Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (The Jewellery Collection of Empress Crystobel)

The ousted Imperial Family of the United Empire of Scot-Britania are still the owners of what is considered the largest jewellery collection on earth. As a family, their collection can be loosely categorized into three classes, the Crown Jewels, the Imperial Foundation and the pieces in private ownership. Today we will catalogue those pieces considered to be the private property of the late Empress Crystobel that has now been inherited by her son. 

 The Queen Crystobel I Wedding Gift Diamond Parure or more accurately, the Ladies of Scotney Diamond Parure.

The confusion with the name of this set stems from the fact that this parure was indeed the young Queen Crystobel I's Wedding Gift but it is more appropriate to honour the giver than the receiver or the event. Thus seeing as all the aristocratic ladies of the Kingdom of Scotney arranged for the gift to be created and presented to the Queen, it is officially named the Ladies of Scotney Parure. 

The gift of this grand set of jewellery, made from indigenous Scotney Pearls and rare Indiana Diamonds was a grand gesture from the Scotney Nobility. The Duchess of Argyle, Countess Dysart and Baroness Ferguson headed up the committee of prominent Ladies who raised the capital for purchasing the Parure as a gift to be presented as a symbolic blessing from the women of "entire country" as it were.

Unfortunately we have no photographic documentation of Queen Crystobel I wearing the parure except for this single photo from 1983. She is seen wearing only the tiara from the set. The parure was inherited by her daughter Quenn Crystobel II of Scotney, who became Empress Crystobel of the United Empire of Scot-Britania. 

In this photo from 2011 we see Empress Crystobel wearing the full parure with the tiara. This set of historic jewellery may soon to be seen on the head of Princess Odeliah, daughter in law of the late Empress.

The Black Pearl and Ruby Parure.

 Another gift received as a wedding present is this unique and very valuable set made from black pearls, rubies and diamonds. It is widely believed to be a gift from the wealthiest industrialists at the time of the Imperial wedding but no official release has ever been made about its origin. It is a fact however that the brooch and the ruby in the center front of the tiara was a bequest from the Empress's father. In the photo above we we see the young Queen Crystobel and her Prince Charming wearing the parure on one of only three documented occasions. 

In this 2012 State Portrait we see the jewels in detail. 

The Birthday Parure.

The very lavish Birthday Diamond Tiara and Bracelet that was made in 1993 to match a 19th century De Resile Necklace and Earrings was presented to the Empress on her birthday from her direct family. The 1993 Birthday was also considered and celebrated as the foundation of the new United Empire of Scot-Britania. The Empress wore it for her first official Birthday Party as Empress that year. In 2011, the Empress' family also added a brooch to the parure which she has worn a couple of times since. 

The Queen Mary of Scotney Sapphires

This sapphire set belonged to Empress Crystobel's great grandmother who was the sister of the Ruskian Tzar. The set or rather parure was brought from Ruskiana as a dowry and has remained with the Scotney ruling line until it joined with Britania as an Empire. The sapphires of a massive size and quality and the design of the parure is distinctly Ruskian in its halo-like effect. As such it is, like most authentic surviving Ruskian Imperial jewellery, a testament of the grandeur of the old Ruskian Court.  

The official portrait painted as a memorial after the death of  Empress Crystobel sees her wearing the sapphire parure. 

The Nizam Ruby Demi-Parure.

 The rubies in this set are absolutely massive and are said to have their origin in the ancient Kingdom of Hindia in the far east. They ended up in the collection of the Kings of Britannia through colonial tribute and were saved from the 1996 revolution when the Empress happened to send a big portion of the jewels off to Americania for repairs and valuations mere weeks before the tragedy struck.

Here the Empress is seen wearing the full demi-parure in 2010. 

The Dowry Ruby Collection (of which not all parts are displayed in the above photo). 

 This particular ruby collection is a conglomerate of many pieces from the Kingdom of Scotney. Empress Crystobel was given the bulk of the historic jewellery on her 21st birthday in advance of a future marriage. Later additions of modern jewellery pieces were added by her father and even a brooch was added by her husband on their fifth wedding anniversary. The jewellery is the private property of the Empress but the expectancy is that most if not all will end up in the Imperial Family Foundation upon her death. For the record, The Dowry set used to contain, 1 Tiara, 1 Bracelet, 1 Brooch, 2 sets of Earrings and 3 Necklaces. Sadly the Tiara, choker and a pair of earrings were sold of after her death. 

Here Empress Crystobel is seen wearing the tiara, one of the necklaces and the bracelet.

The latest edition is this necklace set with laser cut rubies. It is displayed with the bracelet of a far older design.

In this photo the Empress wears the Crown Ruby Tiara, not ever owned by her in her own right but famous for mixing her vast jewellery collection around she pairs it with the laser cut ruby necklace, the dross earrings and her brooch.

For an official Portrait in 2011 Empress Crystobel chose to wear her Edwardian Amethyst and Black Pearl Parure. The amethysts are of extremely high quality as can be seen in their rich purple colour. The parure dates from the 19th century and was reportedly the property of the same Queen Mary who owned the famous Ruskian sapphires. 

Here we see the above mentioned portrait and the amethysts worn. 

South Africanian Pink Diamond Set. 

This very recent piece was commissioned by the Empress from the Global Jewellery Academy two years ago in order for them to apply huge the vast profit from the order to help establish the jewellery school. The Duke of Swann has recently become the new patron for the charitable jewellery school for the deaf. The set incorporates, indigenous Africanian pink diamonds and pure gold drops. 

The auction following the passing of Empress Crystobel in 2013 saw four sets of jewels leave the collection to raise liquid cash against the estate taxes of the Empress. 

At left we see the parts of the Dowry Rubies. In the center the famous Lesser D'Pont Du Lac Emeralds were sold back to their original owner. At the far right some of the Empress's diamonds. 

A set of antique quality cameos, completely unknown to the public, also belonged to the voracious collector Empress. This was also sold at the auction.

For the full scoop on the auction follow the link below.
http://daniel-s-world.blogspot.com/2013/08/tiaras-and-trinkets-on-tuesday-empress.html

An unbelievable collection truly worthy of an Empress has now been passed to the next generation.