France: Imperial, Royal and Noble Jewellery


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The pearls of Queen Marie Anoinette are expected to fecth less than the watch of Josephine de Beauharnais...?

Something is seriously wrong there...lol.
Josephine was an empress of France though. That's just as good as a queen of France.
 
Josephine was an empress of France though. That's just as good as a queen of France.
Joséphine de Beauharnais was Sa Majesté Impériale l'Impératrice des Français, she was never Impératrice de la France.
Archiduchesse Marie Antoinette de l'Autriche, Princesse de la Hongrie et Bohemia, Princesse de Tuscany was on the other hand, Sa Majesté la Reine de France et de Navarre.
 
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Okay, I see... But you know what I meant. :)
 
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Empress Eugenie Bow Brooch

Well i'm quite pleased (frankly i'm over the moon) to annonce that the famous Empress Eugenie's Bow Brooch was bought by the Louvre Museum last friday for 6,7 Million euros.
This extraordinary piece of jewellery will be back in France very soon !!!!!

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9408/d5059392xpy9.th.png
 
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On the subject of lost jewels, does anyone have any knowledge of what happened to the 'Marie Antoinette Diamond Necklace' which many contemporaries, historians and even Napoleon blamed for her beheading.

Presumably, it was broken up, quite appropriately because of all of the scandal, slander and trouble that it caused, but I can't find any reference to its fate. Allegedly, some of the individual jewels are in the Smithsonian.

It's a matter of interest to me as I'm writing an article on scandals,lies and untruths which have destroyed celebrities, particularly royals. Whereas it's not necessary that I do know the necklace's fate, I'd like to know, anyway.

Thank you in advance.
 
Fate of Infamous Necklace

Once the jewels were repolished, identification would have been impossible. You could probably ID a jewel today, maybe from an electron microprobe of metallic impurities or mass spectroscopy of a sacrificial microsample, but back then it would be a case of, "Hmmm, this looks just like what I'd do to one of Marie Antoinette's jewels if I was going to fence it. Hmmm."
 
Who believes in circumstance, or more, serendipity?

After posting my enquiry about the infamous diamond necklace yesterday, and today, following through on other leads, I found the following in an article describing , inter alia, the alleged excessive expenditures of her late Majesty, The Queen Mother:

"In 1942, Queen Elizabeth's personal wealth increased with the death of the society hostess Mrs Ronnie Greville, who left her most of her fabulous jewel collection, including the Boucheron tiara, and a magnificent five-strand diamond necklace reputed to have once belonged to Marie Antoinette."

That may well have been it! On the other hand, the necklace which brought the French monarchy to ruin never did belong to France or poor, wretched Marie Antoinette.

I'd still be interested to know its fate. It was, supposedly, one of the most magical assembly of diamonds ever crafted. I can't recall that I've ever seen a member of the BRF wearing anything like it.
 
I've seen it said that this belonged to M-L, but I've never seen any proof

So far I know, this tiara has belonged to Princess Marie Louise of Hanover and Cumberland, married Princess Maximilian of Baden.

The tiara is a quite modern piece made of platinum and gold and not of the napoleonic period. It was sold in the mid 1970th together with some more pieces of her jewellery.
 
Thank for sharing these videos, ortiz. The jewels are magnificent.
 
As you know there is no more monarchy in France anymore but,sometimes I wish there was so I can see the jewels!I bet if it were still around it will be more interesting than the British jewels.

I thought it would be fun to post pictures of french royal jewels from the past. Im still looking for some so I hope you will too.:)

Heres the Hope Diamond. You may have heard that its "cursed": http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/HopeDiamond1.JPG

Queen Marie Ameile's set.(Those rings look a lot like Diana/Kates ring!): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/FrenchCrownJewelsLouvre-2.jpg

Empress Eugenie's pearl tiara on the left: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/French-crown-jewels.jpg
.
 
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Empress Josephine of france jewllery

i do not think we have had this thread

there are many jewllery of hers we can found around the world

here is one i would like to know more about

a pearl and diamond tiara
 
This brooch is not on par with some of the more stunning parures and tiaras of the French Royal and Imperial Families but personally to me, it's one of the most beautiful, exquisite pieces ever. The corsage brooch belonged to Princess Mathilde Bonaparte, Jerome Bonaparte's daughter.

Mathilde Bonaparte's Tudor Rose Brooch
Princess Mathilde, the daughter of Jerome Bonaparte and Princess Katharina of Wurttemberg, had one of the most fabulous jewellery collections of her time, second only to that of Empress Eugenie of France herself. This corsage brooch (and I can’t find enough adjectives to describe how breathtakingly gorgeous it is) was created in 1855 by Parisian jeweller Theodore Fester.It reputedly contains 2,637 brilliants weighing 136 carats, and further 860 little roses not weighed. It is designed as a large rose blossom decked with diamonds and mounted in silver-topped gold.

Image posted with the permission of the copyright holder
 

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Which tiara displayed on the right ? The Duchess of Angoulème tiara ?
 
Imagine what the French Crown Jewels would have looked like prior to the looting of the Garde Meuble de la Couronne in 1792!
 
Artemisa, I mean Empress Eugenie's picture , the tiara on the right ?
 

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Such a facinating and yet sad history given their association with Princess Marie Thérèse of France,daughter and sole surviving child of the doomed Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
 
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Love it remarkable that the pearls have aged so well.
 
Nothing like a pearl tiara designed and crafted beautifully. I'd certainly love to see that worn again.
 
The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Tiara Thursday: Two French Sapphire Tiaras

The sapphires are beautiful I do not like Queen Marie-Amelie's Sapphire and Diamond tiara. It's just too tall for my taste. If it was shorter then I may have loved it. However, the parure is simply breathtaking.

Queen Marie-Amelie's Sapphire, Diamond, and Pearl tiara however is one of my favorites of all time! I think the tiara is wonderful, regal, and stunningly beautiful. It also has a very timeless design. Again, the parure, is absolutely breathtaking. In my opinion, this tiara, and the two parures are one of the most beautiful I have ever seen.
 
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:previous:
more of the above

The Queen Hortense Diamond & Sapphire Parure
(later sold to the Bourbon-Orléans, later sold to the Louvre)

1. the Parure
2. the necklace
 

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