Emperor Christian Victor I

Emperor Christian Victor I

Monday 20 August 2012

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Amethysts)


Amethysts are in essence the purple version of natural quartz crystal. It is a fairly common gemstone but gains value due to rarity of large size and intense purple colour. The lighter shades of purple, albeit less costly may still be cherished in jewellery for particular shades of subtle violet. Let's take a look at some of the Royal jewellery that includes this beautiful gemstone. 

The Lady Karen Amethyst Parure was made for Lady Karen in the early 1980's when she married into the very wealthy Van der Bilt family. The amethysts are very stylishly combined at a great cost with exceptionally high quality pink diamonds. Lady Karen left the amethyst parure to her daughter who has now become Queen Gloria I of Normandia.

Queen Gloria wearing her mother's now famous amethysts and pink diamonds earlier this year to the "Heads of the Royal Houses Meeting".

The Londonderry Amethyst Parure is of a Ruskian origin and due to the quality and size of the Ruskian amethysts is considered to be the most expensive set of amethyst jewellery in the world. The rumours abound as to how the ancestress of the current Marchioness managed to procure such a lavish gift from the already married Ruskian Tsar in the late 1800's. Regardless of the stories however, the very real jewels are still a part of the family's collection and history.

For an official Portrait in 2011 Empress Crystobel chose to wear her Edwardian Amethyst and Black Pearl Parure. This set is part of the vast collection of the Imperial Family's private jewels that survived the 1996 revolution due to Empress Crystobel's tenacious ingenuity. The amethysts are of extremely high quality as can be seen in their rich purple colour.

The Serbieski collection includes an amethyst tiara and necklace of very modern manufacture. The jewellery appeared for the first time in public in 2011 at the official Royal Portrait gathering but has since been worn several times in public. It is rumoured that it is a new set that the Grand Duke had made for his wife, anticipating a Royal restoration. The Grand Duchess is seen here wearing the set last week to the engagement of the Duchess of Roswind to Prince Valmont D'Pont Du Lac.

The Youssopoff Collection as previously posted includes two amethyst parures. This one is a part of Princess Kirten's Hanoverian dowry and contains a lighter shade of violet amethysts but that are of a large size.

The second amethyst parure in the Youssopoff historical collection is of a distinct 1920's design and has been in the family for as long.

Yet another notable set of amethyst jewellery is part of the Cartwright collection. This Tiara and Necklace have been known to be in the possession of the Earls Cartwright since before the 1996 revolution and is considered to be a Royal heirloom that came to the family when Princess  Caroline of Britania married the 7th Earl. The amethysts are also known to have been re-cut and the tiara slightly modified.

Our final set belongs to Princess Augusta of  the United Empire of Scot-Britania. She received it as a gift on her eighteenth birthday from her father the last King of the independent Kingdom of Britania. This full parure of amethysts actually has two separate necklaces to choose from. Being of an extremely no nonsense character in her twenties she wore only this tiara for many years and only after her brother married Queen Crytobel II of Scotney did she branch out into a second tiara made of rubies. Today however, Princess Augusta owns and wears one of the most spectacular collections of jewellery in the world and trades in antique jewellery on the international market.

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