Today marks the Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Emma of the Netherlands, who was born on this day in 1858! Historic Diamonds of the House of Orange were used to create the striking Van Kempen Tiara and Parure for the young Queen Emma, which she used to create the magnificent Stuart Tiara and Parure two decades later!
In 1879, King Willem III of The Netherlands commissioned Dutch Jeweller Van Kempen to create a new Parure for his new wife, Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, from Heirloom House Diamonds and Pearls.
The Tiara had a laurel wreath motif topped with five large round sunbursts interspersed with four very old pear pearls from the family collection.
The laurel wreath elements and the drop shaped diamond came from an Empire style tiara made for Princess Wilhelmina by Rundell & Bridge (London) in 1801 when the family was in exile following the invasion by French Revolutionary forces in 1795. The different elements composing the tiara were set on a wire frame and were detachable.
The Diamond Necklace consisted of various shaped very old diamonds interspersed with diamond spacers. The central element of the necklace contained a large rose cut diamond in two rows of smaller diamonds from which were suspended two pear shaped pendants and an cushion cut diamond in diamond surround from which was suspended the detachable famous 17th century Holland or Stuart Diamond set in a single row of smaller diamonds.
The diamond stomacher had a leaf design with a palmette motif and contained various cut diamonds. From the stomacher three pendants were suspended the central pendant consisted of a large pear shaped diamond and on both sides there were small diamond crosses.
Queen Emma most notably wore the Van Kempen Tiara along with the Necklace and the Stomacher for a series of Official Portraits taken around 1880, soon after their creation.
Queen Emma also wore the Van Kempen Tiara and Parure for the Wedding of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany and her sister, Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, in Windsor Castle in 1882.
In the next few years, Queen Emma acquired her Sapphire Tiara, Mellerio Ruby Tiara, and Diamond Tiara, so the Van Kempen Tiara went unworn, though she did wear the Necklace in one of her first portraits as the Regent of The Netherlands.
In 1897, only the upper portion of the Van Kempen Tiara was worn by a young Queen Wilhelmina, with the necklace attached to her bodice for a series of Official Portraits.
The following year, Queen Emma commissioned Eduard Schürmann in Frankfurt to create a new Parure from the ‘House Diamonds’ for Queen Wilhelmina ahead of her Inauguration, with a magnificent Tiara that features the Stuart Diamond.
Dutch Royal Jewels | Tiara Mania
Dutch Sapphire Tiara
Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara
Dutch Mellerio Ruby Tiara
