Princess Margaret’s Cartier Rose Brooch

Today marks the Anniversary of the Death of Princess Margaret, the Queen’s only sister, who died on this day in 2002! As one of the leading members of the Royal Family for her entire life, the late Princess had a magnificent jewelry collection, which included her iconic Cartier Rose Brooch!

Princess Margaret’s Tiaras | Poltimore Tiara | Turquoise Parure | Cartier Halo Tiara | Lotus Flower Tiara | Snowdon Floral Tiara | Teck Diamond Hoop NecklaceDiamond Earrings | Ruby Girandole Earrings | Emerald Earrings | Pearl Earrings | Sapphire Earrings | Diamond Star EarringsDiamond and Pearl Riviere | Diamond Clips | Star Brooch | Cartier Rose Brooch | Ear-of-Wheat Brooch

The Cartier Diamond Rose Brooch is composed of a three dimensional pavé-set rose in full bloom to the openwork leaves and stem set with baguette, single and circular-cut diamonds, created by Cartier in London in 1938. While many have speculated if the Brooch was a gift or an acquisition for decades, the wonderful Beth revealed that the brooch was: 

presented to Princess Margaret when she launched the Maori for the Union Steamship company of New Zealand at the Vickers Armstrong Naval Yard at Walker-on-Tyne on 27 November 1952.”

Princess Margaret first wore her Cartier Diamond Rose Brooch just a few days later, to welcome the Duchess of Kent after her long Far East Tour and stay in Athens, before it was worn when leaving London for Christmas at Sandringham, and then at the Wedding of a former suitor, the Earl of Dalkeith, heir to the Dukedom of Buccleuch, in Edinburgh.

The most notable appearance of the Cartier Diamond Rose Brooch came later that year, when Princess Margaret wore it with the Cartier Halo Tiara for the Coronation of her sister, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953, as well as for the Coronation Gala at Covent Garden.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Princess Margaret wore her Cartier Diamond Rose Brooch for numerous daytime occasions through the 1950s, from events like Trooping the Colour, to the Weddings of friends and the Races at Ascot or Epsom. The Brooch was also notably worn for a series of portraits taken by Cecil Beaton to mark her 25th Birthday in 1955.

Embed from Getty Images

Rather unusually, though suitably given its size, the Cartier Diamond Rose Brooch was also frequently worn by Princess Margaret for evening occasions, usually with the Cartier Halo Tiara, Queen Mary’s Diamond Riviere and her Diamond Star Earrings, Ruby Girandole Earrings or Sapphire Earrings.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

Princess Margaret made great use of the Cartier Diamond Rose Brooch on her numerous Tours around the commonwealth, including her a Tour of the Caribbean in 1955, as well as on a Tour of Eastern Africa in 1956, when the Brooch was worn on the centre of her bodice or as a pendant for numerous occasions, almost always with the Cartier Halo Tiara.

 Embed from Getty Images

By the later 1950s, the Princess had acquired several other brooches, so appearances of the Cartier Diamond Rose Brooch to decline, though it was still worn for  Gala Performance at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre in Sweden in 1956, and at a performance with Gina Lollobrigida in 1957, paired with her Turquoise Parure. Afterwards, appearances with sparse and the Cartier Rose Brooch does not appear to have been publicly worn in the following decades. 

The Brooch remained in her possession, because after Princess Margaret’s death in 2002, while some of her jewels remained with her children; the 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto, many of then were sold at the at the famous 2006 Christie’s Auction, when the Brooch, estimated at GBP 15,000 – GBP 20,000, sold for GBP 153,600, many times over its estimate. Princess Margaret’s iconic Cartier Rose Brooch is now in the Cartier Collection and has been exhibited, most recently at a Cartier exhibition in Canberra in 2018.

Princess Margaret’s Tiaras | Poltimore Tiara | Turquoise Parure | Cartier Halo Tiara | Lotus Flower Tiara | Snowdon Floral Tiara | Teck Diamond Hoop NecklaceDiamond Earrings | Ruby Girandole Earrings | Emerald Earrings | Pearl Earrings | Sapphire Earrings | Diamond Star EarringsDiamond and Pearl Riviere | Diamond Clips | Star Brooch | Cartier Rose Brooch | Ear-of-Wheat Brooch

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HFJ

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