Empress Eugénie - Jewels
On June 10th 2009 a superb antique diamond brooch came up for sale at Christie’s in London.
A floral brooch of naturalistic design with graduated hanging leaves and six pear-shaped diamond drops in between. All mounted in gold and silver circa 1860. The brooch is 12,7 cm long and follows the latest design of this period and its leaves or tassels are fully flexible hung to the leaf canopy set with old-cut diamonds.
To whom might have belong this brooch? At this point we are with the Empress Eugénie again because she was in the possession of an almost similar ornament most likely it was this one which is very much in the taste of the late Empress.
An article was published in the Morning Chronicle on January 20th 1872 and provides some information. Prior to the sale in June 1872 the empress gave her jewellery of which she decided to part to Messrs. Emanuel of New Bond Street in London who offered them to a selected clientel.
A diamond brooch is described like a kind of flower of orchid, with long pendant leaves and drops and was amongst them. The jewellery which remained unsold by Harry Emanuel was sold later in June 1872 by Messrs. Christie, Manson & Woods in London. This time the brooch appeared again as lot 108 in the catalogue and was described as a magnificent brooch forming an ensemble of leaves with six big diamond drops and pendants of many smaller diamonds.
These diamonds are attributed to Queen Marie Antoinette and her rival Madame du Barry in relation to the famous necklace which was made by Boehmer and Baszanger and started “the affair of the necklace”. If the diamonds have in fact been set to the necklace is unknown but can really have been part of it. The Empress Eugénie had a great passion for everything belonging to the period of Queen Marie Antoinette and she might got the chance to acquire some of them and had set these historical stones into this delicate stomacher brooch.
The certificated drop shaped diamonds are old stones and have been cut in the late 18th century and are diamonds of the first water, an old term for colourless diamonds of the finest white and have the following weights and qualities.
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2,70 - E - SI1
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2,68 - E - SI2
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1,31 - E - I2
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2,70 - F - SI2
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2,41 - F - SI2
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1,24 - G - SI2
The brooch was estimated for USD 220-290.000 and fetched USD 374.824 to an unknown buyer.
Source: Christie’s, Bernard Morel, Morning Chronicle of Australia
Thanks again
to Uwe Ripka for his great support and Laura for her help!
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