Jinjia; many thanks for this great overview. I must say that I agree with all your inferences and points. I myself an in the process of researching into more detail what is mentioned in Roberts and have been compiling some very detailed notes, from other Secondary and Primary sources.
For example:
Queen Mary’s Ladies of England Necklace/Tiara This jewel was a wedding gift to Queen Mary in 1893 from “650 Ladies of England”,[1] and was made in Hunt and Roskell.[2] It was described in The Times, as a “pearl and diamond ornament … made up of scrolls wrought in diamonds over fleur-de-lis in larger stones. From each group hangs a drop-pearl, that falling from the centre cluster being fully an inch in length”.[3] It was exhibited at the Imperial Institute among some of her other wedding gifts, as photographed in The Graphic.[4] It was designed to be worn both as a tiara,[5] as a necklace,[6] and as a bandeau to trim the corsage of a gown, as it was worn to the Devonshire House Ball in 1897;[7] and it could also be detached “so as to be converted into several smaller ornaments”.[8] It was featured in Volume I of Queen Mary’s Photographic jewellery inventory,[9] and Queen Mary also kept a record of all the 650 ladies who had subscribed to the gift in a special presentation volume.[10] Queen Mary wrote to Lady Elizabeth Biddulph in June 1893, asking her to “accept and convey to the ladies of England my grateful thanks for the very beautiful necklace”.[11] She also wrote a letter to Lady Eva Greville in July of that year, in which she described the tiara as one of her “most valued wedding gifts as a precious proof of your good will and affection”.[12] However, by 1913 the decision was taken to dismantle this tiara. “12 pearl drops” from this tiara,[13] and the majority of the diamonds were used to create ‘Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara’.[14] With the remaining “33 brilliants and 3 rose diamonds” being used to create ‘Queen Mary’s Greek Tiara’.[15]
Notes [1] Bow Bells, 7 July 1893, p. 32 [2] Hugh Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, (London: Royal Collection Publications, 2012), p. 182 [3] The Times, 24 June 1893, p. 14 [4] The Graphic, 15 July 1893, p. 88 [5] Suzy Menkes, The Royal Jewels, (London: Grafton Books, 1985), p. 65 [6] Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, p. 146 (RCIN 2808111) [7] Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, p. 138 (RCIN 4926140) [8] The Times, 24 June 1893, p. 14 [9] Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, p. 113; RA QM/PRIV/CC93, pl. 5a, no. 4 [10] Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, p. 182; RA QM/PRIV/CC64 [11] The Times, 28 June 1893, p. 10 [12] The Times, 10 July 1893, p. 6 [13] Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, p. 182 [14] Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, p. 182; GA Garrard RL3, fol. 94, 23 January 1914 [15] Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, p. 164; GA Garrard RL3, fol. 95, 21 April 1914
Queen Mary's County of Surrey Necklace/Tiara This tiara was a wedding-gift to Queen Mary in 1893 from the County of Surrey, and was presented to her by the Earl of Lovelace, in his capacity as Lord-Lieutenant of the county. It was described in The Times as being a tiara “composed entirely of brilliants of large size and … convertible at will into a necklace”.[1] It was illustrated among her wedding gifts in the Illustrated London News,[2] and was exhibited at the Imperial Institute among the three tiaras that featured in the exhibition of the wedding-gifts TRHs had received; a photograph from this exhibition featured in The Graphic.[3] This tiara also features in Queen Mary’s photographic jewellery inventory.[4] This piece was photographed being worn as a necklace, along with ‘Queen Mary’s Boucheron Loop Tiara’,[5] by W & D Downey, to mark the visit of the then Prince and Princess of Wales to India between 1905 and 1906.[6] It was also photographed being worn as a tiara by Queen Mary with ‘Queen Mary’s Kapurthala Stomacher’.[7] It was dismantled in 1913, with the biggest “13 large brilliants” being used “furnish tops to [Queen Mary's] Girls of Great Britain [and Ireland] Tiara in place of pearls”, for the cost of £34.[8] The rest of the stones were used to create a new “Greek honeysuckle pattern Tiara”, ‘Queen Mary’s Greek Tiara’.[9]
Notes [1] The Times, 23 June 1893, p. 10 [2] Illustrated London News, 6 July 1893 [3] The Graphic, 15 July 1893, p. 88 [4]Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, p. 139; RA QM/PRIV/CC93, pl. 5a, no. 1. [5] Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, p. 156 (RCIN 2808148); Geoffrey Munn, Tiaras: A History of Splendor, (London: Antique Collectors’ Club, 2001), p. 132. [6] Munn, Tiaras, p. 133 [7] Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, p. 194 (Note: This picture shows the tiara being worn in the base of the ‘Girls and Great Britain Tiara’). [8] Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, p. 136, GA Garrard RL3, fol. 95, 21 April 1914; RA JEWEL/GARRARD/QM, fol. 80, no. 2. [9] Roberts, The Queen’s Diamonds, p. 164; GA Garrard RL3, fol. 95, 21 April 1914
I am in the process of compiling notes as detailed and well referenced as these; on every jewel mentioned in the various publications of Royal Jewellery Scholarship. It is my new project.
--Previous Message-- : I like the fact that Hugh Roberts organizes : his book The Queen's Diamonds by successive : queens, but it is a little hard to trace the : history of Queen Mary's tiaras. I wish he : had grouped them together and described the : many changes in one place. : : Queen Mary's original 1893 wedding gift : tiaras could also be worn as necklaces. : This was true of the very similar gifts from : the County of Surrey and Queen Victoria, and : of the gifts from the Ladies of England and : the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland. : (Roberts says three tiaras were exhibited. : Maybe that was because Queen Mary wore Queen : Victoria's gift as a tiara at her wedding.) : : Of these four wedding gifts, only the Girls : tiara has survived, in slightly altered : form, Queen Mary's urge to have new pieces : made as she matured and reigns succeeded : each other. This tiara was given to : Princess Elizabeth at her wedding in 1947 : and it has probably become her favorite : tiara. No one seems to have been : photographed wearing the Girls tiara as a : necklace. Queen Mary did wear it once as a : coronet. : : The County of Surrey necklace/tiara provided : the large diamonds later placed atop the : Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara in : place of the upright pearls, and part of the : diamonds for the honeysuckle tiara Queen : Mary had made in 1914. She gave the : honeysuckle tiara to the Duchess of : Gloucester in 1935. : : The diamonds from Queen Victoria's : necklace/tiara gift became the Fringe tiara : in 1919. Perhaps because of its history, : this tiara was worn by Princess Elizabeth : and Princess Anne for their weddings. The : Queen has now inherited Queen Mary's Fringe : tiara from her mother, to whom Queen Mary : gave it, and has worn it once in recent : years. : : Part of the diamonds from the Ladies of : England tiara became the Lover's Knot tiara : in 1914, along with the upright pearls from : the Girls tiara. Queen Mary evidently : decided upright pearls were out of style, : since she eventually had them removed from : the Lover's Knot tiara also. The rest of : the diamonds from the Ladies of England : tiara were used in the honeysuckle tiara now : worn by the Duchess of Gloucester. : : The tiaras Queen Mary had made or acquired : later were rigid and worn only as tiaras. : : The Crescents tiara that she inherited from : her mother in 1897 had been assembled for : the Duchess of Teck from a collection of : diamond roses and crescents. This tiara, : like several heirloom pieces of jewelry, has : survived in the Queen's collection. It was : worn at least once by Queen Elizabeth and : several times by Princess Margaret. Roberts : says it is loaned now to the Duchess of : Cornwall, but she has not worn it. : : Another early tiara that was broken up was : the Boucheron loop tiara, which was made in : 1902 from stones given to Queen Mary, then : Princess of Wales, by deBeers in 1901. It : was worn for the Coronation of King Edward : VII in 1902, along with the County of Surrey : gift as a necklace. See Nellie's photo at : : : http://members2.boardhost.com/royal-jewels/msg/1338253778.html : : The loop tiara was broken up and the deBeers : diamonds were used again in 1911 to make the : Delhi Durbar tiara. This tiara has been : used with the Cambridge emeralds and two of : the Cullinan diamonds, but those have all : been removed. Roberts remarks that the : front of the Delhi Durbar tiara has been : slightly altered, but doesn't describe the : alterations. Obviously, some small diamonds : were removed from the top, and the space on : the front where a Cullinan was worn has been : filled with other diamonds. Queen Eizabeth : (later QM) and the Duchess of Cornwall have : each worn the Delhi Durbar tiara once. : : Queen Mary acquired the Vladimir loop tiara : in 1921. The only change she made was to : have the Cambridge emeralds fitted as : alternates to the pearl drops. Like the : Fringe tiara, this one has needed to be : rebuilt, but its design was not changed. : The Queen frequently wears the Vladimir : tiara. : : Other tiaras acquired by Queen Mary have : gone to different parts of her family and : are not covered in the Roberts book. This : is true of the Kent sapphires and other Kent : tiaras, some of the Gloucester tiaras, and : some of the Harewood tiaras. During the : early 20th century, Queen Victoria's tiaras : were scattered among her descendants. A : complete history of all of those tiaras : would also be very nice to have. : : I hope this summary will prove useful. : Please feel free to correct it and add : information as necessary! : : : :
on June 1, 2012, 5:38 am, in reply to "