I don't know if it is "showing off", but my favorite jewel is a French one (again!) - not because I am French, but because this jewel is just simply amazing!
It is Princess Mathilde Bonaparte's "Tudor" Rose brooch (I don't know where this "Tudor" nickname comes from, but it has very often been associated with this brooch). A really large and impressive corsage brooch, in the form of a large open rose, two rose buttons and several leaves, all in a very naturalistic design. It was made by Parisian jeweller Theodore Fester in 1855. It was sold in 1904 after Princess Mathilde's death, and was bought by the Astor family. It appeared two or three times at auction in the recent years - unfortunately, the French museums (notably the Louvre) could not / did not try to buy this brooch, so its current owner is unknown (at least to me).
I remember I saw this brooch a few years ago in an exhibition in Brussels, and I remember the tremendous effect this brooch did on me: I was litteraly mesmerized, and remained probably more than twenty minutes in front of the display window, just slightly wobbling from one feet to the other, in order to enjoy the amazing glitter of the brooch. I remember it looked as if each and every diamond of the brooch way reflecting rays of light!
On the two pictures below, you can see how large the brooch is (this lucky lady is Andrea Fiuczynski, President of Christie's Los Angeles, in September 2004):
on April 3, 2016, 7:13 am, in reply to "
