Today marks the 105th Anniversary of the Death of Empress Eugénie of France, who passed away on this day in 1920! The illustrious Spanish Aristocrat who married Emperor Napoleon III and became the ill-fated last Empress of the French, today we are again featuring Empress Eugénie’s Emeralds!
Empress Eugénie’s Pearl Tiara | Empress Eugénie’s Emeralds | Diamond Bow Brooch | Andean Emerald Cross | French Crown Pearl Brooch
In 1868, Empress Eugenie commissioned a Diamond and Emerald Tiara, from the Parisian jeweller Eugène Fontenay, featuring large, rectangular-cut emeralds, which she wore for a few portraits and took with her to exile in 1871, but that seems to have been sold and instead the Emeralds in question seem to have been taken from the Crown of Emperor Napolean III given by French Government as compensation for confiscated property, as written by Spanish Royal Jewels:
But how the Empress acquired those beautiful emeralds? I’ve seen many articles on internet claiming that the emeralds were taken from a tiara that Eugenia ordered from jeweller Eugene Fontenay in 1868. That tiara had nine fleurons centered by rectangular emeralds. In my opinion, this is not a plausible theory as the emeralds are much smaller than the ones that Queen Ena received. Also, I suspect that this tiara was sold prior to the Empress death, she did this with many of her jewels in order to invert the money.
Vincent Meylan has a better theory: the emeralds came from the Crown of Emperor Napolean III given by French Government as compensation.After the fall of the Empire, the Empress initiated legal claims in order to retrieve properties, jewels, works of art that were confiscated by the Republic but were considered private property of the Emperor. She won some of this claims and the French Government had to compensate the Empress with substantial sums of money. In one of this occasions, she was set to receive 85 000 francs. The state decided to pay with jewels. She received her crown and 8 big emeralds taken from the emperor’s crown.
When Empress Eugénie passed away in 1920, she left a Fan to her goddaughter and namesake, Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain, Reportedly expecting a more grand bequest from her illustrious godmother, the Queen reportedly stored it in a drawer some time, before she once removed the fan to discover the ten large, square-cut emeralds beneath, which had been hidden to avoid taxes.
To her goddaughter, the Queen of Spain, named Victoria Eugenia after her, she left a fan-shaped case with a fan inside. Later on, Queen Ena discovered that her dear godmother had placed a “surprise” on that case. In order to avoid taxes, nine amazing square emeralds weighting 196 carats were placed underneath the fan. I’ve seen very frequently that the emeralds were a wedding gift, this is not true. The Empress gave to Victoria Eugenia a diamond tiara in the shape of two wings.
Queen Victoria Eugenie had the Emeralds from Empress Eugénie set into a Necklace by the Spanish jeweller, Sanz, which she also wore as a Bandeau for a portrait by Phillip de Lazlo around 1920.
With the nine emeralds inherited from her godmother, Queen Ena commissioned Joyeria Sanz to create a long necklace with a very geometric design.
Part of the necklace was also worn as a bandeau. The Queen placed it in between two petite diamond rivières. She was also portrayed by Osterman with this bandeau version circa 1920.
A few years later, Empress Eugénie’s Emeralds were reset into a long Diamond Sautoir from Cartier with an Andean Emerald Cross that also came from Empress Eugénie. A pair of Emerald Earrings were commissioned, as well as some emerald bracelets in addition to the eight emeralds acquired for the Cartier Diamond and Pearl Tiara.
Eventually, Empress Eugénie’s Emeralds were reset by Cartier into a two-row diamond setting, along with a brooch and a ring, which were worn by Queen Victoria Eugenie quite frequently even after her exile from Spain in 1931, often worn with the emerald version of her Cartier Diamond and Pearl Tiara, like for the Wedding Ball of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark at Buckingham Palace.
Queen Victoria Eugenie also choose to wear Empress Eugénie’s Emeralds with the the Cartier Diamond and Emerald Tiara a few years later, in 1956, for a series of portraits by Nina Leen in Switzerland.
However, in 1961, Queen Victoria Eugenie sold Empress Eugénie’s Emeralds at Auction at Stuker in Bern, reportedly to pay expenses for the Wedding of her grandson, Prince (later King) Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece the following year.
Queen Victoria Eugenie’s Cartier Emerald Necklace was bought by Cartier at the Auction, and some of the emeralds were reset into an Emerald and Diamond Bracelet that was sold to Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran and worn by Empress Farah with her Seven Emerald Tiara, alongside a massive Diamond and Emerald Necklace that has been said to also contain Empress Eugénie’s Emeralds, but had been worn since 1960, before Queen Victoria Eugenie put her Emerald up for sale.
Empress Farah notably wore the Bracelet made from Empress Eugénie’s Emeralds with her Seven Emerald Tiara and the Emerald Necklace on numerous occasions, including the Iranian State Visit to France in 1961 and the Iranian State Visit to the United States in 1962, though appearances had declined by the late-1960s and the Bracelet was not publicly pictured in the years leading up to the Iranian Revolution.
Now, it appears that Empress Farah’s Necklace and the Emerald Bracelet made from Empress Eugénie’s Emeralds were worn by the Lebanese Socialite Madame Chagoury around 2018, though its unknown how she acquired it.
Empress Farah has said that she only ever owned a Turquoise Tiara, which she left in her safe in Tehran when they fled in 1979, and even gave away her pearl necklace to her secretary, and while she has never been pictured wearing grand jewels in several decades of exile, it is possible that the Emerald Necklace and Bracelet were taken out of Iran and discreetly sold?
Queen Victoria Eugenie’s Brooch and Ring were bought separately, remounted by Swiss jeweller Meister as a pendant and a ring, and offered for sale with two unmounted emeralds at the Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels Sale in 2011, where the Emeralds sold for CHF 327,000.
Empress Eugénie’s Pearl Tiara | Empress Eugénie’s Emeralds | Diamond Bow Brooch | Andean Emerald Cross | French Crown Pearl Brooch
Empress Eugénie’s Pearl Tiara
Empress Eugénie’s Emeralds
Diamond Bow Brooch
Andean Emerald Cross
French Crown Pearl Brooch
