Posters of original research, analyses, insights etc retain all rights to their work. Such research etc cannot be used in any format without the written consent of the author.

Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Janet on October 14, 2020, 3:24 am Via Joseph Saidian & Sons https://www.instagram.com/p/CGQX-j2HlfT/

Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Beth on October 14, 2020, 5:21 pm, in reply to "Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" Very, very interesting! Thank you Janet for finding this. As far as I know this is the first of the jewels belonging to any member of the Greek royal family to have been sold in recent times. Not only the necklace, but also the matching bracelet is being sold. Perhaps it is no longer to the Queen's taste. I wonder how she acquired the jewels in the 1960s? From a member of the family, family friend or a wealthy Greek monarchist?

Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Janet on October 14, 2020, 10:31 pm, in reply to "Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" Based on pictures posted on Dinastas, it hasn't been worn regularly and has been worn by Princess Alexia, so it may even not belong to Queen Anne Marie anymore. I suspect this was a wedding gift to Queen Anne Marie. Previous Message Very, very interesting! Thank you Janet for finding this. As far as I know this is the first of the jewels belonging to any member of the Greek royal family to have been sold in recent times. Not only the necklace, but also the matching bracelet is being sold. Perhaps it is no longer to the Queen's taste. I wonder how she acquired the jewels in the 1960s? From a member of the family, family friend or a wealthy Greek monarchist?

Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Dave on October 14, 2020, 7:25 pm, in reply to "Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" I always find it strange when wealthy families ingrained in history sell their jewels when they show no circumstances of hardship. Such beautiful jewelry l would have thought would have really been gifted/ loan to one of her children or daughters in law as Queen Ann has a big family. This invariably will lead to other grander pieces being sold which says it really makes no sense trying to hold onto really expensive jewels if there is really no need too as this family has little to no chances of returning to the Greek throne which would support them more financially and give them reason for retaining grand jewels. Regards, Dave. Previous Message Via Joseph Saidian & Sons https://www.instagram.com/p/CGQX-j2HlfT/

Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Janet on October 14, 2020, 10:29 pm, in reply to "Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" You're making the assumption that the Greek royal family are i) wealthy and ii) that what wealth they have is readily available in cash. People bleat on about Marie-Chantal's money but I doubt she writes huge cheques to her husband's family. I suspect at most what she has done is given them access to nice holidays. There are countless stories of aristocrats having an Old Master on the wall and then struggling to keep the electricity on. Its difficult to know how valuable this necklace is, I am reminded of the very asset rich (not necessarily cash) Duchess of Alba who sold a very valuable tiara that maybe was worn a couple of times a decade to pay her son a horse. Queen Anne Marie has 4 other kids than Prince Pavlos, including two who are due to be married. She will want to make provision for them as I anticipate all of the historical pieces will be going to Pavlos. For that reason I don't think the grander, more historical pieces will be sold. The Greeks regularly attend tiara events in other countries and I think it is clear that Marie-Chantal and Pavlos like attending them, so when the time comes I am sure we will see Marie-Chantal in the emerald and ruby parures. She will have no need to sell them. Previous Message I always find it strange when wealthy families ingrained in history sell their jewels when they show no circumstances of hardship. Such beautiful jewelry l would have thought would have really been gifted/ loan to one of her children or daughters in law as Queen Ann has a big family. This invariably will lead to other grander pieces being sold which says it really makes no sense trying to hold onto really expensive jewels if there is really no need too as this family has little to no chances of returning to the Greek throne which would support them more financially and give them reason for retaining grand jewels. Regards, Dave. Previous Message Via Joseph Saidian & Sons https://www.instagram.com/p/CGQX-j2HlfT/

Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Al13 on October 14, 2020, 11:57 pm, in reply to "Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" I agree completely with these sentiments. It's really hard to tell the financial standing of a royal family just from the outside perspective alone, especially one in exile and no longer on their thrones. There's also the fact that jewels are often sold just because the wearer doesn't like the style anymore, and would prefer the cash generated from the sale. I think there's much to be said about the fact that the jewelry is acknowledged to be Queen Anne Marie's. They're capitalizing on the provenance to perhaps increase the value. Many times, when an heirloom is being sold to quietly shore up finances, it is often under the guise of 'property of a noble family'. The necklace is beautiful, but not to everyone's taste. That could be a factor as well.

Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Dave on October 15, 2020, 6:17 pm, in reply to "Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" All very factual points to consider. I guess it is something that is expected in such families. The very massive sapphire jewel once known to be in King Constantine mother's 'Queen Frederica collection, was also reported to have been sold quietly. King Constantine is reported to have negotiated a financial court settlement for former properties once owned by his family in Greece. Regards, Dave. Previous Message You're making the assumption that the Greek royal family are i) wealthy and ii) that what wealth they have is readily available in cash. People bleat on about Marie-Chantal's money but I doubt she writes huge cheques to her husband's family. I suspect at most what she has done is given them access to nice holidays. There are countless stories of aristocrats having an Old Master on the wall and then struggling to keep the electricity on. Its difficult to know how valuable this necklace is, I am reminded of the very asset rich (not necessarily cash) Duchess of Alba who sold a very valuable tiara that maybe was worn a couple of times a decade to pay her son a horse. Queen Anne Marie has 4 other kids than Prince Pavlos, including two who are due to be married. She will want to make provision for them as I anticipate all of the historical pieces will be going to Pavlos. For that reason I don't think the grander, more historical pieces will be sold. The Greeks regularly attend tiara events in other countries and I think it is clear that Marie-Chantal and Pavlos like attending them, so when the time comes I am sure we will see Marie-Chantal in the emerald and ruby parures. She will have no need to sell them. Previous Message I always find it strange when wealthy families ingrained in history sell their jewels when they show no circumstances of hardship. Such beautiful jewelry l would have thought would have really been gifted/ loan to one of her children or daughters in law as Queen Ann has a big family. This invariably will lead to other grander pieces being sold which says it really makes no sense trying to hold onto really expensive jewels if there is really no need too as this family has little to no chances of returning to the Greek throne which would support them more financially and give them reason for retaining grand jewels. Regards, Dave. Previous Message Via Joseph Saidian & Sons https://www.instagram.com/p/CGQX-j2HlfT/

Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Janet on October 15, 2020, 7:00 pm, in reply to "Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" Previous Message King Constantine is reported to have negotiated a financial court settlement for former properties once owned by his family in Greece. Previous Message I believe those funds were put in a charitable foundation he established in Queen Anne Marie's name.

Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Maridje on October 16, 2020, 12:33 am, in reply to "Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" Previous Message All very factual points to consider. I guess it is something that is expected in such families. The very massive sapphire jewel once known to be in King Constantine mother's 'Queen Frederica collection, was also reported to have been sold quietly. King Constantine is reported to have negotiated a financial court settlement for former properties once owned by his family in Greece. Dave The sapphire has been sold by Christie's in 2003. Kinf Constantine and the Greek family have no negotiate with the greek gouvernement, i's a décision of "La Cour Européenne des Droits de L'homme". "L'arrêt ex-roi de Grèce et autres c. Grèce (requête n° 25701/94) est un arrêt de la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme daté du 28 novembre 2002 qui condamne la République hellénique à indemniser l'ex-roi des Hellènes Constantin II, sa sœur la princesse Irène et leur tante la princesse Catherine après avoir reconnu, le 23 novembre 2000, par quinze voix contre deux, qu’il y avait eu, à leur encontre, violation par l'État grec de l’article 1 du Protocole n° 1 (protection des biens) à la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme. Le 28 novembre 2002, la Cour condamne la République hellénique à verser - 12 000 000 euros de dommages à Constantin II, - 900 000 euros à la princesse Irène - 300 000 euros à la princesse Catherine. Les trois requérants doivent en outre recevoir, conjointement, 500 000 euros pour frais et dépens." https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrêt_ex-roi_de_Grèce_et_autres_c._Grèce https://juricaf.org/arret/CONSEILDELEUROPE-COUREUROPEENNEDESDROITSDELHOMME-20001123-2570194 Maridje

Presumably sold by the Greeks before 2003 though? Posted by Janet on October 16, 2020, 12:46 am, in reply to "Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" Its hard to believe that Queen Anne Marie had access to it for 23 years following the death of Queen Frederika and never wore it - that said of course there is the weird situation with Queen Sophie's diamond tiara which also disappeared for three decades and then suddenly reappeared for no apparent reason - I believe Crown Princess MC wore it out of the blue at an event in Denmark. All these mysteries. Previous Message Previous Message All very factual points to consider. I guess it is something that is expected in such families. The very massive sapphire jewel once known to be in King Constantine mother's 'Queen Frederica collection, was also reported to have been sold quietly. King Constantine is reported to have negotiated a financial court settlement for former properties once owned by his family in Greece. Dave The sapphire has been sold by Christie's in 2003. Kinf Constantine and the Greek family have no negotiate with the greek gouvernement, i's a décision of "La Cour Européenne des Droits de L'homme". "L'arrêt ex-roi de Grèce et autres c. Grèce (requête n° 25701/94) est un arrêt de la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme daté du 28 novembre 2002 qui condamne la République hellénique à indemniser l'ex-roi des Hellènes Constantin II, sa sœur la princesse Irène et leur tante la princesse Catherine après avoir reconnu, le 23 novembre 2000, par quinze voix contre deux, qu’il y avait eu, à leur encontre, violation par l'État grec de l’article 1 du Protocole n° 1 (protection des biens) à la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme. Le 28 novembre 2002, la Cour condamne la République hellénique à verser - 12 000 000 euros de dommages à Constantin II, - 900 000 euros à la princesse Irène - 300 000 euros à la princesse Catherine. Les trois requérants doivent en outre recevoir, conjointement, 500 000 euros pour frais et dépens." https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrêt_ex-roi_de_Grèce_et_autres_c._Grèce https://juricaf.org/arret/CONSEILDELEUROPE-COUREUROPEENNEDESDROITSDELHOMME-20001123-2570194

Re: Presumably sold by the Greeks before 2003 though? Posted by Dave on October 16, 2020, 5:13 am, in reply to "Presumably sold by the Greeks before 2003 though?" The yearly insurance costs must be one of the the reasons for offloading. Does anyone have an idea about the cost of having such jewels kept in a bank vault or being insured annually? Has there ever been any suggestions to indicate that the QS's diamond tiara was maybe on loan to a museum or other. Just lets say a bank charges 3000 a month for storage of certain family and historic jewels, that amounts to some 36000.00 per year just for storage of items. And then lets say, to have those jewels insured costs like say 60/70,000 a year. You are looking at paying out well over a 100,000 per year in maintaining items of which is not bringing in a steady income. Added to that, these families have estates which needs to be regularly run and maintained at well over say 2/300,000 a year. Take for instance Barnwell manor the former family seat of the Dukes Gloucester. It was reported in news articles that the running of the estate was a financial challenge to the present duke and duchess and they had to relocate and later sold some of their personal effects as well. Do we have anyone on this board who knows or may know of someone who may have the facts of the matter on the issues I guessed about at caption? Regards, Dave. Previous Message Its hard to believe that Queen Anne Marie had access to it for 23 years following the death of Queen Frederika and never wore it - that said of course there is the weird situation with Queen Sophie's diamond tiara which also disappeared for three decades and then suddenly reappeared for no apparent reason - I believe Crown Princess MC wore it out of the blue at an event in Denmark. All these mysteries. Previous Message Previous Message All very factual points to consider. I guess it is something that is expected in such families. The very massive sapphire jewel once known to be in King Constantine mother's 'Queen Frederica collection, was also reported to have been sold quietly. King Constantine is reported to have negotiated a financial court settlement for former properties once owned by his family in Greece. Dave The sapphire has been sold by Christie's in 2003. Kinf Constantine and the Greek family have no negotiate with the greek gouvernement, i's a décision of "La Cour Européenne des Droits de L'homme". "L'arrêt ex-roi de Grèce et autres c. Grèce (requête n° 25701/94) est un arrêt de la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme daté du 28 novembre 2002 qui condamne la République hellénique à indemniser l'ex-roi des Hellènes Constantin II, sa sœur la princesse Irène et leur tante la princesse Catherine après avoir reconnu, le 23 novembre 2000, par quinze voix contre deux, qu’il y avait eu, à leur encontre, violation par l'État grec de l’article 1 du Protocole n° 1 (protection des biens) à la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme. Le 28 novembre 2002, la Cour condamne la République hellénique à verser - 12 000 000 euros de dommages à Constantin II, - 900 000 euros à la princesse Irène - 300 000 euros à la princesse Catherine. Les trois requérants doivent en outre recevoir, conjointement, 500 000 euros pour frais et dépens." https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrêt_ex-roi_de_Grèce_et_autres_c._Grèce https://juricaf.org/arret/CONSEILDELEUROPE-COUREUROPEENNEDESDROITSDELHOMME-20001123-2570194

Re: Presumably sold by the Greeks before 2003 though? Posted by MarcA on October 16, 2020, 8:58 am, in reply to "Re: Presumably sold by the Greeks before 2003 though?" I agree 100% Dave and this is often the fact in the offloading of jewels is the cost of keeping them. Security deposit boxes suitable for these high value items plus the insurance must be exorbitant for something you only wear a few times a decade in some cases and don't really care for so why not sell it and get something that you can achieve an income from. I suspect that a large part of the Gloucesters collection will hit the auction block at some point simply from the point that their children living outside of the added security of Kensington palace wouldn't countenance the insurance costs against the cash release for pieces they'd hardly wear in a life time. Though I suspect the new Duke & Duchess may retain the title's standardised requisite's. With regard to Barnwell the Duke & Duchess have leased out the manor, moved into a cottage and farmed out the land. They've also just moved into a smaller apartment in Kensington Palace so have downsized in terms of furniture etc as well. I do believe someone a few years ago identified some jewels that came up for auction in Geneva as having been part of the Gloucester collection. However as a very substantial collection it wasn't really noticeable. Previous Message The yearly insurance costs must be one of the the reasons for offloading. Does anyone have an idea about the cost of having such jewels kept in a bank vault or being insured annually? Has there ever been any suggestions to indicate that the QS's diamond tiara was maybe on loan to a museum or other. Just lets say a bank charges 3000 a month for storage of certain family and historic jewels, that amounts to some 36000.00 per year just for storage of items. And then lets say, to have those jewels insured costs like say 60/70,000 a year. You are looking at paying out well over a 100,000 per year in maintaining items of which is not bringing in a steady income. Added to that, these families have estates which needs to be regularly run and maintained at well over say 2/300,000 a year. Take for instance Barnwell manor the former family seat of the Dukes Gloucester. It was reported in news articles that the running of the estate was a financial challenge to the present duke and duchess and they had to relocate and later sold some of their personal effects as well. Do we have anyone on this board who knows or may know of someone who may have the facts of the matter on the issues I guessed about at caption? Regards, Dave. Previous Message Its hard to believe that Queen Anne Marie had access to it for 23 years following the death of Queen Frederika and never wore it - that said of course there is the weird situation with Queen Sophie's diamond tiara which also disappeared for three decades and then suddenly reappeared for no apparent reason - I believe Crown Princess MC wore it out of the blue at an event in Denmark. All these mysteries. Previous Message Previous Message All very factual points to consider. I guess it is something that is expected in such families. The very massive sapphire jewel once known to be in King Constantine mother's 'Queen Frederica collection, was also reported to have been sold quietly. King Constantine is reported to have negotiated a financial court settlement for former properties once owned by his family in Greece. Dave The sapphire has been sold by Christie's in 2003. Kinf Constantine and the Greek family have no negotiate with the greek gouvernement, i's a décision of "La Cour Européenne des Droits de L'homme". "L'arrêt ex-roi de Grèce et autres c. Grèce (requête n° 25701/94) est un arrêt de la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme daté du 28 novembre 2002 qui condamne la République hellénique à indemniser l'ex-roi des Hellènes Constantin II, sa sœur la princesse Irène et leur tante la princesse Catherine après avoir reconnu, le 23 novembre 2000, par quinze voix contre deux, qu’il y avait eu, à leur encontre, violation par l'État grec de l’article 1 du Protocole n° 1 (protection des biens) à la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme. Le 28 novembre 2002, la Cour condamne la République hellénique à verser - 12 000 000 euros de dommages à Constantin II, - 900 000 euros à la princesse Irène - 300 000 euros à la princesse Catherine. Les trois requérants doivent en outre recevoir, conjointement, 500 000 euros pour frais et dépens." https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrêt_ex-roi_de_Grèce_et_autres_c._Grèce https://juricaf.org/arret/CONSEILDELEUROPE-COUREUROPEENNEDESDROITSDELHOMME-20001123-2570194

Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Dave on October 16, 2020, 5:26 am, in reply to "Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" Interesting as some reports suggests that the sapphire jewel in question was from another royal provenance and not the one from QFoG. One wonders how comes jewels such as these are not given first refusal to other royal houses before they go to the auction block. Regards, Dave. Previous Message Previous Message All very factual points to consider. I guess it is something that is expected in such families. The very massive sapphire jewel once known to be in King Constantine mother's 'Queen Frederica collection, was also reported to have been sold quietly. King Constantine is reported to have negotiated a financial court settlement for former properties once owned by his family in Greece. Dave The sapphire has been sold by Christie's in 2003. Kinf Constantine and the Greek family have no negotiate with the greek gouvernement, i's a décision of "La Cour Européenne des Droits de L'homme". "L'arrêt ex-roi de Grèce et autres c. Grèce (requête n° 25701/94) est un arrêt de la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme daté du 28 novembre 2002 qui condamne la République hellénique à indemniser l'ex-roi des Hellènes Constantin II, sa sœur la princesse Irène et leur tante la princesse Catherine après avoir reconnu, le 23 novembre 2000, par quinze voix contre deux, qu’il y avait eu, à leur encontre, violation par l'État grec de l’article 1 du Protocole n° 1 (protection des biens) à la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme. Le 28 novembre 2002, la Cour condamne la République hellénique à verser - 12 000 000 euros de dommages à Constantin II, - 900 000 euros à la princesse Irène - 300 000 euros à la princesse Catherine. Les trois requérants doivent en outre recevoir, conjointement, 500 000 euros pour frais et dépens." https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrêt_ex-roi_de_Grèce_et_autres_c._Grèce https://juricaf.org/arret/CONSEILDELEUROPE-COUREUROPEENNEDESDROITSDELHOMME-20001123-2570194

The sapphire pendant Posted by Beth on October 16, 2020, 9:00 am, in reply to "Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" I am not familiar with the story that the pendant had another provenance The large sapphire pendant worn by Queen Frederica of Greece is very distinctive. The sapphire was acquired by Cartier and set as a pendant to a diamond necklace/sautoir in 1913. In 1921 it was purchased by King Ferdinand of Romania, and Queen Marie of Romania was subsequently photographed and painted wearing the pendant. Hans Nadelhoffer documented the various ways in which it was set before the final design, which is how the sapphire is seen in photos of Queen Marie. Hans Nadelhoffer also outlined how Cartier tried to sell it to various people before it was sold to King Ferdinand, who paid for it by installments. Queen Marie of Romania According to this article by Christie's https://www.christies.com/features/10-magnificent-sapphires-at-Christies-9891-1.aspx the pendant was acquired by Harry Winston in 1947 and later came into the possession of Queen Frederica of Greece, who wore it frequently. The Royal Watcher has some good views of Queen Frederica wearing it in his article. See http://royalwatcherblog.com/2019/01/24/queen-frederica-in-new-york-city-1964/ The pendant which was auctioned in 2003 (as shown in Maridje's post above) is the same stone in the same Cartier setting as it was worn by Queen Marie and Queen Frederica. The pendant was on display at the Cartier exhibition in Canberra in 2018. According to the "List of Works" in Cartier. The Exhibition, NGA, 2018, the pendant is today owned by the Qatar Museums Authority. That list also notes under provenance that the pendant was owned by Queen Marie of Romania.

Re: The sapphire pendant Posted by Maridje on October 16, 2020, 10:43 am, in reply to "The sapphire pendant" by Prince Michael of Greece THE BIGGEST SAPPHIRE IN THE WORLD 24 May 2017 - 1 min It is one of the biggest cut sapphires in the world, weighing over 300 carats. It was bought at the end of the19th century by the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, a passionate jewelry collector. It was passed on to her daughter-in-law, the Grand Duchess Cyril. After the 1917 Revolution, needing money, she sold it to her sister, Queen Maria of Romania. On her death it came into the possession of her daughter-in-law, Queen Helen of Romania, my first cousin and godmother. She, in turn, was in need of money and sold it to the shipowner, Stavros Niarchos. He then gave it to Queen Frederica of Greece, who wore it on my wedding day. Since then, it has been sold again. http://www.princemichaelschronicles.com/the-biggest-sapphire-in-the-world/ Maridje

Re: The sapphire pendant Posted by Beth on October 16, 2020, 6:27 pm, in reply to "Re: The sapphire pendant" Very interesting!! Thank you Maridje for finding this for us. I had never read that version before. The first thing which I noticed is that the photo at the very top of Prince Michael's post is the Cartier sapphire. See http://www.princemichaelschronicles.com/the-biggest-sapphire-in-the-world/ That is the jewel which features in books on Cartier, in particular Hans Nadelhoffer's where he traces how the sapphire was mounted, where it was exhibited prior to sale, that it was sold in 1921 to King Ferdinand of Romania who paid in installments. Nadelhoffer also notes the price. Then, Nadelhoffer has a photo of Queen Marie wearing the necklace with the sapphire, the photo in question being part of Cartier's archive. The sapphire in the Cartier jewel weighs 478 carats, and this has been noted in the 2003 auction. I wonder if Prince Michael has confused the Cartier sapphire pendant with another Cartier jewel sold to Grand Duke Cyril and given by him to his wife, Victoria Melita for Christmas 1911? The information about this jewel comes from Stefano Papi Jewels of the Romanovs p. 154. The sapphire drop to this necklace is egg shaped and weighs 331.33 carats. Papi has a copy of the photo below, as well as a coloured photograph of the jewel. Grand Duchess Cyril The photo which Prince Michael has of Queen Frederica at his wedding suggests to me that the Queen was wearing the Cartier jewel which had previously belonged to Queen Marie. Photos with a high resolution of Queen Frederica wearing the sapphire are difficult to find. Below are a couple of the better ones, and I feel that they show the same sapphire in the same setting as the Cartier one worn by Queen Marie. Detail from above

Re: The sapphire pendant (Necklace) Posted by Maria Olivia on October 16, 2020, 11:48 pm, in reply to "Re: The sapphire pendant" Queen Anne of Romania were Queen Marie's necklace (without the sapphire) on her Wedding day. Since then the Necklace was never seen anymore. Previous Message Very interesting!! Thank you Maridje for finding this for us. I had never read that version before. The first thing which I noticed is that the photo at the very top of Prince Michael's post is the Cartier sapphire. See http://www.princemichaelschronicles.com/the-biggest-sapphire-in-the-world/ That is the jewel which features in books on Cartier, in particular Hans Nadelhoffer's where he traces how the sapphire was mounted, where it was exhibited prior to sale, that it was sold in 1921 to King Ferdinand of Romania who paid in installments. Nadelhoffer also notes the price. Then, Nadelhoffer has a photo of Queen Marie wearing the necklace with the sapphire, the photo in question being part of Cartier's archive. The sapphire in the Cartier jewel weighs 478 carats, and this has been noted in the 2003 auction. I wonder if Prince Michael has confused the Cartier sapphire pendant with another Cartier jewel sold to Grand Duke Cyril and given by him to his wife, Victoria Melita for Christmas 1911? The information about this jewel comes from Stefano Papi Jewels of the Romanovs p. 154. The sapphire drop to this necklace is egg shaped and weighs 331.33 carats. Papi has a copy of the photo below, as well as a coloured photograph of the jewel. Grand Duchess Cyril The photo which Prince Michael has of Queen Frederica at his wedding suggests to me that the Queen was wearing the Cartier jewel which had previously belonged to Queen Marie. Photos with a high resolution of Queen Frederica wearing the sapphire are difficult to find. Below are a couple of the better ones, and I feel that they show the same sapphire in the same setting as the Cartier one worn by Queen Marie. Detail from above

That's the first time I've read... Posted by Janet on October 17, 2020, 12:03 am, in reply to "Re: The sapphire pendant" that the sapphire belonged to Grand Duchess Vladimir. Previous Message by Prince Michael of Greece THE BIGGEST SAPPHIRE IN THE WORLD 24 May 2017 - 1 min It is one of the biggest cut sapphires in the world, weighing over 300 carats. It was bought at the end of the19th century by the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, a passionate jewelry collector. It was passed on to her daughter-in-law, the Grand Duchess Cyril. After the 1917 Revolution, needing money, she sold it to her sister, Queen Maria of Romania. On her death it came into the possession of her daughter-in-law, Queen Helen of Romania, my first cousin and godmother. She, in turn, was in need of money and sold it to the shipowner, Stavros Niarchos. He then gave it to Queen Frederica of Greece, who wore it on my wedding day. Since then, it has been sold again. http://www.princemichaelschronicles.com/the-biggest-sapphire-in-the-world/

Re: That's the first time I've read... Posted by Sam (The Beau Monde) on October 17, 2020, 11:43 pm, in reply to "That's the first time I've read..." It can't have been, Cartier listed it in their inventories in 1913 and then put it on display in Spain in 1919. I mean, it's not impossible but I don't think it's likely.

Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Maridje on October 14, 2020, 10:53 pm, in reply to "Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" ANNE-MARIE QN - 1998/11/08 - RED CROSS LONDON BALL Maridje

Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Eiriksn on October 15, 2020, 1:16 am, in reply to "Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" Wow!😊 It’s very intriguing that the Instagram post says that it’s not only this set, there are more pieces from her collection in this sale.

Re: Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York Posted by Sam (The Beau Monde) on October 15, 2020, 4:09 am, in reply to "Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" How interesting. Like everyone said, we don’t know how wealthy the Greek Royals are even with Marie Chantal’s money. I’m sure Anne Marie has an inheritance from her father but the Danish are very scrupulous when it comes to their Royals and their finances so I doubt she gets any funding like the minor royals do in Britain What’s really interesting is that they state so publicly that it belongs to Anne Marie. Usually when these things get sold it’s provenance is listed as ‘a noble family’.

On sale for £252,729.56 (approx $325k) Posted by Janet on October 19, 2020, 12:00 am, in reply to "Queen Anne Marie's Van Cleef and Arpels necklace for sale in New York" Better pictures are available on 1stdibs. https://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/necklaces/link-necklaces/royal-multi-gem-necklace-bracelet-set-made-van-cleef-arpels/id-j_10596922/ Previous Message Via Joseph Saidian & Sons https://www.instagram.com/p/CGQX-j2HlfT/

Re: On sale for £252,729.56 (approx $325k) Posted by Beth on October 19, 2020, 9:57 am, in reply to "On sale for £252,729.56 (approx $325k)" An amazing asking price! Previous Message Better pictures are available on 1stdibs. https://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/necklaces/link-necklaces/royal-multi-gem-necklace-bracelet-set-made-van-cleef-arpels/id-j_10596922/ Previous Message Via Joseph Saidian & Sons https://www.instagram.com/p/CGQX-j2HlfT/

« Back to index