Re: Picture of ruby and diamond ruby necklace and earrings Archived Message
Posted by Beth on December 2, 2016, 3:05 am, in reply to "Picture of ruby and diamond ruby necklace and earrings"
Thank you Larua. I appreciate your generosity in giving me this reference. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to look at the Illustrated London News and then post the images. So far the best images of the gifts I have seen of some of the gifts are those in this photo. The item which is presently of great interest to me is the sautoir which was the gift of King George V and Queen Mary, which can be seen on the right of the photo. (Could I ask board members to enlarge the photo to see what I am talking about below, please) All the press reports state this was a joint gift from the King and Queen. All state it was a sautoir or a long necklace. Where the reports differ is in the composition of the gemstones. Some say it was composed of diamonds and rubies. Others say it was a long chain with a large pearl. The photo above suggests to me that the sautoir was made of rubies and diamonds with a pearl on the drop - most probably a black pearl. On page 139 of the 1978 edition of her book on the Queen's jewels Leslie Field noted that Princess Marina wore the "sautoir" given by the Duke of Kent to the Opening of Parliament in 1937. I don't think that the necklace given by the Duke of Kent, shown on the photo above on the left with a set of earrings, would be described as a sautoir- but perhaps I am mistaken. The only photos I have seen of the Duchess for this event show her leaving her house wrapped in a fur stole and, while her bracelets and the borrowed Greek ruby tiara (which now belongs to Queen Anne-Marie) are seen, the Duchess' necklace is hidden from view. Nevertheless, if Princess Marina wore a "long" necklace or sautoir, I would be inclined to think it might have been the wedding gift of the King and Queen. Needless to say, I don't have any proof and this is all just speculation.
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