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    Re: Braganza jewels – necklaces and sets Archived Message

    Posted by Cristina on June 29, 2014, 3:42 pm, in reply to "Braganza jewels – necklaces and sets (edited)"

    So nice to have you back on this board with another Braganza thread Jorge!

    Yes, the set came from the late King Hassan of Morocco, who had a close friendship with the Duke. I have on my notes at the time of the wedding and first appearences by Dona Isabel that the necklace was a moroccan gift. I´ve always assumed that most likely the earrings were also part of the gift, since they are perfect match and Dona Isabel always worn them together.
    (On a side note, the late king´s gift to Dom Afonso at his birth was a sofisticated baby bottle sterilizer, acording to one of Dom Duarte´s TV interviews at the time ).

    Your second and third picture are indeed taken at the Madrid wedding in May 2004, but the first one was taken at a wedding in Bayern in September 2004.

    Dona Isabel has worn frequently the double row diamond bracelet you refer to. The shape of the elements has always looked like small lozanges to me, but again I have never seen a clear big pic of it.
    I have the same problem with the pics of Dona Maria Francisca at the Athens wedding. She is indeed wearing a diamond bracelet but the pics are too small or blurry to see the exact shape/design of it...

    Dona Isabel is wearing the bracelets here, but the design is not clearly visible


    As to the rigid necklace/tiara I always had the feeling that it was a set, along with the long diamond earrings. I have no information on its provenance, but I find them (necklace and earrings) two of the most beautiful pieces from Dona Isabel´s collection.
    The Duchess wore the necklace as tiara at least once before, at the 2003 Wurtemberg wedding (Martina post a pic of it in her post bellow).
    In my archives I had that tiara for a long time as "unknown tiara" and it puzzled me very much, until some years later I saw Dona Isabel wearing the rigid necklace .

    On the Swedish visit Dona Isabel also wore the stunning aquamarine earrings (not diamond earrings), althought (again) no bigger and clear pics were available.

    Here´s a clearer pic (posted by Tamara sometime ago) of Dona Isabel at the Luxembourg Silver wedding. The intricate design of the rigid necklace can be seen here.


    As to the "Infanta Maria Francisca set" it was indeed a gift from the Duke to Dona Isabel on the birth of their daughter.
    I´ve seen Dona Isabel confirmed it herself when she was interviwed for a portuguese television (Sic) when she was leaving the hotel for the prewedding of the then Astúrias couple. She was wearing this set and was asked about it. She was also wearing the diamond twin bracelets. (Pic scanned from Flash magazine, may 2004).








    --Previous Message--
    : King Hassan II of Moroccos set
    :
    : One of the favorite jewels of HRH D.Isabel,
    : Duchess of Braganza is a diamond set
    : comprising necklace and matching earrings. I
    : read somewhere that this set was a wedding
    : gift of King Hassan II of Moroccos with whom
    : D.Duarte had excellent relations. Does
    : anyone can confirm this?
    :
    : HRH wore this set, for example, at the
    : wedding of King D.Filipe of Spain (at the
    : time Prince of Asturias) as can be seen in
    : the following picture.
    :
    :
    :
    :
    :
    :
    : And since we are talking about diamonds,
    : note at the left wrist of the Duchess in the
    : following picture. Doesn’t it look a double
    : diamond rivière bracelet? Now, we know that
    : HRH already wore a necklace of pearls as a
    : bracelet so, is it possible that this
    : bracelet can be used as a necklace? I
    : believe this piece is a Braganza heirloom
    : and was used by D.Isabel mother-in-law at
    : the wedding of Prince D.Juan Carlos of Spain
    : with Princess Sofia of Greece.
    :
    :
    :
    :
    : Rigid Diamond necklace/tiara
    :
    : Another important jewel in the Braganza
    : vaults and used by D.Isabel is a rigid
    : diamond necklace. This jewel made its
    : appearance at important international royal
    : events as 25th wedding anniversary of the
    : Luxembourg Grand-Dukes.
    :
    :
    :
    :
    :
    : However, in 2008, the Duchess surprised
    : everyone by using this necklace as a tiara
    : at the State Banquet that the Kings of
    : Sweden offered when visiting Portugal. To be
    : honest the Duchess surprised many people
    : appearing completely bejeweled wearing not
    : only a tiara but also the imposing Ladies of
    : Rio Aquamarine necklace, the Infanta
    : D.Filipa brooch, Prince of Beira ring and
    : diamond earrings.
    : A little off topic I must say that this
    : state visit had a little scandal. The first
    : state banquet was offered by the President
    : of Portuguese Republic and, apparently the
    : Portuguese authorities did not invited the
    : Portuguese Royal Family as tradition and
    : protocol dictates. As far as I know, no
    : credible justification was made for that
    : protocol failure. When The King and Queen of
    : Sweden reattributed the banquet, the Dukes
    : were invited and appeared as you can see in
    : the picture.
    :
    :
    :
    :
    : Infanta D.Maria Francisca set
    :
    : The final set that I have to show you today
    : is said to be a present to D.Isabel from her
    : husband on the occasion of the birth of
    : their daughter, Infanta D.Maria Francisca.
    : Anyone can confirm? This set comprises a
    : necklace and matching earrings and appears
    : to be silver with pearls of different sizes.
    : Apparently it has no diamonds.
    :
    :
    :
    :

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