Posted by Arthur on October 31, 2015, 4:38 pm, in reply to "Savoy Topaz Parure"
The parure is absolutely gorgeous, but according to the (certainly reliable) information released in Princess Maria-Gabriella of Savoy and Stefano Papi's book Gioielli di Casa Savoia (Jewels of the House of Savoy), it is not made of topazes, but of pink tourmalines.
The pink tourmalines are (were?) removable, and could be replaced by garnets (the parure was originally set with garnets, actually) or by facetted corals. It had been presented by Queen Maria-Teresa of Sardinia to her daughter-in-law Princess Elisabeth of Saxony, when the latter married Prince Ferdinand of Savoy, Duke of Genoa, and was later inherited by Ferdinand and Elisabeth's daughter, Queen Margherita of Italy.