Photo: Wikipedia Commons: I’d love to set this piece of history on my head! If this stunner could talk.
Today I’m featuring a beautiful tiara created for a member of the House of Bourbon who had a sad history. Marie Thèrese Charlotte of France (1778 - 1851) was the oldest and only surviving child of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antionette of France both guillotined when she was 12 years old. After France’s Reign of Terror she was isolated and held prisoner for another 5 years until her release was negotiated. She went to live in exile in Austria, her Habsburg-Lorraine mother’s native country. As France headed towards revolution, Queen Marie Antionette had sent some of her jewelry to Austria for safekeeping, and these pieces were returned to her daughter after she arrived in Vienna.
In 1799 Marie Thèrese was persuaded to enter a political marriage with her cousin, Louis Antoine, the Duke of Angouème so she became the Duchess of Angouème. The Emerald and Diamond Tiara of Marie Thèreseis sometimes called The Duchess of Angouème Emerald Tiara. It was made by jewelers Evrard and Frederic Bapst in 1819 - 1820 using stones from the French Crown Jewels. The tiara features a symmetrical scrolling design with 40 emeralds set in gold and 1,031 diamonds set in silver. Fourteen of the emeralds are large ones!For a period of time the Bourbon monarchy was restored. Louis XVI’s two younger brothers sat on the throne with Marie Thèrese returning to France, but in 1830 she was forced into exile again. She made the crazy decision to leave her tiara behind. Later it was worn by Empress Eugènie whose husband, Napoleon III, ruled (1852 - 1870) sizing power as Emperor of the French. Eventually they too, were expelled. Empress Eugènie also left the tiara in France for the state.
The Emerald and Diamond Tiara of Marie Thèrese along with other French Crown Jewels were then sold at auction in 1887 by France’s Third Republic. An unknown British buyer bought the tiara. It disappeared for awhile before being put on display as a loan in 1982 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
In exile Marie Thèrese moved to Prague with her husband’s family, then to Goriza (part of Italy today) and after her husband's death to a Baroque castle just outside of Vienna where she spent her final years quietly (attending Mass, taking walks, reading and sewing). Empress Eugènie lived for the rest of her life in Great Britain as a guest of Queen Victoria.
In 2002 the Louvre Museum purchased the tiara from its anonymous owner, returning it to France. The Angouème Emerald Tiara is now on display in Paris at the Louvre Museum. Home, Sweet Home!
We’re fortunate when royal jewels end up in a museum for us to see them up close.
I'm a history buff with half German and half English ancestry. But, Ancestry.com informs me that my DNA is not exactly 50/50. With a bit of Scandinavian (Denmark), I'm slightly more English than German, which surprises me because my Mom who was born in Germany, says she is 100% German. Her family lived in Germany without moving for 500 years or longer. So why am I not 50% German? Let's go back in time, shall we?
During the Middle Ages, the monarchs of Europe answered the Popes' calls to fight in the Crusades, and King Richard I of England, from the Plantagenet line, answered the call. At the time England also ruled across the Channel in parts of present-day France.
The following is history along with pure speculation ...
After fighting in the Third Crusade while sailing home, Richard the Lionheart and 4 attendants were shipwrecked. They tried to cross (Central Europe) the Germanies incognito to return to England only to be recognized and captured by Duke Leopold V of Austria, handed over to Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and held for ransom.
It took 15 months for Richard's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who ruled as his regent in England, to raise the money to pay for his freedom. My mother's Bavarian town was one of the places of Richard's captivity. Back in the day, when kings were held for ransom, they weren't locked up in a small jail cell but in a Castle befitting their station and allowed to roam within the perimeters of a given territory while being carefully watched by their captors. Under guard they could move around but couldn't leave the boundary. So those merry men might have fraternized with the local maidens of the town, because my mother's town has a mix of German and English ancestry. My mother's nieces and nephews with 2 German parents raised in the town also have some English DNA, as does other residents of her town. There is no record of significant English migration to Southern Germany during the centuries which would also explain the town's ancestry. Is my mother a descendent of either Richard the Lionheart or one of his 4 attendants? We shall never know.
My Mom and I back in the day.
Just for fun (as we can't take this too seriously), do you think Richard I and my Mom have the same nose? She had a cousin named Richard, a popular generational name in Southern Germany. Hmm, how did that name get into the family? A coincidence or not?:)
9. German is the most widely spoken native language in Europe and is known for its long compound words, such as Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz.
10. Germany has a rich history of innovation and is the birthplace of the printing press, invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century.
11. The country is one of the world's leading automobile manufacturers, home to brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Volkswagen.
12. Germany is home to more than 20,000 castles, reflecting its medieval history.
13. The Black Forest in southwestern Germany inspired the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.
14. Germans are known for their recycling efforts, boasting one of the highest recycling rates in the world.
15. The country is a federal republic, consisting of 16 states known as Bundesländer.
16. Germany has a strong Christmas market tradition, with Nuremberg and Dresden hosting some of the oldest and most famous markets.
17. It is a member of the Schengen Area, allowing for border free travel between many European countries.
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British people roll their eyes when Americans claim they are related to royalty. Personally I don't care one way or another. In the 21st century, I'm a proud commoner.
What makes history great fun (no pun intended:) is how we are all descendants of Charlemagne. It's ultra cool and simultaneously, nothing special, as it applies to every human with European ancestry. We also have a zillion other 16 times great-grandparents, too many to count!
Richard I of England lies next to his mother Eleanor. He requested to lie at the feet of his father Henry II at the Abbey of Fontevraud (not captured in the photo) as an act of contrition for rebelling against him. All the bodies buried in the Abbey were destroyed during the French Revolution.
Richard I of England's ancestry traces back to William the Conqueror (his great-great grandfather), who was of Norman French and Viking (Norwegian) ancestry. William's Norman dynasty that ruled England integrated into a broader European landscape, including the Germanies.
Richard I was said to be his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine's favorite son. He had at least one known illegitimate son, Philip of Cognac, who lived into his 30s before disappearing (without legitimate issue) into history.📜
I love when new artifacts or documents are found or decoded like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the body of Richard III, or the letters of Mary Queen of Scots. A history buff loves when facts emerge to unravel mysteries, as well as, to debunk them!
Marie R. Turner started her career as a school teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Breathitt County, Kentucky. She became superintendent of schools in 1931, a position she held for the next 38 years. By trying to improve the schools in an area of the country nestled in Appalachia, Marie, as well as her husband, Judge Erwin Turner, became active in local politics. Marie served 3 terms as chair of the Democratic Party. She worked with Kentucky governors, U.S. senators, and U.S. Presidents to upgrade schools and bring jobs, infrastructure, and training opportunities to rural Eastern Kentucky. Her accomplishments were extraordinary and numerous, especially considering Marie's era when women couldn't get loans or credit cards in their own names, much less hold a job with far-reaching authority.
Marie Turner (back on the right) with Kentucky Governor Albert "Happy" Chandler (left) and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (center)
Marie Turner took advantage of available federal programs (under The New Deal, The New Frontier, and The Great Society), smartly and efficiently,using federal funds to better the lives of the people whose children she wanted to attend public schools. As she explained, if you want poor children to have an education instead of dropping out of school, you address poverty and isolation. Give them a handup through education, work training, job development, and perhaps help them to get on their feet with hot school lunches and affordable healthcare. A handup is not a handout; the people of Eastern Kentucky were a proud lot, used to hard farm work, and Marie thought the school curriculum needed to meet them where they were with prospects and aspirantes of value to them. Her schools and the rural families benefited from the library system sponsored by the WPA (Work Projects Administration) where books were delivered by a team of women librarians who rode horses and mules to the hollows and mountains where families lived. "If the children couldn't get to the books, the books would get to the children." The Superintendent also visited every school in her district once a year, getting there by whatever means were necessary. Early on, some of the paths were so rugged, it took a day to reach some of the schools.
Sometimes the women of the horse pack libraries were the only members in their families earning a paycheck. Out of Marie's own frustration of being denied a credit card, she founded Citizens Bank, where a woman could get a loan or credit card.
Marie Turner and Lady Bird Johnson
From the 1930s through 1960s, Marie Turner worked with the Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations, opening a much-needed high school in Jackson, Kentucky (1938) and encouraging Senator Robert F. Kennedy to visit Eastern Kentucky (1968). When Senator Edward M. Kennedy ran for President in 1980, she sat in a wheelchair alongside him at the podium on stage in Louisville's Freehall endorsing his candidacy in Kentucky. Secret service agents flanked the stage, screening the crowd.
Notably, people with shorter careers, looser ties to Eastern Kentucky, and far, far fewer accomplishments serving the public than Superintendent Marie R. Turner have created Wikipedia pages and published memoirs about their "roots," but not her.
Over a lifetime, she worked as an educator who entered politics to make a difference in the lives of her people. Marie R's words matched her deeds. A reminder of what public service means and an inspiration to aim high for the benefit of others ... the everyday people you serve.
The last of my Macy's Black Friday gift guides will also discuss whether or not, you should buy lab-grown precious gemstones as jewelry. Regular readers of THE SAVVY SHOPPER already know my answer. Yes! Absolutely and without a doubt, if the price is right. When priced fairly (meaning not inflated) you'll get a lot for your money!
Lab-growndiamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds are as real as natural-grown diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. Lab-grown gemstones are physically, chemically, and optically the same as gemstones that form over billions of years in the earth's mental or crust.
Natural gemstones are more expensive than lab-grown gemstones and tend to fetch a higher price on the resale market primarily because they are in higher demand by the public, but as lab-grown gemstones gain more acceptance ... and now as more retailers are entering the market plus manufacturing methods are getting better and cheaper, this is changing. In fact, the greater acceptance and availability of quality lab-grown diamonds are already lowering the prices of mined diamonds produced in nature.
Under a loupe gemologists and jewelers can tell the difference between natural-grown and lab-grown gemstones, yet both are genuine, authentic, real gemstones because chemically and optically they are the same. Both mined and lab-grown stones are the same chemical elements transformed into various gemstones by enormous heat and pressure. Gemologists can also determine where on earth natural sapphires, rubies, and emeralds were formed, as there are tell-tell signs informing them of a gemstone's origins, so it makes sense they can also tell when a gemstone is lab-grown.
I sound like a broken record in saying, never think of jewelry as an investment but only as a luxury good with huge markups, things of beauty we love but do not need. Except for high jewelry (the apex of rarity and perfection of cut, carat, color, and clarity) or the estate jewelry of a celebrity, you'll rarely get what you pay for your pieces on the resale market.
The great benefit of buying lab-grown gemstones is customers can get bigger gemstones with higher color grades and few inclusions for far less money. They cost at least 1/3 less than natural stones. Short of a cartel forming, I predict prices will continue to drop.
Whether buying lab-grown or natural gemstones, we still need to ensure we're getting value for a good stone based on cut, carat, color, and clarity.
For this reason, I'm a big fan of Macy's for mid-priced jewelry that ordinary people can afford, and I'd be over the moon to have any (or all😍) of the five 14k gold large sapphires, rubies, emeralds, or diamond sparklers featured here today. OMG, I live at the right time when huge gemstones can be grown in a lab! Dear Fairy Godmother, gimme!!!!!
Final thought: Black Friday sales come and go. If you miss this one, wait for another promotion to come around. They'll run all season and several times of the year!
India's famed Koh-i-Noor (meaning "Mountain of Light") Diamond is one of the most extraordinary diamonds in the world. First mentioned in history in the 14th century, it was owned by the ruling maharajahs of India, but after bloody battles, the diamond became a spoil of war to various Sikh, Mogul, and Persian rulers.
It was given as a gift to Queen Victoria during the colonial era when the powerful British East India Tea Company annexed Punjab (then in India, today also in Pakistan) in 1849 forcing its 11-year-old ruler, Prince Sir Duleep Singh, into abdicating and surrendering his lands and prized diamond via the Treaty of Lahore. The legendary diamond was singled out as a symbol of conquest.* The British authorities also separated the boy from his mother, refusing to let him see her for 13 years. They brought him to England where he was educated, given estates, a palace, and the privileges that reflected his rank as a Prince and Maharaja, plus a yearly pension (of $3,145,248 in today's value) as long as he pledged obedience to the Crown and British government, which is the rub of colonialism. Except for 2 controlled visits to India, Maharaja Duleep Singh spent the rest of his life in exile. (His ... is a fascinating life and family. His daughter Princess Sophia Duleep Singh was a prominent Indian British suffragette who was instrumental in helping women win the right to vote in Great Britain. It's admirable how the family balanced retaining their Indian heritage with assimilating into high English society. The Maharaja longed to return to his throne and wrestled with a measure of regret in adulthood; still, he remained respectful and a close friend of Queen Victoria.)
Replica of Kohinoor Diamond before recut
The earliest recorded weight of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond is 186 carats. Cut in the style of Mughal-era diamonds, it resembled the diamonds in the modern Iranian Crown Jewels. This was disappointing to Western eyes, so Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, had it recut by a leading mineralogist, James Tennant, (removing some discovered internal flaws) into a more dazzling brilliant cut stone. The colorless D-grade diamond was cut into a cushion shape with excellent clarity. Unfortunately, it also reduced the size of the diamond from 186 carats (or 191 modern carats) down to 105.6 carats. Diamond experts all agree it enhanced the beauty of the diamond and yet, at the loss of its size and history.
Queen Victoria (and Prince Albert) were quite taken with and became lifelong friends of Maharaja Duleep Singh (and later on with hisdaughters). The British Queen showed Prince Duleep Singh his lost diamond. Reportedly the 16-year-old Maharaja grew silent with emotion while holding and twirling it for 1/4 hour in his hands ... surely recalling how it belonged to his family and was later seized from him at a tender age.
After Queen Victoria's death, the Koh-i-Noor was added to the Crown Jewels. It was mounted in the crown of Queen Alexandra, the wife of Edward VII to use during her coronation in 1902. Queen Mary (wife of George V) and Queen Elizabeth (wife of George VI) also used the Koh-i-Noor Diamond in their coronation crowns. Due to its enduring controversy, the diamond was removed from the crown for Queen Camilia's coronation in 2023.
Ever since India gained its independence in 1947, there have been cries to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond to India. Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan also claim ownership resulting from the diamond exchanging hands as a spoil of war by the victors of those countries over the years.
Photo: Baunat - how the Kohinoor compares in size to other well-known gems
I realize how hair-splittingly difficult it is to determine what is the right thing to do after centuries of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond's complex history, however IMHO, India has the strongest argument for ownership. As a Westerner, I'm biased towards wanting the diamond to stay in the Tower of London, but there's no doubt the diamond was acquired as the spoil of war under the strongarm of colonialism coupled with the coercion of a powerless 11-year-old boy ruler to sign it away. In the 21st century, an 11-year-old cannot sign legally binding contracts or treaties.
3rd daughter Sophia Duleep Singh with her mother, Bamba Muller and with her elder sisters, Catherine and Bamba
I also recognize the fear of opening a Pandora's Box by returning the Koh-i-Noor Diamond to India. Granted, not everything in history can be made right because time makes it convoluted and impossible to correct every wrong. I think we must go on a case-by-case basis. Just because righting a wrong is challenging doesn't mean it should not be attempted.
Click here for this photo credit: Duleep is seated, left of the future King Edward VII, at the time of the photo, still Prince of Wales.
Today there are no living Duleep Singh direct descendants, but India understandably still feels the sting of how the Koh-i-Noor Diamond was taken from its country. What a magnanimous diplomatic gesture it would be for the British royal family to return the diamond to India. They would likely not even miss it (having so many other jewels), and it would loudly honor India and the last owner of the diamond, Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh.
Yikes, now Pakistan will dislike me for thinking that India has the strongest suit ... as it also has a logical claim. In modern times before 1947, there was only India, a colony of the Britain Empire. In 1947 the British colony became two independent states of India and Pakistan. Punjab was divided by religion, with the western portion becoming Pakistan, and the rest of Punjab becoming part of IndiaSo it's a judgment call. Perhaps all 3 countries with the royal family could sit down at the table to decide.
So what do you think? Great Britain has it, but who should own the Koh-i-Noor Diamond? A difficult and problematic question for sure!
*The timing of the East India Tea Company was not by chance. Whenever a boy ruler comes to the throne, other powers who want control of a country's land or treasures use the country's weakness as the time to strike. The head of the mighty East Indian Tea Company, Lord Dalhousie, said he targeted the Koh-i-noor Diamond with the aim of giving it to Queen Victoria to be added to the Crown Jewels as a symbol of conquest. An elaborate ceremony occurred for the 11-year-old Maharaja to hand over the jewel as a sign of his submission to the Crown. After recutting it, Queen Victoria wore the Koh-i-Noor Diamond as a brooch. It became part of the Crown Jewels soon after her son Edward VII became King.
Duleep Singh's mother was exiled to Napal and her son was adopted and raised by British diplomat John Spencer Login and his wife whom the boy grew close to, and it was a warm, trusting relationship. They took him on tours of Europe.
The George IV Diadem is yet another beautiful crown! Not part of the Royal Jewels, it is privately owned and worn by the British royal family for official occasions. Perhaps it was a favorite diadem of Queen Elizabeth II as it is the crown she wore on a myriad of occasions including for her image on postage stamps and her York Minister statue unveiled 2 months after her death to mark her Platinum Jubilee (in 2022). BTW, a diadem is just a fancy word for a jeweled crown worn by a ruler as a symbol of wealth and power.
Historically known as the George IV Diadem, the King commissioned jewelers Rundell & Bridge to make the diadem in 1820 for his 1821 coronation. Sometimes its name gets shortened to the Diamond Diadem.
Originally the diadem's 1,333 diamonds which weigh 320 carats were only rented. Some sources claim they were later privately purchased, but for sure they were not returned to the jeweler. The frame is made of gold and silver, and the crown has a 4-carat yellow diamond in the center of one of its 4 cross pattèes (an edged or footed cross). At the bottom, it has 169 pearls forming 2 rows that enclose a 3rd row of brilliant-cut round diamonds. The crown's 4 bouquets of roses, thistles, and shamrocks represent England, Scotland, and Ireland.
After George IV's reign, the diadem was worn by Queens, starting with Queen Adelaide (the wife of William IV), Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra (wife of Edward VII), Queen Mary(wife of George V), and Queen Elizabeth II who wore it often on state occasions.
As Charles III will likely not wear the diadem, I for one will miss it. I'm guessing Queen Camilla won't wear it as much as her mother-in-law and will likely have a different favorite. Oh, well, fellow jewelry lovers you can always return here to look at it.
