Princess Margaret's
collection of jewelry, an extraordinarily rich and varied collection
Princess Margaret's collection of jewelry and
Faberge, consisting of around 200 pieces, was an extraordinarily rich
and varied collection, that included a variety of styles and designs,
belonging to the Georgian, Victorian, Belle Époque, Art Deco, Retro and
Contemporary periods, and incorporating a variety of precious stones,
such as diamonds, pearls, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, and
semi-precious stones, like garnets, amethysts, aquamarines, zircon etc.
The collection spans every stage of her life, from infanthood, to
childhood, adolescence, young adult, middle age and finally old age,
ending with a piece, a ruby and diamond ring, created just a few
years before her death in 2002, with her own personal input into its
designing. The collection includes pieces which she inherited as a
member of the British royal family, and sister of the reigning Monarch,
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It also included several pieces which
she received as gifts, from her close relatives, such as her
grandmother, Queen Mary, her mother, Queen Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and her
father, King George VI. Most of the pieces were acquired by the Princess
herself in the 1960s and 1970s, and were unique creations from the
workshops of famous British "craftsmen jewelers" such as Andrew
Grima and John Donald. Most of these creations involved her own personal
input, and reflects not only her love of natural history and
horticulture, but also her love of the Arts in general, being a
dedicated patron of the arts, music and ballet, and a gifted pianist,
singer and mimic. Some of the naturalistic themes incorporated in her
jewelry are plant motifs, such as fern leaf, cedar leaf, maple leaf, lichen etc and
animal motifs such as the bee, butterfly, dog, frog etc.
Natural and cultured
pearl jewelry constitute a significant part of the collection
Among her jewelry collection there are at least 25
pieces incorporating pearls, both natural and cultured. The most
important and historically significant piece in the pearl jewelry
collection is the five-row Art Deco pearl and diamond necklace, a gift
from her grandmother Queen Mary, on the occasion of her 18th birthday in
1948, which subsequently became closely associated with the princess,
and had been pictured wearing them in many famous portraits, including
her sittings for Baron and Cecil Beaton, for her 19th, 20th and 21st
birthdays. Please click here for a separate webpage dedicated to the
Princess Margaret's
Five Row Art Deco Pearl and Diamond Necklace.
Cultured pearl
jewelry in the collection
Out of the 25 pieces containing pearls, at least 15
pieces are mounted with cultured pearls. Given below is a list of the 15
pieces of jewelry incorporated with cultured pearls. The first two items
in this list, Lots 1 and 15, are considered in detail on this webpage.
Other items are considered in groups in other webpages.
1) A Ruby, Cultured Pearl and Diamond Neckace - Lot 1
2) A Pair of Cultured Pearl and Diamond Earclips by
Birks - Lot 15
3) A Cultured Pearl Jabot Pin - Lot 16
4) A Coral and Cultured Pearl Bracelet - Lot 18
5) A Pair of Cultured Pearl and Diamond Earclips by
John Donald - Lot 47
6) A Cultured Pearl and Diamond Ring by John Donald -
Lot 49
7) A South Sea Cultured Pearl Necklace - Lot 58
8) A Grey Cultured Pearl Bermuda Cedar Brooch - Lot
60
9) A Cultured Pearl Fern Brooch - Lot 61
10) A Cultured Pearl Fern Brooch - Lot 62
11) A Cultured Pearl Pin Brooch -Lot 65
12) A Pair of Cultured Pearl, Turquoise and Diamond
Earclips - Lot 106
13) A Cultured and Turquoise Cluster Ring - Lot 109
14) An Art Deco Cultured Pearl and Diamond Bracelet -
Lot 117
15) A Cultured Pearl and Diamond Spray - Lot 160
1) A Ruby, Cultured
Pearl and Diamond Necklace - Lot 1
Characteristics of
the necklace
The Ruby, Cultured Pearl and Diamond Necklace, which
was Lot No.1 at the auctions, and set the tone for the entire auction
that followed, was a piece of jewelry with sentimental value, as it was
worn by the princess as an infant on her second birthday. The necklace
designed approximately in the year 1930, is 43.8 cm long, and consists
of a row of graduated cultured pearls, with ruby bead spacers. Ruby
beads alternate with the pearls throughout the length of the necklace,
except at the two ends, where beads are placed after every pair of
pearl, up to the extent of seven pairs. Altogether, there are 31 single
pearls and 14 pairs of pearls, giving a total of 31 + 28 = 59 pearls.
The total number ruby spacers are 44. The diamond plaque clasp at the
ends, have several tiny single-cut diamonds mounted on it.
A Ruby, Cultured Pearl and Diamond Necklace
©
Christie's
Characteristics of
the pearls in the necklace
The cultured pearls in this necklace are undoubtedly
Akoya pearls from Japan, as the culturing of pearls around the time the
necklace was designed in 1930, was only perfected by Mikimoto in Japan. The
uniform white color and spherical shape of the pearls, and the smaller size
of the pearls, all conform to the properties of cultured Akoya pearls
produced by the Japanese. Akoya pearls are generally white or cream
colored, with overtone colors of silver, rose or cream. The pearls in
this necklace are white and appear to have a silver overtone. Akoya
cultured pearls are consistently round or near-round pearls, and are
ideal for matching to be used in necklaces and bracelets. The pearls in
this necklace appear to be mostly spherical and near-spherical in shape.
The Akoya oyster, Pinctada fucata martensii, is the smallest pearl
producing oyster used in pearl culture, and the pearls produced by them
also tend to be small, varying in size from around 2 to 11 mm. The size
of the pearls in this necklace appear to be somewhat larger in the
center, and smaller towards the two ends. Their size appear to be just
above the size of seed pearls, and cannot be more than 2-3 mm in size.
The necklace was
around 76 years old at the time of the auction, and the cultured pearls
in it appears to have maintained their luster and orient.
At the time of the Christie's auctions held in 2006,
this necklace was around 76 years old, and despite its age, appeared to
retain the color, overtones, orient and luster, all features dependant
on the thickness of the nacre on these cultured pearls. Most Akoya
cultured pearls have a nacre thickness of less than 0.5 mm. It is not
known how long the luster, orient, color and overtones can last in an
Akoya pearl with only a nacre thickness of less than 0.5 mm. In this
necklace of course such characteristics appear to have lasted for the
last 76 years, but it is not known for how many years longer, the pearls
would be able to maintain these characteristics, given the low thickness
of the nacre. For natural pearls of course it is on record that the
luster and brilliance of some pearls have lasted for hundreds of years,
eg. La Peregrina (497 years), Mancini Pearls (over 400 years),
Arco-valley pearl (over 1,000 years), Barbara Hutton/Marie Antoinette
Pearl Necklace (over 400 years), Baroda Pearl Necklace (over 150 years),
Emperor Akbar's Baroque Pearl (436 years, according to the date of
origin inscribed on the bell cap of pearl), The Gogibus Pearl (390
years), La Regente Pearl (199 years).
Ruby, Cultured Pearl
and Diamond Necklace sets the tone for the unprecedented demand for
jewelry items in the collection achieving a price 18 times higher than
the upper pre-sale estimate
The Ruby, Cultured Pearl and Diamond Necklace was Lot
No.1, at the Christie's London Sale of Princess Margaret's historic
jewelry collection, held on June 13th, 2006. A pre-sale estimate of
£1,200 to £1,500 was placed on the necklace. The
bidding started at £500, but within 30 seconds rose to £6,000, and
at the time the hammer was brought down in favor of an anonymous bidder,
had reached unprecedented £27,600, 18 times higher than the upper
pre-sale estimate, setting the tone of the auction for all the items
that followed. The demand varied from 1½ times the upper pre-sale
estimate, as in the case of the Enameled Silver Faberge Clock, which
sold for £1,240,000, 1½ times the upper estimate of £800,000, becoming
the top selling lot, to over 100 times, as in the case of the simple
cultured pearl jabot pin, which sold for £6,000, 100 times higher than
the pre-sale estimate of £60. Thus lower priced items showed a
higher multifold increase in prices, than highly priced items, which
showed a lower multifold increase in prices. This is obvious, because
the number of bidders for lower priced items, who can afford to stake a
claim, are higher than for highly priced items. The total amount
realized at the auction was £9,597,680 which was three times higher than
the pre-sale estimate of £2-3 million.
2) A Pair of Cultured Pearl And Diamond Earclips, By
Birks - Lot 15
Characteristics of
the earclips and the pearls mounted on it
The Pair of Cultured Pearl and Diamond Earclips by
Birks, Canada, which was Lot No, 15 at the auctions, was an often worn,
well treasured pair of earrings, which H.R.H. Princess Margaret acquired
before the 1960s, during her first official visit to Canada, an
extensive tour that lasted nearly a month. The earclips designed by
expert craftsmen of Henry Birks & Sons, consist of a single cultured
spherical pearl, surmounting a trefoil of brilliant-cut diamonds,
probably set in platinum or white gold. The weight of the pearls and
diamonds are not known. The cultured pearl in each of the earclips,
perfectly match one another, in terms of shape, size, color, overtones,
orient and luster. The pearls are perfectly spherical in shape.
The size of the pearls are not known, but appear to be around 8-10 mm in
diameter. The color of the pearls are white, with probably a pinkish
overtone. The orient and luster are in keeping with that of cultured
saltwater pearls. The three diamonds in the trefoil are modern round
brilliant-cut diamonds.
A Pair of Cultured Pearls and Diamond Earclips by Birks
©
Christie's
The probable source
of the cultured pearls on the earclips
Given the size, color and overtones of the pearls,
the probable origin of the pearls can be either the Akoya pearl oyster,
Pinctada fucata martensii or the South Sea pearl oyster, Pinctada
maxima, and the source of the pearls could be either Japan or Australia.
The Japanese cultured pearl industry was well established, beginning
from the 1920s and 1930s. The cultured pearl industry in Australia, in
the 1950s and 1960s, was still at an experimental stage, and was firmly
established only in the 1970s, after painstaking research work
undertaken by Nicholas Paspaley and his team of scientists. Thus, in all
probability the cultured pearl in the pair of earclips are Akoya pearls
that originated in Japan.
Henry Birk's & Sons,
the premier jewelry retailer in Canada
The Pair of Cultured Pearl and Diamond Earclips was
designed by Henry Birks & Sons of Canada, the premier jewelry retailer
in the country, founded by Henry Birks in 1879, when he opened his first
jewelry store with a modest investment of 3,000 Canadian dollars, on
Saint Jacques Street, in the heart of Montreal's commercial and
financial district. The business prospered and by the turn of the
century, the company's activities expanded rapidly, and a chain of
jewelry stores were opened in all the major cities of Canada, becoming
the country's main jewelry retailer. Since the founding of the company
in 1879, several generations of the Birks family had been involved in
the business. In 1993, Regaluxe Investment acquired Henry Birks & Sons.
In 2002, Birk's acquire a controlling interest in Mayors Jewelry Inc.,
based in southeastern United States, that led to a merger in 2005 to
form Birk's & Mayors Inc.
The sale of the Pair
of Cultured Pearl and Diamond Earclips
The Pair of Cultured Pearl and Diamond Earclips, was
Lot No. 15 at the historic Christie's London Sale, of H.R.H. Princess
Margaret's Jewelry and Faberge Collection, held on June 13, 2006. The
pre-sale estimate placed on the pair of earclips was only
£500 to £700 (US$ 920 to $1,288). However, in
keeping with the trend set by Lot No.1, which sold for 100 times the
pre-sale estimate, and subsequent lots, Lot No. 15 registered a selling
price of £26,400 ($48,576), which was 38 times the upper pre-sale
estimate.
Other
pieces of jewelry Princess Margaret came to own during her 1958 official
tour of Canada
Apart from the Pair of Cultured Pearl and Diamond
Earclips, which the Princess acquired during her 1958 extensive official
tour of Canada, the Princess also came to own two other pieces of
jewelry, that were given to her as gifts, during her visit. During this
one-month long visit, she attended the Centenary Celebrations of the
province of British Columbia, and also took the opportunity to visit the
famous Pioneer Gold Mines, situated in the province. Pioneer Gold Mine,
with a history dating back to the 1850s gold rush along the Fraser
River, is the most important mine in the lucrative Bridge River Mining
District. During a production period that extended from the 1930s to
1971, the mine produced a total of 4 million ounces of gold, which was
more than the production of any other mine in British Columbia. In honor
of her visit to the mines, the Princess was presented with a rectangular
shaped gold paperweight, having dimensions of 4.9 x 2.5 x 1.2 cm. and
weight of 8.6 ounces, bearing the following inscription :-"From Pioneer
Gold Mines of British Columbia July 25th, 1958."
Gold Paperweight
©
Christie's
The commemorative gold paperweight was Lot No. 25, at
the Christie's London auctions held on June 13, 2006, and sold for
£9,000 ($16,560), whereas the pre-sale estimate
placed on it was £1,500 to £2,000. This represents a 4½ fold increase on
the upper pre-sale estimate.
Apart from British Columbia,
H.R.H. Princess Margaret also visited Toronto, Montreal and
Quebec. While at Toronto she visited the Township of Etobicoke, where
she opened the Princess Margaret Junior School. She also opened the
Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. During her visit to the Township
of Etobicoke, she was presented with a Maple Leaf Brooch set with a
single brilliant-cut diamond, also designed by Birks, Canada. The
inscription, "In appreciation of your visit to the Township of Etobicoke
July 1958" appears on the reverse of the Maple Leaf Brooch. Princess
Margaret's 'M' monogram surmounted by a coronet, appears above this
inscription.
Diamond-set Maple Leaf Brooch
©
Christie's
The Maple Leaf Brooch was Lot
No.64, at the Christies London auctions, held on June 13, 2006. A
pre-sale estimate of £600 to £800 was placed on the brooch, but
was sold at the enhanced price of £14,400
($26,496), which was 18 times higher than the upper estimate.
You are welcome to discuss this
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world in our
FORUMS (forums.internetstones.com)
Related :-
1)
Princess Margaret's Five-Row Art Deco Pearl And
Diamond Necklace
2)
Birks Black Tahitian Double Row Pearl Necklace
External Links :-
Christies
References :-
1)
Property from the Collection of Her Royal Highness, The Princess
Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. - Helen Molesworth. Press release by
Christie's. www.christies.com
2) Princess' gems, tiara for auction - Friday, June 9, 2006. CNN
International.com - www,edition.cnn.com
3) Princess' jewelry at Wilton - www.bbc.co.uk
4) Princess Margaret's jewellery sells for a hundred times its value -
Paul Harris - www.dailymail.co.uk
5)
Christie's sale 7335. Sale Catalogue, Lot No.1 - A Ruby, Cultured Pearl
and Diamond Necklace.
www.christies.com/lotfinder
6)
Christie's sale 7335. Sale Catalogue, Lot No.15 - A Pair of Cultured
Pearl and Diamond Ear Clips, by Birks.
www.christie's.com/lotfinder
7)
Christie's sale 7335. Sale Catalogue, Lot No.64 - A Diamond-Set Maple
Leaf Brooch, by Birks
8)
Christie's sale 7335. Sale Catalogue, Lot No.25 - A Gold Paperweight
9)
Akoya Pearls - www.pearl-guide.com
10)
Paspaley Drop-shaped Pearls - www.internetstones.com
