Today over at Hidden Gems, I shared the first article in a multi-part series travel diary about my recent jewelry-focused trip to London. The article covers my experience seeing Cartier, the new exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum. As a bonus today, I’ve got a roundup of earlier articles about several of the royal and noble tiaras featured in the exhibition. Enjoy!
A Good Dose of Cartier Glamour: My London Travel Diary (Part 1)
[Hidden Gems Exclusive]
In April, I flew to London to see a trio of new exhibitions, all stocked with royal jewelry and fashion content. Today at Hidden Gems, I’m sharing the first in a multi-part travel diary series about the trip, focusing on my experience attending the press preview of the new Cartier exhibition at the V&A.
Gilded Age Jewels: The Duchess of Manchester’s Cartier Tiara
Our story today begins with one of the very first “buccaneer” brides to take the British aristocracy by storm: Consuelo Yznaga. Consuelo’s parents were part of wealthy families from Cuba and Louisiana, and Consuelo was raised in Concordia Parish. Even so, her parents were focused on maintaining their place in high society, purchasing homes in New York and Newport and traveling to Paris. Their close friends included Alva Vanderbilt, who made Consuelo the godmother of her daughter, Consuelo Vanderbilt.
Princess Anne’s Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara
The diamond and aquamarine tiara, set in platinum, was made by Cartier. Pinecone-inspired elements are interspersed with large, emerald-cut aquamarines along the tiara, which swooped low on the sides of the wearer’s head. King George VI, Anne’s grandfather, reportedly commissioned it as a wedding anniversary present for his wife, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother).
The Duchess of Gloucester, wife of a cousin of the British monarch, has a jewelry collection that outshines those of some entire royal families. Many of her pieces came from Queen Mary via the current duke’s mother, Princess Alice. But today’s jewel, the Cartier Indian Tiara, arrived in the Gloucester collection from a different, lesser-known branch of Queen Victoria’s family tree.
Cartier’s Bains de Mer Tiara Sparkles at the V&A in London
Drooling over the preview images from the new Cartier exhibition at the V&A? Today, I’m taking you with me to look closely at one of the fascinating tiaras on display, Princess Grace’s Bains de Mer Tiara.
Gilded Age Jewels: The Countess of Essex’s Cartier Tiara
The story of this jewel begins, like so many others, with two things: a beautiful young woman and a bank full of money. Adele Grant, born in New York in 1866, was the daughter of David Beach Grant, president of Grant Locomotive Works. The money he made building locomotives helped to finance the brilliant social careers of his two daughters, Adele and Edythe. Adele was described by the press as a “celebrated beauty.”
Queen Elisabeth’s Cartier Bandeau
In some royal families, jewels can be both beautiful and contentious. Today’s tiara is a magnificent royal tiara with a rather complicated and even difficult story: the Cartier tiara owned by Queen Elisabeth of Belgium.
The Bonaparte Olive Wreath Tiara
What do you get when you combine a classic tiara design, a renowned jeweler, and one of the most fascinating princesses of the twentieth century? The answer, of course, is today’s tiara: the olive wreath diadem created by Cartier for Princess Marie Bonaparte.
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