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Cartier NY bow brooch to be auctioned off in Spain: An ex-royal jewel? Posted by RBT on May 27, 2020, 3:33 am Hi! Hope you are safe Recently Instagram account @archivodejoyas has published an striking diamond bow brooch by Cartier NY that will be auctioned off in Madrid: https://www.instagram.com/p/CAi5ajGIj4j/ As it is a very and ancient piece of jewelry, do you have any idea about its provenance? Maybe a piece from the Spanish Royal Family (although its Cartier NY marks make it unlikely as the Royal Family usually bought in Cartier Paris...). Another option would be a member of the Spanish nobility married into an American family, but I don't know any case apart from the Marquis de Portago. So, what a mystery to solve! Best wishes and thank you all for your replies

Drouot are also auctioning a grand necklace of Empress Eugenie Posted by Janet on May 27, 2020, 7:14 am, in reply to "Cartier NY bow brooch to be auctioned off in Spain: An ex-royal jewel?" https://www.drouotonline.com/en/lots/12606719?actionParam=listLot&controllerParam=lot&fromId=103252&query=&offset=200&max=50 The ruby necklace comes in a box with the title "Diamonds of the crown." The necklace was shown at the Biennale des Antiquaires in 2016 - https://members2.boardhost.com/royal-jewels/msg/archive/1474148819.html You can see the jewel in full at page 130 of the attached PDF http://catalogue.gazette-drouot.com/pdf/67/103252/Osenat_31.05.2020.pdf?id=103252&cp=67

Re: Drouot are also auctioning a grand necklace of Empress Eugenie Posted by Laurent F on May 27, 2020, 8:12 pm, in reply to "Drouot are also auctioning a grand necklace of Empress Eugenie" A nice piece of jewellry which was probably a private jewel of Empresse Eugenie but certainly not part of the "Diamonds of the Crown" which were State property and sold in 1887. Previous Message https://www.drouotonline.com/en/lots/12606719?actionParam=listLot&controllerParam=lot&fromId=103252&query=&offset=200&max=50 The ruby necklace comes in a box with the title "Diamonds of the crown." The necklace was shown at the Biennale des Antiquaires in 2016 - https://members2.boardhost.com/royal-jewels/msg/archive/1474148819.html You can see the jewel in full at page 130 of the attached PDF http://catalogue.gazette-drouot.com/pdf/67/103252/Osenat_31.05.2020.pdf?id=103252&cp=67

Which of course begs the question... Posted by Janet on May 27, 2020, 8:45 pm, in reply to "Re: Drouot are also auctioning a grand necklace of Empress Eugenie" Why the necklace was kept in a box with such a label. Maybe it is as simple as when fleeing France, Empress Eugenie just grabbed the nearest empty box and threw in some of her jewels and escaped, it is quite an interesting mystery. I was a bit surprised at how relatively low the estimate for this necklace is, I think Empress Eugenie and Napoleon III aren't maybe as iconic historical figures as Napoleon and Josephine were. I also suspect the quality of the stones are not as good as many of the crown jewels that were auctioned. Previous Message A nice piece of jewellry which was probably a private jewel of Empresse Eugenie but certainly not part of the "Diamonds of the Crown" which were State property and sold in 1887. Previous Message https://www.drouotonline.com/en/lots/12606719?actionParam=listLot&controllerParam=lot&fromId=103252&query=&offset=200&max=50 The ruby necklace comes in a box with the title "Diamonds of the crown." The necklace was shown at the Biennale des Antiquaires in 2016 - https://members2.boardhost.com/royal-jewels/msg/archive/1474148819.html You can see the jewel in full at page 130 of the attached PDF http://catalogue.gazette-drouot.com/pdf/67/103252/Osenat_31.05.2020.pdf?id=103252&cp=67

Re: Which of course begs the question... Posted by Beth on May 30, 2020, 6:19 pm, in reply to "Which of course begs the question..." Despite the much repeated notion that this necklace belonged originally to Empress Eugenie, no one seems to have put forward any substantive evidence -- just the box. Yet, as far as I know, no one has even demonstrated that the box is genuine. It is just said constantly that a similar one exists in the Louvre. I don't recollect seeing a necklace of this description among the jewels the Empress sold in London, but that is not proof it did not belong to her. If someone wants to substantiate the claim that the necklace belonged to the Empress some proof has to be produced. I noticed that the auction house is not saying that it belonged to the Empress -- so obviously there is no proof. I suspect that, where the box came from is, at this point of time, anyone's guess.

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