Unidentified, Mystery and Lost Royal Jewels

[Tilia C.]

On the Royal Jewels Board two different posters stated that they knew from reliable sources that diamond tiara was still in the Greek royal family, but it was also said that it did not go to Prince Nikolaos. If this information is correct, then it is still a mystery why Queen Anne-Marie never wore it.

 

[snowflower]

There is a possibility that this tiara was inherited by Princess Irene, and since she is not wearing tiaras ( I mean after the 70's I haven't seen her using any tiara)the tiara will probably reappear if she bestowed it to a niece/nephew or after the lady passes away and her jewellery is inherited by family members ( But let's not discuss the inheritance matter she is quite young and there is no need to think from now this sad possibility)

 

[Stefan]

I think i have once seen a photo of her wearing the circle tiara (which was worn by Infanta Elena in 1993). It looked like it was taken in the 80's.

 

[snowflower]

I see. I thought that the princess haven't been wearing tiaras but I was mistaken. By the way you said that Infanta Elena wore her aunt's circle tiara. Is she the current owner of the tiara or it was only lented ?

 

[Marengo]

On the Royal Jewels Board two different posters stated that they knew from reliable sources that diamond tiara was still in the Greek royal family, but it was also said that it did not go to Prince Nikolaos. If this information is correct, then it is still a mystery why Queen Anne-Marie never wore it.

I believe the poster(s) hinted that there were some financial issues, related to tax? But I suppose they should have been resolved in 3 decades.

 

[Warren]

I don't know what tiara we're talking about...

Here's a good picture of the tiara in question [post #98].

 

[Stefan]

I see. I thought that the princess haven't been wearing tiaras but I was mistaken. By the way you said that Infanta Elena wore her aunt's circle tiara. Is she the current owner of the tiara or it was only lented ?

That's not known. She wore it only once at the pre Wedding Ball of Duke Fiedrich of Württemberg and princess marie zu Wied in 1993 and never again.

I believe the poster(s) hinted that there were some financial issues, related to tax? But I suppose they should have been resolved in 3 decades.

Could it have to do with inheritance taxes?

 

[SearchingHistory]

Unidentified Crown Jewels!

Hi,

I have found this picture in some documents of my grandmothers. She said they are a picture of the jewels that Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark tried to have smuggled out of Germany during WW2. I have not been able to confirm this yet as I have been unable to find these jewels in any photos of her or their children.

Please take a look. If you can help me I would love to know the history of these jewels and where they are now.

Thank you

Edited to add photo

 

[Marengo]

Thanks for the picture! I am not able to identify any of the jewels, as none of them looks familiar to me and I do not remember any picture where princess Theodora is wearing these jewels (I believe during the wedding of Ingrid of Sweden she borrowed the rubies from princess Nicholas of Greece for example).

I always thought it was princess Margarita of Hohenlohe who was trying to hide the jewels somewhere in the garden, where they were discovered by Americans. I wonder why they needed to hide / smuggle it though.

 

[Lady Marmalade]

You are thinking, maybe, of the Hesse jewels? Hidden at the Empress Frederick's home. Two Americans, may they burn in hell, discovered them and stole them and sold some of them. What was recovered was not all of the jewels. It saddens me that royals got screwed during WWI and WII. If their property is their property, jewel or real estate-wise, and were stolen or confiscated..ILLEGALLY, then they should have retribution...

 

[Paulo Rezzutti]

Help to identify jewels

This medallion made in ivory was bought on an antique shop. I tried to discover who is the portrayed lady, but I was unable to. Also tried to find a clue by the tiara and necklace design, but still nothing. If anyone is able to identify this person, I'd appreciate.

 

[Duchessmary]

How lovely! I really can't pin it down, but I'll take a wild guess and say that it almost looks Persian?

 

[Kasumi]

This medallion made in ivory was bought on an antique shop. I tried to discover who is the portrayed lady, but I was unable to. Also tried to find a clue by the tiara and necklace design, but still nothing. If anyone is able to identify this person, I'd appreciate.

Lovely medallion with the portrait of Marie-Julie Bonaparte, Queen of Spain

 

[Paulo Rezzutti]

She´s not Marie-Julie, unfortunately

Lovely medallion with the portrait of Marie-Julie Bonaparte, Queen of Spain

Thanks but she cannot be Marie-Julie Bonaparte. The portrayed lady has blue eyes. All portraits of Marie-Julie picture her with dark eyes

 

[Paulo Rezzutti]

How lovely! I really can't pin it down, but I'll take a wild guess and say that it almost looks Persian?

Thank you for the guess. I tried to find jewels from Persia, but I was unable to match these ones. They was of a different style.

 

[ennuispleen]

Hi all great jewellery lovers - would like any info about a sapphire and diamond necklace that appears in Crown Jewels by Prince Michael of Greece - pg 111 - it has to be one of th grandest and most sumptuous necklaces that has ever belonged to European Royalty. The text states that it was owned by Queen Maria Christina of Spain and was sold at Christies in 1982 for $297,000 - has it been seen since and on who? Hope that someone can help as it has really caught my intrest with its beauty and richness.

 

[Lady Meg]

I have a question about this tiara of Queen Marie of Romania.. does anyone have any information on it as I'm researching it for my page.

 

[Lady Meg]

This one's neither unidentified, mysterious nor lost, although its current whereabouts are unknown. It was last seen worn by Queen Frederika of Greece. Someone who knows about these things has stated elsewhere that the tiara is in safe hands and will make a reappearance at the appropriate time. So we'll file it under the heading of 'enigmatic'.

I imagine this spectacular and glittering jewel would be quite something to behold when seen in "real life".
pic credit: Copyright expired; Public Domain.

Queen Helen of Romania (neé Princess of Greece) 1934
Queen Sophie of Greece Diamond Tiara​

There would seem to be other pictures of this tiara, too bad there is no information on it.. could use it. Here Sophie of Prussia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria and Albert wears it .. it seems to be on top of her head in this picture though. No copyright as it came from Wikipedia. Is this tiara like the Spanish Tiara with Flower of Lis which can be worn open or closed? There are other pictures showing her wearing the tiara like this.

Here is another pic of Queen Sophie at an older age..

Copyright expired on picture.

 

[Lady Meg]

As a follow up to my last post.. it explains here what happened to the tiara, but is this true? Mad Hattery! » HM Queen Friedrike

This diamond tiara — Queen Sophia’s Diamond Tiara — was brought to Greece by Friedrike’s mother-in-law, who was born Princess Sophie of Prussia. When Sophie married the future King Constantine I of Greece in 1889, she was given this tiara by her mother, Empress Frederick of Prussia (who is probably more familiar to royal history buffs as Princess Vicky – the eldest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert).
The tiara was a truly impressive diamond sparkler, and one that I wish we could see either Queen Sofia or Queen Anne-Marie wear today, but alas: most believe that, strapped for cash, Friedrike sold it at auction in the ’70s.

 

[Katrianna]

A poster on the Royal Jewels of the World message board stated that the tiara was not auctioned off and is still in the family and is very reliable with information he posts so I tend to believe this version instead of the story on the blog.

 

[Rascal]

A poster on the Royal Jewels of the World message board stated that the tiara was not auctioned off and is still in the family and is very reliable with information he posts so I tend to believe this version instead of the story on the blog.

I agree, Katrianna. In addition the discussion at RJW included what IMO is the most plausible explanation. Strapped for cash, Constantine - who does not work or earn a wage of any sort - may have made an arrangement with a bank or financial institution where he borrowed money, put the tiara up for collateral and it is held in trust by the lender. It would explain why it has neither been worn nor seen (as it could not then be used in any jewel exhibition) and has not turned up in any known auction. The lack of auction documentation, especially with jewelry bloodhounds among this group and others, makes an auction scenario highly unlikely IMHO.

As far as the tiara itself...while I would love to see it again, I almost don't want to since there are only two women in the Greek Royal Family who have to face-shape, body-type, and hairstyle to carry off such a piece - Anne-Marie and Alexia. It is a really prominent piece and looked overwhelming on a young Frederike, and just too much on Sophie's daughter Helen (who had delicate features) in the picture posted. It wasn't until Frederike was older, a little heavier (although she was never even chunky...just womanly), and with a bigger hairstyle that it looked appropriate. Even Queen Sophie, although a petite woman, had soft, full facial features and the big hairstyles of the times so it looked alright. On someone like Tatiana or Marie-Chantal...their sharp, angular features would be overpowered by this piece in much the same way they were both overpowered by their big, lacy wedding gowns, which is a shame because IMO they are both more attractive than the Greek royal women and had the opportunity to be truly stunning on their wedding days...but that was not to be.

 

[Somersby Tulip]

where is it

This tiara is made by Köchert. The answer comes from Volker on Royal Jewels Message Board.

"Theophil von Hansen - an achitect(!!) and a friend of Köchert provided the designs for the beautiful diadem named "Byzantine" and for a swan parure composed if pendant and earrings. The artistry and craftsmanship manifested by the "Byzantine" diadem, with its harmonious juxtapositions of diamonds and pearls was judged impeccable and won for Köchert the first prize for jewellery at the World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873. Pictures of it frequently appeared - and still appear today - in ilustrated purblications in Germany, France, England and America.Unfortunately the diadem was later dismantled!"

Correct though it wasnt dismantled the Queens sister knew of its whereabouts perhaps because of her own lineage of Edward VII

 

[noldorlord]

As far as the tiara itself...while I would love to see it again.

As would I Anna maria would look great in it

 

[rcra]

An Unknown Tiara

I'm not sur where to post this so I'm sorry if it is on the wrong place...

I was wonderiring about this tiara

Does it have a name? Who does it belong to?

 

[Warren]

It's a Kokoshnik-style tiara made in 1910, possibly Cartier, and that's all I know.

 

[Hanna Regina]

I was wonderiring about this tiara

Does it have a name? Who does it belong to?

This tiara was originally owned by the Viscount Clive and was sold in Switzerland a few years ago. Now it's in the Albion Art Collection.

 

[Fürstin Taxis]

Sotheby's - Auctions - Calendar - Arts of The Islamic World

Does someone knows more about this tiara from he Ottoman Empire?

 

[tihkon2]

Well we can stop talking about the "missing" Greek Tiara, aka: Queen Sophie's Tiara, aka: Queen Frederika's Tiara in this thread.

Many have mentioned here, that someone on the Royal Jewels message board had stated a few years ago, that the tiara hadn't been sold and was in safe hands, and tonight we've seen it for the first time in decades, on the head of Crown Princess Pavlos (Marie-Chantal) of Greece. Yay!

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0dJ0bmM6Dx7di/x610.jpg

 

[wymanda]

Nice to see a piece that was presumed lost/sold but I think it was inappropriate that M-C wore a tiara that was more substantial than that worn by the Guest of Honour and has taken so much of the discussion due to it's reappearance.

 

[Noble Consort Ming]

Does anyone know who now has the coronet that Countess Estelle Barnadotte wore when she got married?

This picture of her was linked in a thread about her and shows the coronet.

Royal Musings: Estelle Manville marries Folke Bernadotte