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Durability of jewels Posted by Janet on January 9, 2022, 8:25 am Seeing the clip this week of Queen Letizia's pearl brooch falling off her dress and hitting the floor (I assume it hit the floor loudly as the King noticed it instantly), it got me to thinking about the durability of jewels, especially those which are still in frequent use. Are there any examples of royal/famous jewels being damaged/destroyed by mistake such as falling and hitting the ground? I know emeralds are known to be particularly brittle but from what I have read pearls can also be damaged by a hard force as well. I hope the Queen's brooch was not damaged.

Re: Durability of jewels Posted by Sam (The Beau Monde) on January 9, 2022, 8:43 pm, in reply to "Durability of jewels" Hmmmm, interesting question. The only example I can think of is Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara snapping on Queen Elizabeth’s wedding day. You would assume that the Court Jeweller would have regular contact with a royal collection, cleaning/polishing/checking the settings etc. but accidents do happen and when you factor in the age of some of these mechanisms it’s bound to

Re: Durability of jewels Posted by Stefan on January 9, 2022, 9:54 pm, in reply to "Re: Durability of jewels" Didn't one of the tiaras of the Queen break when she was on the way to that Fanfare Event and was in the last moment loaned a tiara by Earl Plunket or so. but we don't know which tiara it was. And i think it was stated in the Robert's book that the frame of the Vladimir tiara hade to bee made entire new because it was so old and fragile. Previous Message Hmmmm, interesting question. The only example I can think of is Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara snapping on Queen Elizabeth’s wedding day. You would assume that the Court Jeweller would have regular contact with a royal collection, cleaning/polishing/checking the settings etc. but accidents do happen and when you factor in the age of some of these mechanisms it’s bound to

Re: Durability of jewels Posted by Maria Olivia on January 9, 2022, 10:38 pm, in reply to "Re: Durability of jewels" Queen Margrethe lost a pearl of her Brooch during her last State Visit. Previous Message Didn't one of the tiaras of the Queen break when she was on the way to that Fanfare Event and was in the last moment loaned a tiara by Earl Plunket or so. but we don't know which tiara it was. And i think it was stated in the Robert's book that the frame of the Vladimir tiara hade to bee made entire new because it was so old and fragile. Previous Message Hmmmm, interesting question. The only example I can think of is Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara snapping on Queen Elizabeth’s wedding day. You would assume that the Court Jeweller would have regular contact with a royal collection, cleaning/polishing/checking the settings etc. but accidents do happen and when you factor in the age of some of these mechanisms it’s bound to

Re: Durability of jewels Posted by Bob on January 31, 2022, 1:24 am, in reply to "Durability of jewels" I remember reading from Prince Christopher of Greece (I THINK it was him), having borrowed an emerald from his mother for a costume ball. He watched in horror the stone falling to the floor, and thinking the stone would shatter, given that emeralds are brittle. Thankfully, no harm was done to the jewel. If my recollection is correct, and the story was from Prince Christopher, he would have been referring to one of Queen Olga's famous emeralds now worn by Queen Anne-Marie.

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