Today marks the Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Olga of Greece, grandmother of the Duke of Edinburgh, in whose honour we are taking a look at her Pearl and Diamond Devant de Corsage.
Cartier Olive Wreath Tiara | Diamond Star Tiara | Pearl Brooch
Consisting of entwined ribbon and scroll motifs, set with cushion-shaped diamonds, with three large white pearls, and twelve pear shaped pearls suspended from rows of diamonds.
The Devant de Corsage was originally worn by Queen Olga of Greece, most notably for a portrait in the early 20th century. The piece seems to have been an acquisition for Queen Olga, who got many glittering jewels from her Romanov relatives for her wedding in 1867.
After her death in 1926, the Pearl and Diamond Devant de Corsage was inherited by her so, Prince George, and was worn by his wife, Princess Marie Bonaparte, an intriguing figure who was a champion of Sigmund Freud. It was worn at the wedding of her only daughter, Princess Eugenie, in Paris in 1938 and at the Wedding Ball of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Greece in 1947.
Princess Marie notably wore Queen Olga’s Pearl and Diamond Devant de Corsage for the Coronation of her niece-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, when she spent the ceremony psychoanalyzing her seatmate, the future French President François Mitterrand.
It was inherited by Princess Eugenie, and later by her younger son, Prince Carlo Alessandro della Torre e Tasso, the 3rd Duke of Castel Duino, who auctioned it at the Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels Sale in Geneva in 2010.
Cartier Olive Wreath Tiara | Diamond Star Tiara | Pearl Brooch
Magnificent brooch! You can fashion a pair of earrings from the two upright pearls on either side of the central element. Then you can detach the two strings of diamonds with their dangling pearls and fashion an excellent necklace. The top part could remain as the accompanying brooch and there you have it: a beautiful demi-parure out of one brooch. Ah, the Romanovs and their jewels!
That’s such an amazing idea! It would work very well!
I like this website very much, Its a very nice office to read and obtain information.