French Crown Sapphire Parure

Today marks the anniversary of the birth of Sybil, Marchioness of Cholmondeley, who was born on this day in 1894. The fascinating Rothschild and Sassoon Heiress who married into the illustrious Cholmondeley Family, becoming a prominent Society Hostess and the Chief Staff Officer of the WRNS, Lady Cholmondeley possessed an amazing collection of jewels, including the French Crown Sapphire Parure.

French Crown Sapphire Parure | Emerald Necklace | Cartier Buckle Brooch

The Tiara and the large Sapphire Parure were commissioned from the French Crown Jeweller Bapst in 1819 by Princess Marie Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême, the only surviving child of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette who was the first Lady of the French Court from 1815 to 1830 and the Queen of France for only 20 mins when she was exiled and the Parure passed to Queen Marie Amélie and then Empress Eugénie, though but was not depicted on either lady. The Parure remained in the French State Treasury after the fall of the French Empire and displayed at the 1878 Exposition Universelle and at the Musée du Louvre in 1884 before being sold at auction with the rest of the crown jewels in May 1887 by the French Third Republic.

While the Tiara and Necklace of the Crown Sapphire Parure went into the collection of the Rothschild Family, the Earrings were acquired by Prince (later Tsar) Ferdinand of Bulgaria as a wedding gift for his bride, Princess Marie Louise of Parma. The Tiara and Necklace were given as a wedding gift to Aline Caroline de Rothschild when she married Sir Edward Sassoon in 1887, and was inherited by her only daughter Sybil Sassoon, Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

In 1937, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley wore the French Crown Sapphire Parure with her Cartier Buckle Brooch on her waist for the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey, with the same combination being worn for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, at which Lord Cholmondeley was the Lord Chamberlain. The couple posed for a series of portraits by Cecil Beaton.

Since Lord Cholmondeley was the Lord Chamberlain, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley had a front row seat at the State Opening of Parliament, wearing the Cartier Buckle Brooch on her waist with the French Crown Sapphire Parure in 1958.

Lady Cholmondeley also wore the Cartier Buckle Brooch with the French Crown Sapphire Parure for the State Opening of Parliament in 1960.

At some point, the Tiara was heavily altered using Sapphires from the necklace, which was worn by the the Marchioness of Cholmondeley for a portrait.

The French Crown Sapphire Tiara was auctioned by Lady Cholmondeley in 1973, and the necklace was also auctioned separately, along with several of her other jewels, which also had a French Royal Provenance. The present owner is unknown.

French Crown Sapphire Parure | Emerald Necklace | Cartier Buckle Brooch

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Tiara Mania

The French Crown Sapphire Parure

Emerald Necklace

Cartier Buckle Brooch

3 thoughts on “French Crown Sapphire Parure

  1. Somewhere in one of these excellent sections describing the Frnech Crown jewels, it is mentioned that the daughter of Queen Marie Antoinette was also the daughter of King Louis XIV. This typo should be corrected to “King Louis XVI.

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