2020, 6:55 am, in reply to "Queen Marie of Romania Jewels" http://dinastias.forogratis.es/joyas-de-romania-t389-48.html A poster has provided an inventory of Queen Marie's jewels that she prepared herself as at 1902 and where they originated from (sadly no pictures) - the bulk of important pieces coming from her mother it seems. Strikes me that the items from Queen Victoria would be better described as trinkets as opposed to substantive pieces - we know that many significant pieces of jewellery were left by Queen Victoria to her younger children but I am not aware of any left to the children of the Duke of Edinburgh (he had pre-deceased his mother). The list is also rather low on pieces from Romanov relatives - which I find odd as the Romanovs were notoriously rich and generous and from what I have read about Marie she was generally very popular within the family - there is a brooch from the Tsar (presumably Alexander III as he was still Tsar when Marie married) and a brooch from Grand Duke Boris, who by that stage was believed to have fathered Marie's third child, also Marie, future Queen of Yugoslavia. You don't need to speak Spanish to read, if you click on google translate it is very legible in English. Previous Message I’ve found out that a book called “Bijuterile Regina Maria” was published last year. It is about the collection of jewels that belonged to Queen Marie of Romania including the famous jewels that were sent to Russia during WWI and lost forever. Apparently the author found an ilustrated inventory of everything that was sent to Russia which is great!! The YouTube vide I’m posting here is from a news report (in Romanian which I understand 0) that gives us a glimpse of what is the book and some images of the jewels. Worth to see! Is there any member who speaks Romanian and can help us with some more info?

Re: A really interesting thread at Dinastas Posted by OmerH on April 15, 2020, 10:03 pm, in reply to "A really interesting thread at Dinastas" Thank you very much Janet!!! It will be great fun if we can try and trace as many jewels as possible!!! Ursula also has amazing pictures on her website of many of Princess Marie of Edinburgh's wedding gifts. https://royal-magazin.de/german/sachsen-coburg/sachsen-coburg-schmuck-prinzessinnen.htm

The book Posted by Csaba on April 17, 2020, 12:05 am, in reply to "Re: A really interesting thread at Dinastas" Hello everybody, I've purchased the book a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. It has lovely drawings of the lesser known jewellery of Queen Marie-mostly brooches, necklaces, pendants and bracelets. There is not very much new information in the book but anyway it was enjoyable to read. There are some extracts from letters between Queen Marie and her mother where you can find out about the small gelosies between the sisters regarding some particular jewels and the very sad situation of the grandduchess after the Russian revolution. When the Royal family had to leave Romania after 1947, a lot of smaller jewelry was left in the palaces and the authorities took hold of them. Some bracelets, pendants and a tiara can still be seen in the national museum but most of it was purchased by party members and disappeared. It is really sad that this one time magnificent collection has dispersed and disappeared almost totally...

There is quite a good analysis going on Posted by Janet on April 18, 2020, 6:17 am, in reply to "Re: A really interesting thread at Dinastas" which I am following with interest. Thus far no one has addressed the large diamond brooch from the Tsar. My theory is that it is this one on Marie's chest. That is a large diamond! Previous Message Thank you very much Janet!!! It will be great fun if we can try and trace as many jewels as possible!!! Ursula also has amazing pictures on her website of many of Princess Marie of Edinburgh's wedding gifts. https://royal-magazin.de/german/sachsen-coburg/sachsen-coburg-schmuck-prinzessinnen.htm

Wedding gifts Posted by Csaba on April 18, 2020, 7:56 pm, in reply to "There is quite a good analysis going on" Regarding the jewellery received at the time of her marriage, I'll try to make a list from the book. A brooch, pendant and earrings of emeralds and diamonds, a Jeypore pendant incrusted with rubies, sapphires and diamonds encircled by pearls, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and opals from queen Victoria The turquoise parure from her father A diamond tiara, a cross, brooch and earrings as well as a big brooch with sapphires and diamonds, 2 sets of diamond and pearl brooches and bracelets A turquoise bracelet and 2 heart shaped diamonds from the Prince of Wales A diamond and turquoise brooch from her cousins George, Victoria and Maud A horseshoe shaped brooch from the Fifes A clasp of diamonds and pearls representing the order of de House of Saxe from the Duke and Duchess of Coburg A chatelaine of gold with pearl and diamond clasp from the countess Alexandrina Tolstoi A diamond riviere, a sapphire and diamond bracelet from King Carol A brooch of diamonds and a big sapphire from Ferdinand A bracelet of diamonds and a big sapphire from the Prince of Hohenzollern A brooch with a big sapphire from the tsar A diamond hat pin from the children of the tsar A clover shaped brooch of diamonds and rubies from Princess Josephine of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen Previous Message which I am following with interest. Thus far no one has addressed the large diamond brooch from the Tsar. My theory is that it is this one on Marie's chest. That is a large diamond! Previous Message Thank you very much Janet!!! It will be great fun if we can try and trace as many jewels as possible!!! Ursula also has amazing pictures on her website of many of Princess Marie of Edinburgh's wedding gifts. https://royal-magazin.de/german/sachsen-coburg/sachsen-coburg-schmuck-prinzessinnen.htm

Re: Wedding gifts Posted by Franck on April 20, 2020, 6:06 am, in reply to "Wedding gifts" Thank you so much for your very kind list ! Franck Previous Message Regarding the jewellery received at the time of her marriage, I'll try to make a list from the book. A brooch, pendant and earrings of emeralds and diamonds, a Jeypore pendant incrusted with rubies, sapphires and diamonds encircled by pearls, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and opals from queen Victoria The turquoise parure from her father A diamond tiara, a cross, brooch and earrings as well as a big brooch with sapphires and diamonds, 2 sets of diamond and pearl brooches and bracelets A turquoise bracelet and 2 heart shaped diamonds from the Prince of Wales A diamond and turquoise brooch from her cousins George, Victoria and Maud A horseshoe shaped brooch from the Fifes A clasp of diamonds and pearls representing the order of de House of Saxe from the Duke and Duchess of Coburg A chatelaine of gold with pearl and diamond clasp from the countess Alexandrina Tolstoi A diamond riviere, a sapphire and diamond bracelet from King Carol A brooch of diamonds and a big sapphire from Ferdinand A bracelet of diamonds and a big sapphire from the Prince of Hohenzollern A brooch with a big sapphire from the tsar A diamond hat pin from the children of the tsar A clover shaped brooch of diamonds and rubies from Princess Josephine of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen Previous Message which I am following with interest. Thus far no one has addressed the large diamond brooch from the Tsar. My theory is that it is this one on Marie's chest. That is a large diamond! Previous Message Thank you very much Janet!!! It will be great fun if we can try and trace as many jewels as possible!!! Ursula also has amazing pictures on her website of many of Princess Marie of Edinburgh's wedding gifts. https://royal-magazin.de/german/sachsen-coburg/sachsen-coburg-schmuck-prinzessinnen.htm

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