Duchess of Sutherland’s Pearl and Ruby Necklace

Today marks the 220th Anniversary of the Birth of Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, the 2nd Duchess of Sutherland, who was born on this day in 1806! An aristocratic Courtier and Abolitionist, the Duchess was a great friend and Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria over several decades, also commissioning this spectacular Pearl and Ruby Necklace!

Pearl and Ruby Necklace | Sutherland Diamond Rivière

According to the Family, the Pearls were among a series of jewels given to the first Duchess of Sutherland, the wife of the then British Ambassador to France, by Queen Marie Antoinette when the Duchess was leaving Paris in the midst of the French Revolution.

Diamonds from the jewels given by Marie Antoinette were supposedly used to create the Sutherland Diamond Rivière, while some grey pearls were used to create this spectacular Pearl and Ruby Necklace in 1849.

“a fringe of twenty one graduated drop-shaped grey natural pearls, each suspended from an old-cut diamond collet surmount to the diamond ribbon which intertwines the ruby collar. The collar is set with twelve button-shaped grey natural pearls which are mounted in gold. The pearls, which date to circa 1780, belonged to Marie Antoinette.”

The magnificent design of the Pearl and Ruby Necklace is quite striking but not unique, with several similar pieces in quite a few Royal and Noble Collections, including the Hanoverian Royal Family and the Princely Family of Hohenlohe.

While the Pearl and Ruby Necklace was supposedly created for the Wedding of the Marquess of Stafford to Anne Hay-Mackenzie in 1849, but it was her mother-in-law, the 2nd Duchess of Sutherland, who seems to have been depicted wearing the Necklace as a Tiara for the Investiture of Emperor Napoleon III into the Order of the Garter at Windsor Castle during the French State Visit to Britain in 1855.

Anne Hay-Mackenzie was created the Countess of Cromartie in her own right and the title passed through her younger son to her granddaughter, the 3rd Countess, who also wore the Pearl and Ruby Necklace as a Tiara for the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937.

The Duchess of Sutherland’s Pearl and Ruby Necklace was given to Olga Mendoza when she wed Viscount Tarbat, the future 4th Earl of Cromartie, in 1947, who wore the Necklace for the Wedding at Tarbat House.

Next, the Pearl and Ruby Necklace was worn by Lilias, Countess of Cromartie, the third wife of the 4th Earl, who paired the Necklace with a Diamond Floral Tiara.

In 2007, the Duchess of Sutherland’s Pearl and Ruby Necklace came up for auction as the ‘property of a nobleman’ at Christie’s in London, with an estimate between £350,000 and £400,000. However, the piece failed to meet its set minimum, and it was subsequently withdrawn.

A few years later, the Pearl and Ruby Necklace was exhibited at Masterpiece, London in 2013 and was offered for sale by Wartski for 208,000 GBP. It’s current location is unknown.