Countess Gladys Szechenyi's Important Diamond Garland Tiara made by Cartier.
Gift to the bridesmaids.:The bridesmaids each received a $2,
600 pearl necklace as a gift from the
bride.
The bride's maids were
Miss Ruth Vanderbilt Twombley, her
cousin, and Miss Dorothy Whitney,
daughter of William C. Whitney. The
bride was also attended by her little
niece, Miss Flora Payne Whitney,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Payne
Whitney.
Among the ushers were Count
Stefan Szechenyi and Count Paul
Esterhazy. Among the guests were
Baron Henglemuller von Hengervar,
the Austrain ambassador to the United
States and his wife and Alfred and
Reginald Vanderbilt, brothers of the
bride.
Many of the most prominent members of New York society were among
the guests, while outside the Vanderbilt residence a great crowd of the
curious public thronged the sidewalk
and street. Following the ceremony
A wedding breakfast was served, the
guests being distributed at various
tables throughout the house. All the
rooms were beautifully decorated with
palms and orchids. This afternoon
the Count and Countess Szechenyi will
go to Newport to remain for a week
at the home of Reginald Vanderbilt.
By the terms of the marriage
Count Szechenyi wiH share equally
with his wife the 112,000,000 which
The brides wedding gown was of
white satin and point lace the famous
lace that adorned her mothers wedd ng
gown her ell was nlsji of point lace
and she carried a prayerbook bound In
Bold and Ivory Her attendants wore
beautiful frocks of white lace and clif
ton and carried prays of orange blossoms.
THE WEDDING OF GLADYS VANDERBILT
NEW YORK, , January - 27. Miss
Gladys Vanderbilt, the youngest child
of the late Cornelius Vandebilt, was
married at noon today to Count Laszio
Szeehenyi. She is the first American
woman to acquire a Hungarian title.
The wedding was more elaborate and
splendid than any that has taken place
in New York in recent years. It vied
with the wedding of Consuelo Vanderbilt and the Duke of Marlborough, and
eclipsed that of Anna Gould and Count
Boni de Castellane.
Notwithstanding the magnificence of
the affair the marriage had the element of simplicity joined with stately
dignity. There was no repetition of
the disgraceful street scenes which
have been enacted at other prominent
New York weddings, notably that of
Miss May Goelet to the Duke of Roxburghe in 1903. While thousands at
one time gathered outside the huge
Vanderbilt mansion on Fifth avenue
and Fi.fty-eighth street, the police of
ficers, of whom more than 100 were on guard, had no difficulty with the
throng, which showed only a compara
tively mild Interest in the proceedings
and did not endeavor to crush forward
to points to which the public were for
bidden to go. What also served to prevent the
crush and confusion was that the num
ber of Invited guests Was quite limited.
The number was actually small con
sidering Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt's
extensive visiting list. About 300 per
sons, relatives of the contracting par
ties and intimate friends, witnessed
the ceremony.
Some of those known on the Pacific
Coast whose names are on the roll of
the guests were Mr. and Mrs. William
K. Vanderbilt Jr., Mrs. Hermann Oel
richs, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence S. Mac
kay, Mr. and Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish,
Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Oelrichs, Mr.
and Mrs. Charles B. Alexander, Miss
Harriet Alexander, Misses Mary and
Cornelia Harriman, Mr. and Mrs. Og
den Mills, Miss Beatrice Mills, Miss
Jean Reid and Ogden Mills Reid.
One of the most expensive of the
many rich gifts showered on the bride
was a jeweled ring given by Mr. and
Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt Jr.
The Hungarian uniforms of red and
gold, which were worn by the groom's
countrymen, added to the brilliancy of
the scene in the palatial house, which
was decorated with innumerable flow
ers and where countless electric bulbs
glowed among the blossoms. Beau
tiful costumes and costly Jewels were
worn by the women In the gathering.
The bright uniform of Count Szechenyi's Austrian and Hungarian friend.?
contrasted with the black frock coats
of the Americans. Many of the for
eigners wore knee breeches, and it had
been suggested that the . America ns
following the. custom of European courts, should wear a similar garb. The members of the Vanderbilt family
drew the line at that, however, and
wore conventional afternoon clothes.
Of all the guests present the foreign
ers seemed to enjoy themselves most.
They were full of life and gayety at
the wedding breakfast which imme- '
diately followed the marriage cere
mony, and quaffed uncounted bumpers
to the health of the Count and Coun
tess. One fact which was taken for-granted
was that Cornelius Vanderbilt had
been restored to his place as the head
of the family when he entered with
his sister to place her hand in Count
Szechenyi's. He hurried away after the
ceremony without waiting for the
breakfast, but that was because he had
to depart for Philadelphia to keep a
long-standing promise to attend the
wedding of a friend there.
The Presents.
Mrs. Vanderbilt's gifts to her daughter included a tiara of unusual height, composed of solitaire diamonds, and a collar of the same gems,of exquisite design, and having pendants of diamonds.
Gladys Vanderbilt’s Cartier Diamond and Amethyst Tiara
In 1908, Alice Vanderbilt, née Gwynne, commissioned Cartier to create an opulent tiara for her daughter, Gladys Moore Vanderbilt, on the occasion of her marriage to Count László Széchényi of Hungary. The jewel, emblematic of the Belle Époque, was designed as eight lily sprays, set with diamonds and interchangeable pear-shaped amethysts.
This tiara symbolized not only maternal devotion but also the Vanderbilt family’s social ambition and the transatlantic unions that defined the Gilded Age. Gladys, the youngest daughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, epitomized the last generation of American heiresses whose marriages into European aristocracy fused immense wealth with old-world prestige.
Eventually dismantled, only fragments of the jewel have survived. One such piece—a Cartier diamond brooch mounted with an old-cut pear-shaped diamond of 4.55 carats, originally part of the tiara—resurfaced and will be offered at auction in Geneva in November 2025. It remains a glittering testament to the Vanderbilt legacy, Cartier’s artistry, and the allure of Belle Époque grandeur.
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