Re: Agree that royal jewelry should be distinctive and genuine Archived Message
Posted by Honor  on December 19, 2014, 2:44 pm, in reply to "Re: Agree that royal jewelry should be distinctive and genuine"
Quoting one of your seven previous posts on this thread, Nellie:
"I wish she [the Duchess of Cambridge] would not wear fake jewelry like that. She will have access to magnificent pieces of the real thing in due course. There is no need to rush into classic styles that are fakes. The strategy is quite wrong in my view."
As Arthur's single comment, and my own single contribution, were both thoughtful explorations of the perspective you offered, they seem very much to the point.
And they go directly to central subjects of this board: what are royal jewels; why are jewels worn by royal figures; why do we value them; what is their symbolism and impact, and what do their materials, design, and manner of wearing convey?
I made no mention of clothes, hairstyles or personalities.
--Previous Message--
:
: Perhaps I need to explain further.
: My interest is in the magnificent royal
: jewels that already exist and in their
: history.
: We are lucky that so many great collections
: of them still exist.
: The personalities, clothes, hair and so on
: of the wearers are not the target. Many
: other boards handle those aspects.
: This is a very special place about jewels.
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: Even though it seems a little stuffy to
: suggest an absolute rule that royal women
: should always wear genuine jewels at a
: public event or when likely to be seen and
: photographed… I do agree with Arthur's
: point. Ornamentation is part of what
: confers status and designates a special role
: embodied by the royal person. There's also
: the matter of taste. Most women look better
: in jewelry made of real rather than
: imitation materials, especially once past
: their twenties, unless the jewelry is of
: very distinctive design. The Duchess of
: Cambridge tends to wear small, very generic
: and available "designer" and/or
: very girlish jewelry and I don't think it
: flatters her or her position. Queen Maxima,
: in contrast, when not in grand historic
: jewels, has been seen in costume pieces but
: they tend to be of genuine materials (wood)
: or very strong, haute design. I like the
: approach of Mary of Denmark, who wears not
: only precious and historic jewels, but also
: hand-wrought, distinctive pieces made by
: Jensen, du Long, etc., that represent the
: best materials and craft of her country
: (-ies): silver, pearls, and the like.
: Realizing that Catherine is not yet the
: Crown Princess or Queen, I am speaking of a
: general approach that seems more fitting
: even to her current role.
:
: --Previous Message--
: 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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