Re: Duchess of Cambridge - Earrings for Queen's Christmas Lunch Archived Message
Posted by Arthur on December 18, 2014, 8:22 am, in reply to "Re: Duchess of Cambridge - Earrings for Queen's Christmas Lunch"
It is funny, Beth1, that you mention Empress Eugénie and costume jewellery, because this has reminded me that Empress Eugénie sometimes used fake jewellery to complement her dressing. I have notably in mind a copy of the big 140-carat diamond "the Regent". This very large and beautiful diamond had been mounted on a Greek-meander tiara (which was later reset and redesigned without the "Regent"), but Eugénie also wanted to use the "Regent" on its own, for example wearing it pinned in her hair. But as it might have been a bit akward and risky to wander outside the imperial residences with one of the biggest and most valuable diamonds of the world pinned in her hair, Eugénie decided to have a copy of the "Regent" made - not out of diamond, of course, but out of zyrconium oxyd. The copy is kept by the Louvre Museum (like the real "Regent"). The copy was displayed in Brussels in 2007-2008 at the exhibition "Parures du pouvoir - Joyaux des Cours européennes" and is pictured in the catalogue of the exhibition (page 241 of the French edition). Despite this historic example, I am rather reluctant to see royal ladies wearing fake jewellery. For me, royal jewels are not just a question of glitter: these jewels also remind and embody the history and power of the royal dynasties and of their countries. These rich jewels (that very few people could afford for themselves) also remind that their wearer is not just any normal girl-next-door, but a woman who is a Head of State, or the wife/daughter/daughter-in-law/niece/cousin... of a Head of State from a prestigious century-old descent. If a royal lady goes on wearing regularly costume jewellery, I feel it as if she "steps down" unto the level of any other "normal" citizen and neglects what she would be supposed to embody. She just behaves like my neighbour or a movie actress could behave... In my view, a royal lady must not be ordinary, she must rather be "extra-ordinary", beyond common normality... I know that it might sound a bit harsh, and that some costume jewels can be very glittering and can sometimes make a very convincing illusion. I am also aware that royal families are very sensitive to the possible reactions of public opinion about their expenses (even their private expenses). But I think I would prefer royal ladies using their usual "bling" (even if the collection is not that large) rather than borrowing fake jewels from commercial brands which use the royals as a kind of living advertisements.
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