Thank you, Nellie, for the pictures, which help the comparison.
I add a few more pictures, just to see the difference of length of the necklace as worn on Queen Alexandra (worn very close at the base of the neck) and on Queen Elizabeth (hanging lower on the top of the breast).
Personally, I prefer the shorter version, but it is only a matter of personal taste. It would be fine to see the necklace again, either on Queen Elizabeth II, or on the Duchess of Cambridge (a good match with the Papyrus tiara ).
It is clear, in the picture of the necklace published in Hugh Roberts' book The Queen's Diamonds, that Queen-Mother Elizabeth had the necklace lengthened in 1937 by lengthening the two diamond swags at the back, which are clearly longer than the front and side swags (and longer than on the black-and-white picture of the necklace in the presentation box that I have posted earlier).
Therefore, I see two plausible (and alternative) explanations: - there were not more pearl clusters available (otherwise the Queen-Mother would have had them used, instead of increasing the diamond swags' length); and all the brooches from this parure that we have seen on pictures (including the most recent one in Angela Kelly's book) are clusters dismounted from the necklace; - or there were a few extra pearl clusters mounted as brooches (and possibly dismounted from a longer never-seen version of the necklace), but for whatever reason, the Queen(-Mother) did not receive them when she received the necklace in 1937 (remember that Queen Mary retained until her death the brooch and the earrings from the parure and that she bequeathed them directly to her grand-daughter Elizabeth II).
--Previous Message-- : Thank you so much for those photos Nellie. : They will help people understand what I was : discussing. : After contemplating all the photos later : this afternoon, and trying to consider : various scenarios, I am now wondering if the : photo shown in Field is Photoshopped. The : composition of the necklace, brooch and : earrings, as shown in Field's photo, is the : same as that in the image published by WH : Russell, as shown in Roberts page 82. : To me, two of the most telling aspects are: : first the indistinct view of the metal which : slides into the clasp (on the left hand side : as we view the photo) and secondly that the : diamond swags are not set into a moulded : section. I would expect to see that in a : storage/presentation box for high quality : jewellery. As I stated in my earlier post, : the moulding in the photo in Field would not : ensure a secure environment for the necklace : as worn by either queen. Pearls with : diamonds, especially with swags which might : fall any way, need to be stored safely, : otherwise scratches will occur on the pearls : as the diamonds fall around. : : --Previous Message-- : Two relevant pics. : : : : --Previous Message-- : Thank you for finding this description, : Baxter. You have solved the mystery for us. : Now that you have pointed out the shape of : the moulding, it all seems so clear. I : wonder when and why this moulded section was : made as the photo shows the earrings and : brooch -- although I doubt if these are : fitted into moulded sections -- but not the : extension added by QEQM, and the moulded : section does not seem to fit the necklace as : worn by either queen. Because of this, it : would not have provided secure storage for : either version of the necklace. : Re photos in Roberts. I should have taken : the time to look this morning, as the photo : of Queen Alexandra as a bride on page 86 : shows that the necklace was not then longer. : Roberts on page 82 has the older photo I was : referring to. : Of even more interest to our present : discussion is the photo on page 93 showing a : portrait of QA as a young Princess of Wales : wearing a pearl and diamond brooch with a : drop pearl. The shape of the drop suggests : to me that this is the central element from : her necklace. (I suspect the grayish colour : of all the pearls may be artistic licence). : : EDIT. On page 88 Roberts says that the : central pearl and diamond element in the : wedding brooch is detachable. On page 92 he : says that the pearl and diamond brooch with : drop pearl, as depicted in the portrait on : page 93, is probably the central section of : her wedding brooch. : I disagree, as the shape of the drop pearl : and the two diamonds above it seem to me to : more closely resemble the drop pearl and two : diamonds from the central element of the : necklace. Obviously, as Airgette's : information tells us, Queen Alexandra did : once wear her wedding brooch with a pearl : and diamond brooch with a drop pearl. : : : : :
on September 29, 2014, 4:51 am, in reply to "
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