Queen Louise of Prussia’s Pink Topaz Parure

Today marks the 250th Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Louise of Prussia, who was born on this day in 1776! Queen Louise’s magnificent Pink Topaz Parure passed down through seven generations of her namesake descendants, each a Queen or Princess Louise, and is currently on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London!

A magnificent Pink Topaz and Diamond Parure composed of a diadem, necklace, bracelet, brooch and pair of earrings, reflects the Empire style of the early nineteenth century and was commissioned around 1810.

The tiara is formed as a hinged circlet framed by collet-set diamonds, centred on circular-cut topazes among diamond leafy branches and topped by a graduated line of pear-shaped topazes supported by old-cut diamond scrolls.

The pendant earrings each suspend a pendeloque topaz within old-cut diamond borders from diamond ivy leaves, with circular-cut topazes at the top.

The necklace is set with ten graduated topazes of varied shapes, each bordered by old-cut diamonds and interspersed with diamond and topaz scroll motifs, with an additional pendeloque topaz drop at the centre.

The stomacher combines a large rectangular cushion-shaped topaz in an openwork diamond border with scrolls and ivy-leaf motifs, finishing in a pendeloque topaz drop.

The hinged bangle centres a cushion-shaped topaz within an old-cut diamond border flanked by scroll, ribbon and vase motifs on an openwork gold band.

Topaz was particularly prized during this period, valued for its brilliance and range of hues. The most desirable stones were sourced from Russia or Brazil and were often set in silver and gold mounts to enhance their luminosity. The refined balance between clarity and colour in this suite exemplifies the taste for restrained opulence that characterised jewellery design of the Empire era.

Queen Louise of Prussia had given away many of her jewels to fund wars against Napoleon and must have acquired this Pink Topaz and Diamond Parure not long before her passing in 1810.

Suites of matching jewels such as this were especially fashionable in Napoleonic France, where coordinated sets featuring a single coloured gemstone were considered the height of elegance.

Following the early death of Queen Louise in 1810, the Pink Topaz Parure was inherited by her daughter, Princess Louise of Prussia, who married Prince Frederick of the Netherlands. Next, the Parure went to her eldest daughter, Queen Louise of Sweden, who gave it to her only daughter, Queen Lovisa of Denmark, who had a legendary jewellery collection, which large enough that “if it was all laid out on a card table, you could not see the fabric underneath”.

Queen Lovisa gave the Pink Topaz Parure to her eldest daughter, Princess Louise , who married Prince Friedrich of Schaumburg-Lippe, and notably wore the Necklace and Brooch of the Parure for a portrait around the time of her marriage in 1896, a decade before she passed away after attempting to drown herself in a late at Ratiboritz Castle.

Queen Louise of Prussia’s Pink Topaz Parure was next inherited by her daughter, Princess Marie Louise of Schaumburg-Lippe, who married Prince Friedrich Sigismund of Prussia, and notably wore the Pink Topaz Tiara for the Wedding of her cousin, Princess Alexandrine Louise of Denmark, and Count Luitpold of Castell-Castell in 1937 ahead of the Wedding of her brother, Prince Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe, and cousin, Princess Feodora of Denmark, in Denmark.

After Princess Marie Louise’s passing in 1938, the Pink Topaz Parure was inherited by her daughter, Princess Louise of Prussia, who wore the Necklace and Brooch for a portrait probably around the time of her marriage to Hans Reinhold in 1942.

This exceptional parure was originally owned by Queen Louise of Prussia (1776–1810). It was subsequently passed down through seven successive generations of women: first to her daughter Princess Louise of the Netherlands, then to Queen Louise of Sweden, followed by Queen Louise of Denmark, then to Princess Louise of Schaumburg-Lippe, to Princess Marie Louise of Prussia, and finally to Princess Louise of Prussia. Its long descent underscores not only the splendour of Prussian royalty but also the enduring significance of the jewels within this dynastic lineage.

Following the death of Princess Louise in 2009, Queen Louise of Prussia’s Pink Topaz Parure now belongs to the famed Albion Art Institute who have frequently displayed it over the past few years. Currently, the Parure is on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London until April 2026!