Origin of name
The exquisitely crafted emerald and diamond encrusted Godman Necklace, which
is part of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's personal jewelry collection, was
a gift by the two elderly Godman sisters to her majesty the Queen. The name
"Godman Necklace" reflects the name of the original owners of the necklace.
The two sisters who remained unmarried and were spinsters inherited the
necklace from their father Frederick Du Cann, a British naturalist, who
purchased the necklace whilst on a holiday in Bavaria in the 1890s.
Characteristics of the Godman Necklace
The necklace which is a delicate ornamental work in platinum, is encrusted
with diamonds and emeralds. The design used on the necklace is based on
symmetrical flower motifs, a style that was common for jewelry crafting
throughout the 19th century, a naturalistic style that used the "language of
flowers."
The thick circular band of the necklace is encrusted with diamond baguettes
interspersed with round brilliant-cut diamonds. Seven floral motifs arise
from the lower side of this band, which take the form of seven pendants. The
largest of this floral pendant is situated along the median line of the
necklace, and is encrusted with two large emeralds, a rectangular-shaped
smaller emerald at the base, and an elongated oval or drop-shaped emerald in
the center of the pendant, which is the largest emerald in the necklace.
Both emeralds are surrounded by symmetrically placed leaf and floral motifs,
encrusted with diamonds of different shapes. Three other floral pendants are
placed on either side of the median pendant, with similar pendants occupying
symmetrical positions. The length of these pendants gradually decrease
outwards from the central pendant. As a result of this arrangement the lower
ends of all the seven pendants roughly lie in a semi-circle. The three
pendants on either side of the central pendant have a single large square or
rectangular emerald, except the pendant just adjacent to the central pendant
on either side of it, which has in addition another smaller square-shaped basal
emerald. Thus altogether there are ten large emeralds on this necklace.
The Godman Emerald and Diamond Necklace
©Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
The characteristic feature of this intricately designed emerald is its
perfect symmetry, which can be checked easily, by picking out any point on
the necklace on one side of the median line and looking for its
corresponding point on the other side. It is seen easily that whatever point
is picked on one side of the necklace, there undoubtedly will be a
corresponding point on the other side.
History of the Godman Necklace
The origin of the necklace
The Godman Necklace was purchased by the British naturalist Frederick
Du Cann while on holiday in Bavaria, in the 1890s. It is not known
from where and from whom the purchase of the necklace was made. The two
Godman sisters claimed that the necklace originated from Empress Josephine
of France, the wife and Empress consort of Napoleon Bonaparte. Perhaps this
was what their father Frederick Du Cann told them. The period from around
1860 to around 1830, is known as the neo-classical era in jewelry crafting,
and the jewelry produced during this period have typical shapes and
ornamentation inspired by classical themes of ancient Greece and Rome. In
France this period corresponds to one of the most tumultuous periods in its
history, that included the French revolution and the conquests of Napoleon
Bonaparte. The Godman Necklace doesn't seem to have many characteristics of
the neo-Classical era and therefore doubts have been cast about its
provenance from the period of Napoleon Bonaparte.
The use of floral and vegetable motifs for jewelry designing became very
popular during the Baroque period, that began in the early 17th century, and
persisted into the neo-classical and modern periods. However, in the
neo-classical period the floral and vegetable motifs were combined with
classical themes of ancient Greece and Rome such as palmettes, rosettes,
vases, urns, ribbon bows, hearts, stars, the crescent moon etc. There was a
high level of symmetry in the neo-classical designs. The floral motifs and
the high level of symmetry in the design are two features that point to its
possible neo-classical origins. In the 1890s, when the necklace was
purchased, Bavaria was still a kingdom ruled by the House of Wittelsbach. In
fact, the Kingdom of Bavaria was ruled by the kings of the House of
Wittelsbach for over 700 years, from 1180 until its fall in 1918. The royal court of
Munich the center of the monarchy in Bavaria, rivaled the courts of
Paris, London and Madrid in their extravagance and display of
jewelry at court ceremonies. Thus it is quite possible that the Godman
Necklace perhaps belonged to one of the monarchs of the House of
Wittelsbach, and was designed and crafted by the artisans and craftsmen
based in Munich, which like Paris and London was a center of jewelry
designing and manufacture during this period.
The Godman Sisters present the necklace to
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Frederick Du Cann gave the emerald and diamond necklace to his two daughters
in 1965. Several years after the death of Frederick Du Cann his daughters
wrote to the Lord Chamberlain, as the chief functionary of the royal court,
that they believed they owned a piece of jewelry that once belonged to
Empress Josephine of France, the Empress Consort and first wife of Napoleon
Bonaparte. They further wrote that having a royal provenance the piece of
jewelry might be of interest to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and that if
it would please Her Majesty, they would be most willing to gift it to Her
Royal Highness.
The elderly spinsters received a response from the Lord Chamberlain,
requesting them to meet Sir Francis Watson, the surveyor for the Queen's
works of art, at an appointed time in their Bank, where the necklace was
stored in a vault. The trio met at the bank as planned and the necklace was
retrieved from the vault and handed over to Sir Francis, by the two sisters.
The necklace was taken to the Buckingham Palace and shown to Her Majesty the
Queen, who with her experience in handling and wearing exquisitely crafted
jewelry from her own collection, was apparently very much pleased with the
necklace she had just seen. The necklace was sent to the court jewelers and
other experts of antique jewelry to verify its provenance, and doubts were
expressed about its Napoleonic origin. The two sisters were informed of the
findings, and the doubts cast on its royal provenance. Nevertheless the two
sisters replied that they would like to present the necklace to the Queen if
Her Majesty would be pleased to accept it, and also would like the Queen to
wear it occasionally. The Queen was delighted to add the necklace to her
collection, and to thank the sisters for their kind gesture, the Queen
invited the two sisters to the Buckingham Palace for a private audience.
Differentiation of crown jewels from personal
jewels
The first British Monarch to differentiate the royal jewels into two
categories the crown jewels and personal jewels, was Queen Victoria. The
concept had already been introduced by Peter the Great in Russia in 1719,
when he set up the Russian Crown Treasury to house a collection of jewels,
which belonged not to the Romanov family, but to the Russian State. Peter
the Great placed all state regalia in this collection, and declared that the
state holdings were inviolate and could not be altered sold or given away,
and he also declared that each subsequent emperor or empress should leave a
certain number of pieces acquired during their reign to the State, for the
permanent glory of the Russian Empire.
Queen Victoria made it clear that some pieces belonged to the crown and were
for use by any Queen to follow her, and that some pieces were her personal
property, and hers to dispose of as she saw it fit. All British Monarchs
after Queen Victoria had followed her in her footsteps, and had recognized
the two categories of jewelry ever since. Thus the present royal jewels of
the British royal family are also divided into the Crown Jewels and the
personal jewelry collection of the Queen. The British Crown Jewels are on
display in the Jewel House of the Tower of London, while the personal
jewelry collection of the Queen is kept in a vault in the Buckingham Palace.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II's personal jewelry
collection
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has a large collection of personal jewelry
from which she picks, to adorn herself during different state and public
occasions, visits of foreign heads of state to the Buckingham Palace and
other court ceremonies. Most of the pieces in the collection have been given
to her as presents, during significant events in her life, before and after
she ascended the throne, such as her 21st birthday, her wedding in 1947 to
Philip Mountbatten and her coronation in 1953. She had also received
significant pieces as gifts during her State visits and Commonwealth tours,
and also official functions such as the launching of ships. As of April
2006, Queen Elizabeth had undertaken over 256 official overseas visits to
129 different countries, and she had launched 23 ships in her life time.
There are also many items in her collection, that she inherited from her
paternal grandmother Queen Mary, such as the Cambridge and Delhi Dunbar
Parure, a full fledged emerald and diamond suite consisting of a tiara, a
choker, a pair of earrings, a necklace, a brooch, a stomacher and a pair of
bracelets. Among her collection is also a small category of jewels which the
Queen herself had purchased or has had designed and crafted by the court
jewelers from existing stones or pieces from her collection.
One of the magnificent pieces in her collection is the "Timur Ruby" a
352.50-carat spinel, inscribed with the names of some of the Mughal Emperors
who were its previous owners. The Timur Ruby together with the Koh-i-Noor
diamond were taken into the possession of the British East India Company
after the capture of Punjab in 1849, and later dispatched by the Governor
General of India Lord Dalhousie to Queen Victoria in 1850. The Timur Ruby is
now part of a short necklace of four very large spinel rubies. The Prince
Albert Brooch, a large sapphire brooch set with 12 diamonds, given to Queen
Victoria by Prince Albert the day before their wedding is also part of her
collection. Another brooch contains two large diamonds, the Cullinan III and
IV weighing 94 and 63 carats respectively, which she sometimes jokingly
refers to as "granny's chips." Another significant brooch in her collection
is the "Flame Lily Diamond Brooch" given as a gift by the children of
Southern Rhodesia for her 21st birthday. Another brooch in the form of
a basket of flowers was a present from her parents to mark the birth of her
eldest son, Prince Charles. The "Diamond Fern Brooch" was a gift by the
women of Auckland on her visit to New Zealand during the Coronation Tour of
1953-54. During this same tour she also received a brooch of white and
yellow diamonds forming a spray of wattle or mimosa, which was presented by
the government of Australia. The "Williamson's Diamond Brooch' whose center
piece is an exceptional quality 23.6-carat pink diamond discovered in a mine
in Tanzania, and given as a wedding present to Princess Elizabeth in 1947,
by Dr. John Williamson, the owner of the mine, is also an important brooch
in the collection.
Other prominent pieces in the collection are the Queen Elizabeth's 3-carat
diamond solitaire engagement ring, designed by Prince Philip for his wife
and set with a diamond taken from a tiara belonging to Philip's mother. The
Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara, that once belonged to the Duchess of
Cambridge, and later passed down to Queen Mary, was also inherited by Queen
Elizabeth after the death of Queen Mary, her grandmother. Another piece
inherited from her grandmother is the "Rose of York" bracelet encrusted with
rubies and diamonds.
There are also pearl necklaces in her collection. A double-stranded pearl
collection which is a family heirloom, was a wedding present to the Queen
from her parents. She is frequently seen wearing this necklace on informal
evening occasions. A triple-stranded pearl necklace in the collection was a
present to the Queen from King George V, when she was young, She often wears
this necklace during the day time. Among other pieces are Queen Mary's large
ruby earrings, and a v-shaped ruby and diamond bandeau collar. The total
value of her personal jewelry is conservatively estimated at around $57
million.
The Queen's personal wealth
According to the list of super-rich royalty compiled by Forbes Magazine
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who has an estimated fortune of
£349 million is the 12th richest royal in the world.
In calculating her wealth most of her assets that are
not personal possessions, but held in trust for the nation, such as the
Buckingham Palace, the Windsor Castle, the Crown Jewels, and the
Royal Art Collection are excluded. What appears to have been included in the
estimation of her wealth are her personal jewelry collection, her personal
art collection, a large stamp collection built up by her grandfather King
George V, her annual income of around £12.5 million
from the Duchy of Lancaster, and the income generated from the Crown Estate
land, that had belonged to the royal family since 1066, that generated about
£110 million a year, out of which £40 million is paid back to the British
Government to cover the Monarchy's costs. It appears that the value of her
three large properties privately owned by her have not been included in the
estimation. These are Sandringham House, Balmoral Castle, and the Castle of
Mey. These properties have never been valued, but the Balmoral Castle alone
is reputedly worth about £160 million. The Crown Estate Lands are said to be
worth over £7.3 billion, and has not been included in the estimate.
The first in the list of Royals compiled by the Forbes
Magazine is King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the world's longest
reigning monarch. with a staggering estimated fortune of £18.79 billion.
Related :-
Norwegian Emerald Parure - Empress Josephine's Emerald Parure
Cambridge and Delhi Dunbar Parure
Emerald and Diamond Parure of Marie Louise Empress of France
External Links :-
Royal
Insight August 2003
World's Richest Royals-Forbes Magazine 2008
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References
1.The Jewels of Queen Elizabeth II- Her Personal
Collection - Leslie Field
2.Gems of the Rich and
Famous - International Colored Stone Association Website.
3.Royal
Insight Magazine - August 2003, www.royal.gov.uk
4.British Royal Family
History Frequently Asked Questions - Royal Family History -
www.britroyals.com
5.80 Facts about HRH Queen ElizabethII - British Monarchy Press Office
Publication - 10th April 2006.
