In the paper on Queen Mary's engagement gifts Lea Felicitas Doding clearly places the use of a bracelet, instead of a ring, to signify an engagement within contemporary practices. She traces both the existing convention & the impact that the example of George V & Queen Mary had on the practice.
For those not familiar with the use of a bracelet instead of an engagement ring, this section will be very interesting.
Of course, one of the more interesting aspect is determining what the central gemstone is.
Ms Doding visited the Royal Archives to do research but was unable to access Queen Mary's Jewel Inventories from circa 1893. Sadly there was no mention of the bracelet in HM's earlier inventory.
Many of the newspapers of the time report that the gemstone was a chrysoprase. Some say the links were made from chrysoprase. All of these reports are from syndicated items.
She outlines the popularity of chrysoprase as a gemstone at the time & provides an interesting history of the gem & its colour variations.
Here is the direct link to the paper.
https://www.societyofjewelleryhistorians.ac.uk/JSO_2026_2.pdf In my Instagram post in 2022
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZx-h6zvsmR/?img_index=1 I stated that the gemstone was an emerald.
In a comment on my recent post
https://www.instagram.com/p/DYtvhU0E4pH/?img_index=1 I had a slide stating that Ms Doding had stated the gemstone was a chrysoprase.
Ms Doding refuted my interpretation, stating that she had been careful not to say that the stone was a chrysoprase.
We both agree that the bracelet, which Queen Mary wore very frequently in the early years of her marriage, disappeared from public view. We each have slightly different times.
This slide explains the major objections I had to the numerous reports that the gemstone was a chrysoprase. (NB These reports are clearly syndicated items, which accounts for so many having the same information)
There are reports that the gemstone was an emerald & some say an opal. Clearly it did not have the latter gem as the central element.
In the paper published in the Society of Jewellery Historians Ms Doding refers to Streeter to emphasise the point that chrysoprase can be obtained in very dark hues.
Like so many bracelets with a heavy central element the one in Queen Mary's bracelet would slip under her arm - as clearly demonstrated by the following photos which come from the same photo sitting.
In my initial post in 2022, I put forward the concept that the emerald bracelet given to Queen Mary as a coronation gift by the Ladies of Glasgow in 1911 might have been prompted by damage to the original engagement bracelet. The press had mentioned that the Glasgow bracelet was to replace a wedding gift from her brothers. But, as we all know, QM's brothers gave her a pearl & diamond ring. Knowing that the engagement bracelet wasn't seen for years & that emeralds can shatter easily, I wondered if that prompted the choice by the Ladies of Glasgow.
on May 27, 2026, 6:07 pm