Prestigegems.org

Hope Diamond

Important gems of this rank, now in private hands or held by gem merchants, tend to stay in circulation, sometimes with long periods of inactivity, until eventually they come to rest in a permanent museum collection. The odyssey of the Idol’s Eye is typical. It was discovered in the Golconda diamond-mining area of India early in the seventeenth century, a diamond of excellent color and purity weighing 70.2 carats. Seized by the East India Company for a debt payment in 1607, it dropped from sight for almost exactly three hundred years. At that time it was known to be in a temple at Benghazi, Turkey. Stolen and later pawned in Paris, it was sold into private ownership in Spain. Still later it was acquired by a gem dealer in Europe from whom it was eventually purchased by Harry Winston of New York. (Mr. Winston has been quite accustomed to buying and selling important gems. Many of the largest and best stones in the world have passed through his salon. In 1958 he donated one of these, the 44i/2-carat, deep-steel-blue Hope Diamond, to the Smithsonian Institution.) After acquiring the Idol’s Eye he sold it in 1947 to Mrs. Stanton of Denver.

In 1962 it went on auction at the prestigious Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York, where the high bidder was Mr. Harry Levinson, a well-known Chicago jeweler. The gem has been in motion now for almost four hundred years. There is only a slim possibility that it will come to rest in some great state crown since there are so few crowns needed. More than likely it will be transferred from hand to hand among the new nobility of wealth or, like the Hope Diamond, enjoy permanent public exposure in a museum.

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Schatzkammer Exhibit

Spanning the years between Empress Cunegunde’s Crown and those just described, the Schatzkammer exhibit contains a welter of crowns, diadems, and tiaras of every sort and description, dripping with gems set in precious metals, tracing the royal successions of a long line of related kings and queens. Since the crowns were so carefully preserved it is reasonable to suspect other treasures were also. There they are, including scepters, orbs, jeweled insignia of the Orders of St. Hubert and St. George and of the Golden Fleece, brooches, hat ornaments, necklaces, chains, bracelets, crosses, jeweled statues of St. George, portable altars, and even the jeweled and decorated private prayer book of King Charles, who reigned in A.D. 870. Thanks primarily to the original action of Duke Albrecht V, it is all there for us to see and admire.

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Queen’s Crown

The Queen’s Crown was not made until 1731 and is generally of the same shape as the King’s without the large gems set in. Displayed with Her Majesty’s Crown is a collection of jewelry set in diamonds, emeralds, and pearls, which is still available for the use of the current Queen. The King may also use the jeweled stars and gold chains of the Orders of the Elephant and the Dannebrog. The gold objects traditionally used for the baptism of royal offspring are also pressed into service when needed. Actually, any of the Rosenborg collection should be available to the present royal family, since it remained their property even with the end of the absolute monarchy.

There they sit and one can almost picture the moment when the crowns will be lifted from their cases, carried up the great spiral staircase to the enormous Knight’s Hall, past the three large silver lions to the ancient ivory throne to be placed on the heads of the new sovereigns. The collection of symbols of royalty in Denmark, even after the changes in government, suffered relatively few losses. By contrast, the collection accumulated to the south by the royal Hapsburgs has suffered grievous losses. And yet there is still such a treasure of the remnants to be seen in Vienna that, obviously, at its peak it must have been an overwhelming sight. The jewels and regalia of the House of Hapsburg were accumulated in part through historic accident and fortuitous marriages which brought the family various dignities and thrones. Responsible in part, too, was the strong urge of some members of the family to accumulate objects of art and craft for their collections.

Archduke Ferdinand, regent of the Tyrol, who produced an illustrated catalog of his collection in 1602, was first of the great Hapsburg collectors. He acquired a large collection of historic arms and armor, an enormous collection of painted portraits, and many objects of the decorative arts, including works of Cellini. Ferdinand’s nephew, Emperor Rudolph II, built a huge collection in Prague of paintings, sculptures, decorative objects in precious metals and gems, animals, plants, minerals, and quantities of other objects best referred to as curiosities. Part of his collection went to Vienna, but most of it was dispersed during the sacking of Prague by the Swedes in 1648.

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Schatzkammer Treasure

In the Schatzkammer (treasure room) of the Alte Burg the treasure is divided into two sections, secular and ecclesiastical. Under Joseph II, son of Maria Theresa, the church and crown treasures had been jointly placed under the care of the castle chaplain. They are still together although in separate rooms of the treasure chamber. The major crowns are in the secular section. Most impressive of these is the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. Often called Charlemagne’s Crown, it is much more likely to be the crown made for the coronation of Otto the Great in Rome in 962. The single arch of the crown, symbolic of the ridge of a warrior’s helmet, was replaced during the time of Emperor Konrad (1024-1039). Also, the cross dominating the front dates from as much as seventy years after Otto. There are no gems of great renown set in the gold plates of this octagonal crown. However, it is completely encrusted with gemstones and pearls, and with its four quaint plaques of enameled religious figures it is impressive in its antiquity and symbolism. Of course, the Austrian Imperial Crown, Orb, and Scepter are prime features of the display. The Crown, shaped like a modified bishop’s mitre, has the traditional single arch running through the cleft. Richly decorated in gold relief scenes of the coronations of Emperor Rudolph II, Holy Roman Emperor and Emperor of Austria, it is also liberally trimmed with diamonds, rubies, and pearls. One very large sapphire tops the Crown, as is also true of

the Scepter and Orb. Interestingly enough, the shaft of the Scepter is made of a two-foot-long section of narwhal horn. Chalices, crosses, swords, crowns, vestments, reliquaries, chains, ornaments—all heavily jeweled and worked in gold—make a dazzling show of the pomp and circumstance which has vanished from castle and country. The one memorable gemstone, the Florentine Diamond, did not survive its flight into exile. It was later reported stolen and its present whereabouts are unknown, although it is rumored to have been recut to unrecognizable size and form for resale.

Somehow one expects to find dazzling collections of treasures associated only with the royal houses of the former great imperial powers. And yet one of the largest, most exquisite, and most impressive collections belongs to a kingdom which no longer exists but is only a part of modern Germany. The domain may be gone but the Schatzkammer of the Kingdom of Bavaria still exists. Its treasures have survived and are displayed almost in their entirety in Munich. Crowns in this collection date back as far as the year A.D. 1000 and other objects are even older. The collection was not really organized until 1565. At that time Duke Al-brecht V of Bavaria ordered that the treasures accumulated by his family, the House of Wit-telsbach, would henceforth be established as a permanent treasure to be kept in the new palace in Munich. There they sat until the Second World War when the collection was removed to safer storage. This was fortunate, because the palace subsequently suffered severe bomb destruction. By 1958, however, the palace had been rebuilt in faithful reproduction of the original and the treasure was placed on public display once more.

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Jubilee Diamond

There are extremely important gems, too, that are fit for a king but remain in private hands. Foremost among them is the Jubilee Diamond. It was a large, flattened piece when found in 1895, at the Jagersfontein Mine, in South Africa. In 1897, the year of Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee, the rough stone was cut to a 245I/s-carat, cushion-shaped brilliant of superb color, brilliance, and clarity.

It is a truly remarkable diamond that also ranks as the third largest in the world. Soon after its exhibition in Paris in 1900 it was sold to Dorab Tata, an iron and steel tycoon of India. He had it until his death. In 1939 it was sold from his estate to Paul-Louis Weiller, a wealthy European patron of the arts. With his permission the great gem appeared in 1960 at the Smithsonian Institution for only the second exposure to public gaze in its history.

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Old Royal Collection

No other state collection of gems and jewelry pretends to contain the enormously valuable objects found in the “big three.” Judging by historic, aesthetic, and artistic standards, however, there are state treasures just as important—so many in fact that several volumes of description would be needed to do them justice. Vienna, Copenhagen, Munich, Dresden, and many other European cities, large and small, have exciting treasure vaults. Almost every city or cathedral has some sort of gem treasure established by the largess of nobility or royalty.

Hard by the Botanical Gardens of Copenhagen across 0ster Voldgade, lies the Kongens Have—the King’s Garden—in which sits the lovely fairy-story palace of Rosenborg. Started in 1606 by King Christian IV, and substantially completed by 1633, it has been an extremely pleasant abode for a succession of kings named Christian and Frederick. King Christian VII was actually the last to live there, if only temporarily, while the English fleet was attacking in 1801. Now the building, retaining all its original beauty and charm, is a museum housing the “old Royal Collection of art and curiosities.” Among these objects are the state jewels, a fine but modest collection which hasn’t been needed since the coronation of Christian VIII in 1840.

Though few, the crowns are exquisite. There is the Christian IV Crown, made in 1596, which is a marvelous, many-pointed, open and airy fantasy of gold and bright-colored enamels in which are set pearls and diamonds. It served for the coronation of two kings—Christian IV and his son Frederick III. King Christian V had his own crown made when he became the first absolute monarch of Denmark in 1671. All told, this new crown served four Christians and three Fredericks until Denmark’s new constitution went into effect. The crown is designed somewhat in the English style, with eight arching diadems rising to the top, which bears a blue enameled orb and diamond cross. Smaller diamonds are used for trim, but the outstanding gems in the piece are two large ruby spinels and two large, deep-blue sapphires set front and back in the circlet.

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Kiani Crown

The Kiani Crown is heavy and ungainly looking by comparison. It is built around a tall, round-topped hat made of stiff cloth. The gems are either sewn directly to the cloth or are mounted on metal plates which are sewn to the crown. Almost 1800 matched natural pearls were used as trim around every edge and to form a wide, solid band circling the center of the crown, interrupted only by other gems mounted in it. The largest emerald, of 80 carats, is mounted in the crown top ornament. The best diamond is a fine pink one of about 23 carats in the most prominent position, front and center. Hundreds of other smaller emeralds, diamonds, and rubies cover the crown. Other than the pink diamond, the most important gem is the very old and very beautiful 120-carat, dark-red spinel which is set at the top of the rounded dome of the crown. Engravings on the gem reportedly indicate that it was originally in the throne of Aurangzeb. This is the same throne mentioned earlier, before which Tavernier had seen the Shah Diamond suspended. Undoubtedly this spinel was part of the Indian treasure seized by Nadir Shah.

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Florentine Diamond

One group of treasures acquired by the family through right of rule came from the Holy Roman Empire. Starting with the crowning of Charlemagne in A.D. 800, this empire managed to exist for centuries through a succession of difficulties and wars. In 1438 the succession passed to Albrecht II of the Haps-burgs and all the surviving imperial regalia of six hundred years of history came with it. By 1804 one of the Hapsburg line of Holy Roman Emperors, Franz II, had also assumed the title of Franz I, Emperor of Austria, just as Napoleon was assuming his title as Emperor of France. This brought together the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary, which he ruled, as well as all his own crown lands. Bohemia and Hungary had previously come to the family by marriage in 1515 and the death of the male hereditary heir to these two thrones in 1526. More was to come. Charles the Bold, last of his line, had died in the Battle of Nancy in 1477. His daughter Maria married Archduke Maximilian of the Hapsburgs. Thus, by mar-

riage again, the very important late medieval treasure belonging to the Burgundian dukes had come to the family. In 1736 some of the finest jewelry ornaments, liberally set with diamonds and other gems, were added to the collection when Franz Stephan of Lorraine married Maria Theresa of the Hapsburgs. The best of the diamonds among Franz Stephan’s treasures was the Florentine. This 137.27-carat, light greenish-yellow diamond had once belonged to the Medici family. The great gem was eventually placed in the Hapsburg Crown and later formed part of a hat ornament displayed with the crown jewels. And so it went, one addition after another, with increasingly better accommodations becoming available to house them. By the 1730’s all the treasures had been brought together in the Alte Burg, or Old Castle, in Vienna. What is left of them is there yet.

The First World War not only killed the empire and deposed the Hapsburgs, but also ruined Austria, leaving it powerless. In 1918 the royal family went into exile, along with all its personal share of the treasures, including the Florentine Diamond. Within two years Italy was insisting on the return of the regalia used by Napoleon as king of Italy. In 1932 Hungary demanded a return of regalia of the Order of St. Stephan and other Hungarian national treasures. Hitler took away the symbols of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation to be returned to Niirnberg. Fortunately, Hitler’s loot, but little else, was later returned. What remained after a series of such losses constitutes today’s impressive display. Miraculously, the largest part of Vienna’s remaining treasures survived the Second World War when the city was bombed extensively and several of its great public buildings were severely damaged.

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Crown Jewels of Iran

The Crown Jewels of Iran, already mentioned, are another collection of enormous value surviving relatively intact to our times. Remarkably, they were practically unknown to the world until this decade. In 1961 they were opened to public exhibition for the first time at the Bank Markazi in Teheran. The largest part of the treasure trove was gathered as spoils of war from the conquest of Delhi, India, by Nadir Quli Khan in 1739. In a history of this event, written in 1747, the Abbe de Claustre reported that along with great quantities of gold ingots there were thirteen thousand chests full of gold and silver coins and “there was also an inconceivable number of other chests filled with diamonds, pearls and other jewels.” The collection now has undergone numerous additions and subtractions, but is substantially the same 240-year-old loot. Neither the Nadir Shah nor his successors considered the treasure as anything but a financial asset. They were little concerned with the marvelous jewelry that could be, and occasionally was, made from the available gems and precious metals. The bulk of the collection consists of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, red spinels, pearls, and turquoises; there are also a few examples of other species of gems.

Already certain coronation pieces in the collection have achieved fame. Among them are the Pahlevi Crown, the Kiani Crown, and Empress Farah’s Crown, mentioned earlier. The Nadir Throne in all its bejewelled glory claims as much attention as any of the crowns. Undoubtedly one of the most ornate and valuable thrones in the world, it is basically a single chair made of wood and standing 88 inches tall. Each piece in the assembly is covered with gold sheet, and is removable. In addition, thousands of gems stud the throne in intricate, symmetrical, typically Persian patterns. The throne was probably made for Fath-Ali Shah, the last of the Qajar dynasty, who began his reign in 1798. In the very center of the high, ornate chair back is mounted the most important stone of all, an emerald weighing perhaps 225 carats. Arrayed about it are four other large emeralds, which may total as much as 550 carats. Spinels, rubies, emeralds, diamonds are there in abundance. Many blue sapphires dominate the panel at the foot of the throne, which pictures a reclining lion. The throne was used again for the coronation of Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Aryamihr as Shahanshah of Iran in 1967.

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Crown of the Andes

Reading about or visiting the marvelous collections of state gems and crown jewels around the world, one might easily get the false impression that all the most important gems, all the famous crowns and regal jewelry that survived were locked up in national treasuries and museums. To the contrary, many objects fit for a king are still in circulation. Some of these were once owned by royalty but many, though eminently qualified, have never been.

Perhaps the richest and most famous crown known that was never intended for the head of a king is the Crown of the Andes. This great gold crown is described as having “the circlet rising in eight points, pierced and embossed with intricately entwined acanthus scrolls and applied with clusters of table-cut emeralds in high carved settings simulating buds and flowers, eight similar stones set at intervals around the base below a narrow band of small emeralds. The four arches also pierced in an elaborate scroll design, similarly set, surmounted at their union by an orb and emerald-set cross, and supporting seventeen cabochon emerald drops which hang freely within the Crown.”

The story of this crown begins in the 1580’s when a smallpox epidemic raged through Colombia. The city of Popayan, near the source of the Cauca River, was a prosperous cultural center in the path of the plague. As one, the people of the city prayed for deliverance from the death-dealing sickness and were spared. In thanksgiving, the citizens donated gold and emeralds for a crown to be dedicated \to the Virgin Mary. It was required that “the ctown must exceed in beauty, in grandeur and in Value the crown of any reigning monarch on earth, else it would not be a becoming gift to the Queen of Heaven.” In 1599, in the Popayan cathedral, the crown was placed on a statue of the Virgin. In the early 1900’s it was decided that the crown should be sold to build an urgently needed orphanage, hospital, and home for the aged. The fall of the Russian czars brought a halt to one possible sale being negotiated but finally in October, 1914, the sale was completed to an American syndicate. Still owned by the syndicate, it is now in the United States, but not on public exhibition.

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