Duchess of Castro’s Chaumet Ruby Necklace

Happy Birthday to Princess Camilla of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duchess of Castro, who turns 55 today! An Italian Heiress married to a Head of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and a leading Socialite, today, we are featuring the Duchess’ Chaumet Ruby Necklace!

Ancona Tiara | Ruby Dragonfly Tiara | Chaumet Ruby Necklace

But first lets learn about Princess Camilla of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duchess of Castro! Born Camilla Crociani, the daughter of Italian industrialist Camillo Crociani and Edoarda Vesel, she was born in Rome and grew up in Switzerland, France and Mexico, studying at the Marymount High School in New York and at New York University. In 1998, she married Prince Charles of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro, head of the Royal House of the Bourbon-Two Sicilies and Grand Master of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. The couple have two daughters, Princess Maria Carolina, Duchess of Calabria and Palermo, and Princess Maria Chiara, Duchess of Capri, and reside between Rome, Monaco and Paris. In addition to her roles in the activities of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, the Duchess is also active in UNICEF and the Red Cross, the Olave Baden-Powell Society, AMADE, the Association “Monaco Against Autism,” Amitié sans Frontières and the Princess Grace Foundation among other charitable pursuits. The Duchess is the aunt of Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon and quite close to several European Royal Families, including the Danish, Monegasque, and Albanian Royal Families. We wish HRH a very Happy Birthday and many Happy Returns!

When Doña Carlota Maximiliana de Escandón y Barrón married the VIII Duke of Montellano in 1891, the bride received a magnificent corbeille de marriage, which included this Chaumet Ruby and Diamond Necklace among the jewels given by her maternal aunt, Dolores Barrón.

Designed with a riviere of cushion-cut rubies and diamonds, it features festoons of matching diamonds and stylized flower-head drops of rubies and diamonds. The front has two detachable pendants, each decorated with a cushion-cut ruby within a border of matching diamonds.

Measuring 700 mm in length, the riviere features four rubies and five diamonds, and the two festoon motifs have been set with paste stones instead of ruby. The front of the necklace can be separated from the back and worn individually or layered. The two detachable drops can be worn as earrings when mounted on the supplied findings. A Chaumet gift box with a screwdriver is included.

In the 1950s, one of the strands was worn as a Tiara and the other as a Necklace by the Duchess of Montellano’s granddaughter, Maía del Bocío Falcó y Fernandez de Córdoba, XII Countess of Berantevilla, for a Ball.

Several decades later, the Countess of Berantevilla wore the Chaumet Ruby and Diamond Necklace for the wedding of her brother the Marquis of Cubas and Marta Chávarri de Figueroa in 1982.

In 1999, the Chaumet Ruby and Diamond Necklace went up auction at Sotheby’s in London in December 1999, when it was acquired by the Crociani Family around the same time as the Ruby Dragonfly Tiara.

A brilliant example of the stylistic demands of turn-of-the-century jewelry design. Conceived as a rivière of stones supporting a series of diamond loops, the necklace sits between the fringe designs of the late 19th century and the delicate garland creations typical of the early 20th century.

A few months later, the Chaumet Ruby and Diamond Necklace was worn by the Duchess of Castro’s sister, Christina Crociani, for the Rose Ball in Monaco.