Queen Mary’s Amethyst Tiara

Today marks the Anniversary of the Death of Queen Mary, who died on this day in 1953! The Teck Princess who lived through the reigns of six monarchs and was the Queen Consort for 25 years, as well as a Queen Mother and Queen Grandmother, Queen Mary assembled much of the British Royal Family’s spectacular Jewellery Collection, some of which has now been sold, which includes this Amethyst Tiara and Parure!

A splendid Parure composed of a Tiara, a Necklace and a pair of Earrings, dating from around 1815 and a Ring from the 19th century, the Parure was likely among Queen Mary’s wedding gifts in 1893. UPDATE: The Parure originated from Queen Charlotte and was bequeathed to Queen Mary by Princess Catherine of Württemberg in 1898 (as revealed by British Royal Jewels).

The Tiara and Parure were notably worn for a portraits taken in the 1890s, when she was the Duchess of York, and in the 1900s, when she was the Princess of Wales.

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Queen Mary was not pictured wearing the Tiara during King George V’s reign, but began to be pictured in the Parure in the late 1930s and the 1940s, most notably for a Gala Premiere of René Blum’s Ballet Company in 1937 and the Premiere of ‘The Passionate Friends’ in London in 1949.

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After Queen Mary’s death in 1953, the Amethyst Tiara and Parure was inherited by an unknown member of her family, possibly the Queen Mother or Princess Margaret, who were not pictured wearing it and discreetly sold it, reportedly to settle debts. The Parure belonged to the family of Rorik Ravel by the 1980s, when it was worn by his wife for their wedding in 1983. He states:

As far as I know PM inherited it directly from QM . She sold it in the early 80th when her mother was still alive.’

The Amethyst Parure came up at Auction at by Sotheby’s in Geneva in May 1993, with an estimate of $75,000-125,000. At that time, Buckingham Palace died the tabloid story that the Queen Mother was selling the Parure to settle debts. The Parure was eventually sold for £55,357 to an unknown seller.

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The Amethyst Tiara and Parure appeared on view at the London Grosvenor House Antiques Fair for sale at £150,000, and while the current owner is unknown, the necklace of the parure was worn by Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, at the Golden Age Of Couture Party at the V&A Museum in 2007, though it was likely on loan. The current location of the Amethyst Parure is unknown.