Re: The treasure trove of the Duchess of Cornwall from the Daily Mail Archived Message
Posted by Arthur on February 23, 2015, 6:29 pm, in reply to "Re: The treasure trove of the Duchess of Cornwall from the Daily Mail "
Thanks, Franck, for the link to this interesting article. There are several interesting (i.e. to me unknown until now) information in this article, but also several mistakes, which put the reliability of the whole article under suspicion: - according to the article, the diamond snake necklace would be a gift from Charles in 2001. Yet, it seems that Camilla has worn this necklace since at least 2000 (here on 20 June 2000, according to the Getty caption): (Credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images - Source: http://www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo-d%27actualit%C3%A9/prince-charles-and-camilla-parker-bowles-are-seen-photo-dactualit%C3%A9/52461962) - "the Keppel ruby and diamond tiara, bought by Edward VII in Paris — is now in Camilla’s possession and, although very fragile, is one of her favourite pieces". Well, Camilla was seen in public only once with it, which is quite few for a supposed "favourite"... - "Camilla takes such pleasure in wearing [pearl chokers] that Charles bought her a pink topaz from Sotheby’s to make into a clasp for a three-strand string of pearls", "for an undisclosed price at auction from Sotheby’s" The price of the topaz and diamond brooch (with the matching earrings) at the 2000 Sotheby's auction is public and perfectly known, as everyone can check on Sotheby's website: £22,925 precisely. We also know that the pearl choker with the large topaz and diamond clasp has not three, but five rows of pearls: Nevertheless, I have a picture (unfortunately, the date is not specified) showing the topaz and diamond brooch mounted as the clasp of the pearl necklace which could be made of three rows of pearls (maybe an earlier setting of the choker?). So, on this point, the information given by the Daily Mail could be true: - the Van Cleef and Arpels Ballerina brooch: the article writes that this brooch was presented by Charles ("Charles has enjoyed showering Camilla with gifts. He enjoys finding items with a theme, such as Van Cleef & Arpels Magic Alhambra drop earrings, a symbol of luck; a Forties’ ballerina brooch by the same company..."), and a few lines further, writes that this same brooch "was handed down through her family" - which sounds quite contradictory... - finally, the article writes that Camilla's diamond riviere is "the Queen Mother’s diamond collet necklace, which she wore for her husband’s coronation in 1937" (which is true), and that this riviere was "commissioned [by Queen Victoria] in 1858 using stones from two badges of the Order of the Garter and one sword hilt" (which is wrong: as written in Hugh Robert's The Queen's Diamonds [that I hold for more reliable than the Daily Fail...] Queen Victoria's Coronation necklace was indeed made with diamonds removed from a Garter badge and a sword hilt, but Queen Elizabeth's Coronation nacklace was a gift from King George VI for their coronation in 1937, though the necklace itself dates back to the mid-19th century).
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