Re: QEII's earrings with large pearls and diamonds Archived Message
Posted by Arthur on September 4, 2016, 6:25 pm, in reply to "Re: QEII's earrings with large pearls and diamonds"
Thanks, Nellie and Beth, for all this input. It is very easy to make a confusion between the larger and the smaller pair of "Devonshire" earrings, since their design is so similar (a round pearl topped by a smaller diamond stud). The main differences between the two pairs of earrings are: - the size of the pearls, of course (but it is sometimes difficult to evaluate) - the diamond stud of the larger earrings is bigger, in proportion to the pearl, than the diamond stud of the smaller earrings. For the smaller earrings, the diamond studs look like they are really tiny! - when worn by Queen Elizabeth II, the upper half of the pearls of the smaller earrings are positioned against the skin of the earlobe, while the pearls of the larger earrings hang entirely under the earlobe. It might not be so clearly the case with Queen Mary (possibly depending on the higher or lower position of the piercing on their respective earlobes?). The larger earrings: The smaller earrings: Now, which of these pairs of earrings is the "Ladies of Devonshire" earrings? According to an exhibition organized by the Royal Collection in 2007, the Devonshire earrings are the larger pearls (recognizable thanks to the wider size of the diamond studs): https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/microsites/royalwedding1947/object.asp?row=7&exhibs=GIFTROYAL&grouping= Nevertheless, Beth is right to notice that the young Queen Mary did not wear the larger earrings before the 1930s, whereas she wore the smaller earrings as soon as the 1890s: Therefore, we could conclude that the Royal Collection's illustration of the Devonshire earrings is erroneous, and that the Devonshire earrings are the smaller pearls - the ones which Queen Elizabeth II wears on an almost daily basis. The website 'Artemisia's Royal Jewels' also concludes in this way: http://artemisiasroyaljewels.blogspot.fr/2013/03/british-royal-jewels-queen-marys-larger.html Could the larger earrings be the "pearl and diamond solitaires" presented by the Rotschilds to Queen Alexandra in 1888 on her silver wedding, as suggested by Beth? Hard to tell without further illustration, but we can't exclude it so far. Great detective work, anyway!
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