Royal Jewels

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Princess Fawzia and Queen Nariman

 

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Princess Farial

 

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King Fouad I

 

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King Fouad I’s daughters 1920s

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Isn't Princess Fawzia the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran?
Here's a closer photo showing some of her magnificent jewels. I think the princess and her daughter later sold some of them (maybe they had problems with money?).

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Date: 2/14/2009 5:23:18 AM
Author: prince.of.preslav
Isn''t Princess Fawzia the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran?

Here''s a closer photo showing some of her magnificent jewels. I think the princess and her daughter later sold some of them (maybe they had problems with money?).

hey!
yes that is fawzia, and here is some info on her..
Queen Fawzia Bint Fuad of Egypt (Arabic: فوزية بنت فؤاد الأول, Persian: فوزیه فؤاد) (Alexandria, Egypt, November 5, 1921 - ) was the first wife and first Queen consort of Shahanshah Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran.

She is currently Fawzia Shirin, having remarried in 1949 and having lost her royal titles after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, although she is referred to as Princess out of courtesy. She is the most senior member of the deposed Muhammad Ali Dynasty residing in Egypt. Her nephew, Fuad, who was proclaimed King Fuad II of Egypt and Sudan after the Revolution, resides in Switzerland.
She was born Her Sultanic Highness Princess Fawzia bint Fuad at Ras Al-Teen Palace in Alexandria, the eldest daughter of Sultan Fuad I of Egypt and Sudan (later King Fuad I), and his second wife, Nazli Sabri. One of her great-great-grandfathers was Suleiman Pasha, a French army officer who served under Napoleon, converted to Islam, and oversaw an overhaul of the Egyptian army. In addition to her sisters, Faiza, Faika, and Fathiya, and her brother, Farouk, she had two half-siblings from her father’s previous marriage to Princess Shivakiar Khanum Effendi.
Princess Fawzia of Egypt and Sudan married Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919-1980), the Crown Prince of Iran, in Cairo, on March 16, 1939; after their honeymoon, the wedding ceremonies were repeated in Tehran. Two years later, the crown prince succeeded his exiled father and was to become the Shah of Iran. Soon after her husband’s ascent to the throne, Queen Fawzia appeared on the cover of the September 21, 1942, issue of Life magazine, photographed by Cecil Beaton, who described her as an “Asian Venus” with “a perfect heart-shaped face and strangely pale but piercing blue eyes.”

The marriage was not a success. After the birth of the couple’s only child, Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi, Queen Fawzia -- the title of empress was not yet used in Iran at that time -- obtained an Egyptian divorce in 1945, whereupon she moved to Cairo. This divorce was not recognized by Iran, however, and eventually an official divorce was obtained, in Iran, on November 17, 1948, with Queen Fawzia reclaiming her previous distinction of Princess of Egypt and Sudan. A major condition of the divorce was that her daughter be left behind to be raised in Iran. Curiously, Queen Fawzia’s brother, King Farouk, divorced his first wife, Queen Farida, the same week.

In the official announcement of the divorce, it was stated that “the Persian climate had endangered the health of Empress [sic] Fawzia, and that thus it was agreed that the Egyptian King’s sister be divorced.” In another official statement, the Shah said that the dissolution of the marriage “cannot affect by any means the existing friendly relations between Egypt and Iran.”[1]On March 28, 1949, in Cairo, Princess Fawzia married Colonel Ismail Hussain Shirin Bey, (1919-1994), a distant cousin and one-time Egyptian Minister of War and the Navy. The couple had two children: Nadia (born 1950) and Hussain (born 1955).
Princess Fawzia’s death was mistakenly reported in January 2005. Journalists had confused her with her niece, Princess Fawzia Farouk of Egypt (Fawzia) (1940-2005), one of the three daughters of King Farouk.

Titles from Birth

* Her Sultanic Highness the Princess Fawzia of Egypt and Sudan
* Her Royal Highness the Princess Fawzia of Egypt and Sudan
* Her Imperial and Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Iran
* Her Imperial Majesty Queen Fawzia of Iran
* Her Imperial & Royal Highness Princess Fawzia of Iran and Egypt
* Her Royal Highness the Princess Fawzia of Egypt and Sudan
* Mrs. Ismail Shirin

 

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a bit of her family history...

 

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Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi is the daughter of princess Fawzia Fouad of Egypt from he marriage to Mohamed Reza Pahlavi the late Shah of Iran. She is thus a member of both the Egyptian and Iranian Royal families, a descendant of two Dynasties (Mehmet Ali and Pahlavi), Two civilisations (Egyptian and Persian), Two Faiths of Islam (Sunni and Shiete)

 

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Princess Fawzia at Cairo airport

 

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Nariman Sadek: Egypt''s last queen
By Yasmine El-Rashidi
Click to view caption
Clockwise from above: In London in the 60s; with sons Akram and Ahmed in her Heliopolis apartment in the early 90s; walking her dog in one of the palaces

Cairo in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s was a different city. In the first half of the 20th century it was reputed to be Paris on the Nile, a place of wide boulevards devoid of the concrete blocks that now dominate the urban landscape. It was a city that appeared to pride itself on eccentricity, though it was anything but dishevelled. And, of course, it had the glamour of royal connections.

In Cairo there was Abdin Palace and Qasr Al-Qubba, and in Alexandria the grounds of Montazah Palace and Ras Al-Tin. These impressive structures, and their younger, more timid offshoots, mixed Moorish, Turkish, Italian and colonial architecture. And the city boasted acres of land, an expanse of space that is all but unimaginable today.

Abdin Palace has hundreds of rooms -- its imposing façade and column marble halls were molded in 19th century baroque style by Italian architect Verucci Bey, who clearly intended the building to impress. Abdin was considered the home of Egypt''s monarch and his family during the school-year months. It was the place that Nariman Sadek, Egypt''s last queen and the second wife of King Farouk, tried to call home.

Born on 31 October 1934 to parents of moderate means -- Hussein Fahmi Sadek Bey and Aseela Hanem -- Nariman appeared destined for a relatively average, if comfortable, life: marriage, motherhood, and the respectability afforded by a carefully- deliberated suitor of good family. A commoner, certainly by the standards of Egypt''s ruling family, Nariman grew up an only child on the coast of Alexandria. Said to have been even of temperament, content with her painting, music and books, Nariman soon found an eligible young suitor. At 16 she was engaged to the perfectly respectable Dr Zaki Hashem.

It was the same age that Farouk had ascended the throne following the sudden death of his father, the somewhat brusque King Fouad. Dragged from the seclusion of high palace walls Farouk was thrust centre stage, to occupy a role that was clearly beyond his experience and, some say, his intellectual capacity.

As expected, a wife soon became part of palace entourage. On 20 January 1938 Farouk was married to Queen Farida (a princess in her own right), with whom he had three children: Fawzia, Fadia, and Ferial. The marriage ended in divorce in 1948. Cairo gossips pointed an accusing finger at the queen and whispered adultery, though her greatest crime was possibly not having provided a son and heir.

"The king vows to take a commoner as his wife," rang out the newspaper headlines the following days. "King Farouk vows to have a son from a commoner."

"It was not his intention to go out and seek a commoner for a wife," the late Adel Sabet told me before his death in 2001. Sabet, a cousin of the king, became Farouk''s intermediary between the palace and the secretary-general of the Arab League during the critical years preceding and following the ruinous 1948 war in Palestine. "But the press was ruthless, with both him and later his second wife, Queen Nariman Sadek."

The king did eventually choose a wife from among the "people", a young woman not of royal lineage. Farouk is rumoured to have first spotted Nariman in a jewellery shop. And Egypt''s then- dashing young king brooked no opposition to his desires. Nariman''s engagement to Hashem was promptly dissolved.

Unlike the spectacular royal wedding that united Farouk and Farida, the ceremony with Nariman on 6 May 1951 was subdued. The rumour mill was already working overdrive and the whispers were that the marriage was arranged only after doctors confirmed that Nariman was pregnant, and that the child was a boy. The boy, rumours would continue, was born several months before the official announcement on 6 January 1952.

"The rumours were horrifically vulgar," says one of the few surviving relatives of the king. "The stories surrounding Farouk, and all the royal family, are astounding. About the jewellery shop story alone I have heard at least seven versions."

The gossip surrounding their first meeting might serve as a foretaste of what Nariman''s life would be as queen. Unlike Farida, who was seen by many as a charming -- and suitable -- bride for a handsome young king, Nariman was always somewhat overlooked. Whereas Farida, and Farouk''s sisters -- the stunning Fawzia (who married the Shah of Iran) and Faiza -- commanded pages and pages of the local press, Nariman appeared just a few times as her wedding, subsequent exile and then divorce were chronicled.

The 14 months during which Nariman was queen were turbulent. For her husband, Sabet writes in Farouk: A King Betrayed, 1951 was "a watershed year, marking the beginning of the end... Following the failure of negotiations in London, the recently elected Wafdist government proceeded to provoke the most serious crisis with Britain since the days of Orabi. That October, they denounced the 1936 Treaty and the Sudan condominium arrangements and declared a guerrilla war against British forces in the Canal Zone. The brutal British response was the massacre of an Egyptian police outpost in Ismailia, which in turn led to the burning of Cairo, the fall of the Wafdist government and, a few short months later, the abdication of Farouk and the establishment of military hegemony."

The Cairo fire began on 16 January, 10 days after the birth of Farouk''s heir, Ahmed Fouad. In the marmoreal halls of Abdin the king and his wife were still celebrating the birth of their son.

"Through the splendid baroque windows of Abdin Palace the flames of Cairo burning were clearly to be seen," Sabet said. "Yet Farouk withheld the order for military intervention until the burnings were well advanced. The Wafdist government could only look on impotently as His Majesty''s banquet proceeded."

The months preceding Farouk''s forced abdication were marked by impotence. And it was impotence, an inability to act, that afflicted Nariman, as she observed her husband and her home.

"Life was a routine of meals," she says. "And then I would read. It was unheard of to enter the kitchen, or ask for something to be made. Everything in the palace was organised. What was most important was that I was there for the king when he was ready for his meals. Dinner was usually very late, at one or two in the morning. I would have of course eaten by then, but I would sit with him."

In the next room, and just outside the dining room doors, were security and intelligence. Every move of the young couple was monitored and planned. To the 17-year-old, snatched from the seclusion of a sheltered family life and a predictable future as the wife of a doctor and, in time, a respectable family man, and thrown into the grandeur of palace life, having to project the public persona of a queen was perhaps too much too soon. One of the daughters of an advisor to the king recalls looking at Nariman and considering the queen one of her peers.

"She was like us," the lady shared, asking her name to be withheld. "She was so young and looked so out of place. My father worked very close to the king and we would be taken occasionally to palace balls. She should have been with us, the children."

It is a poignant anecdote.

Following the fire, and the political turbulence that appeared to be sweeping everything away, Nariman found her husband ever more distant.

"He would spend many hours away," she said several years ago, in her last substantial interview before health complications impaired her speech. "Everything went so fast, and in the end there were many days when I would barely see him."

The events leading up to the 23 July 1952 Revolution were tense, and the tension permeated the palace walls. Nariman recalls the time as one of waiting.

"You always felt that something was going on in the next room, where the guards and the security were. You couldn''t just sit and drink tea and relax."

It was only a few months after the fire, and after the birth of the heir, that Farouk''s fate became clear.

"He knew," Nariman recalls. "You could see it in his face. His head was somewhere else."

In the summer the family retreated, as was customary, to the place of Ras Al-Tin in Alexandra.

"For two days I didn''t see him," Nariman says. "And then we heard some gunshots. I went onto the balcony, and the king came, put his arm to shelter me, and brought me into the room again. He told us to pack."

Farouk never had a reputation for bravery. "He did not quite have what was necessary of a leader," Sabet said of him. "He lacked the analytical power necessary of a leader."

"He lacked both courage and convictions," Gamal Hamad, one of the free officers, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "He was a liked man on a personal level. When he would come to the Officers'' Club in Cairo in the days prior to 4 February [1942] the officers would follow him, sit with him in his favoured room. He was a good story-teller, he had a sense of humour. He was entertaining."

As a leader, however, he lacked zeal.

"We went ahead of him to the boat," Nariman says, recalling the abdication. "We were in Ras Al- Tin, so we didn''t have many of our things with us. Everything was in Abdin and Montazah."

Nariman, her step-daughters, and the six-month- old heir were driven to the Mahrousa, the royal yacht. There they awaited for the arrival of Farouk.

"He didn''t know what would happen to him," Nariman said.

Farouk''s personal bodyguard, Gharib El-Husseini, recalled the last few hours in his memoirs.

"He asked me to make sure the family was escorted to the Mahrousa safely," he wrote. "And then he asked me to return and to walk behind him as he descended from the palace towards the boat."

It had been agreed that Farouk would receive a 21-gun salute as he moved from the palace door to the boat. There the nine free officers would meet him, headed by general Mohamed Naguib.

"He asked me to stay by his side," El-Husseini wrote. "He was scared. He didn''t know what they would do."

Both Nariman and El-Husseini recall Farouk''s fear that in those final moments, as he took his final steps on Egyptian soil, one of the trumpets would also come with a bang.

"He was trembling," Nariman said. "He didn''t know if he would ever make it to the Mahrousa. He thought they would shoot him."

Aboard the Mahrousa the nine free officers shook his hand.

"And then he came into the cabin," Nariman said, "and began to weep. When we arrived in Capri, before he came down onto Italian soil, he bent down and kissed the deck of the yacht -- the last he might ever see of his homeland."

In their exile in Italy Farouk the family man tried hard. But the man who had once been svelte and charming had ballooned into someone whose weight had become the focus of national scorn. In the few family pictures taken in Capri the heaviness in the air is palpable. These are not snapshots of a happy family.

"I began to see him less, there was too much tension. He was very distracted and scattered. I felt like he was somewhere else. I couldn''t take it anymore."

And so Nariman left -- alone. She could not take her son with her. From then, under the tutelage of her mother -- the resolute Aseela Hanem -- things moved fast. She was divorced in early 1954, and was married on 3 May of the same year to Dr Adham El-Naqib, the son of one of the royal family''s doctors. The marriage is said by close friends to have been tumultuous -- Nariman was reputedly "divorced" by her husband on several occasions. But out of a relationship that lasted seven years came at least one blessing -- a son, Akram, who now runs a legal practice in Alexandria. In 1967, Nariman was married again, to another medical doctor, Ismail Fahmi.

It is in the home of Ismail that my compassion for Egypt''s last queen grows.

The search for the street is trying -- the narrow side-street is quiet, dark, nondescript, an anonymous piece of Heliopolis''s urban sprawl. The small building is dwarfed by its neighbours. The apartment, up two narrow flights of steps, is small.

But today, 52 years on, the grandeur and luxury of the past must seem trivial. Nariman is more-or-less silenced following a string of health complications, including a stroke and brain tumour. There is little energy to reflect upon the past. Battling the present is all-consuming.

"Everything happened so fast," she says. "It''s as if I didn''t really have time to feel anything."

Perhaps. But perhaps as well the turmoil of those youthful years, of losing her son (whom she has seen just a few times over the years), of being vilified by a press that stole, as effectively as the system into which she married, her youth, has taken a heavy toll. And for those around her, her husband and her second son El-Naqib, the past is something they would prefer to lay to rest.

"You cannot imagine now how ruthless the press were," her son Akram El-Naqib says. "It is not at all surprising that none of those still alive want to talk."

"Anyone who has been subjected to that level of vilification, that intrusion -- why would they still want to expose themselves to the public? She may have been in the spotlight for a short time, but what was done to my mother was very disturbing."

And unlike Farida, and the princesses, and the first queen''s mother, whose personalities were looked into, their interests, pastimes and passions explored, Nariman has always been a cipher: she was the commoner in royal dress, in a wedding gown laced with threads of silver and diamond studs. The attacks came from two sides.

In her small apartment, far from the vastness of Abdin, her memories only her own, Nariman remains grounded. She recites from a surah about belief, about forgiveness, and about the meaning in life''s paths.

In her last television interview, several years ago, Nariman answered question after question about Egypt''s last king, Farouk, who died on 18 March 1965 in a restaurant in Italy. In between questions, and the fiddling of the microphone, the raw footage of the interview shows Nariman, momentarily, give herself voice.

"We have spoken much about King Farouk," she said in her timid, tired voice. "And," she mumbled, "what about Nariman?"

It is a line that sounds simple, and easy to shrug aside. But it speaks volumes of the life of a young woman who would be crushed by a title.

 

[prince.of.preslav]

Good night all!

Jenna, Thank you for all the information and photos abot the Near/Middle Åastern and Egyptian princesses. I have alyaws admired their beauty and their jewelery (although some of them aren''t my style).
I have a question personally to you Jenna: I have always wondered where does your love about Egypt and the East, and your passion for Egyptian jewels come from?

And now sth similar to the "crowned" rings. According to the site where I foud it, this type of rings are typical in Irland and are used insted of wedding bands.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Date: 2/14/2009 6:43:55 PM
Author: prince.of.preslav
Good night all!


Jenna, Thank you for all the information and photos abot the Near/Middle Åastern and Egyptian princesses. I have alyaws admired their beauty and their jewelery (although some of them aren''t my style).

I have a question personally to you Jenna: I have always wondered where does your love about Egypt and the East, and your passion for Egyptian jewels come from?

type of rings are typical in Irland and are used insted of wedding bands.

hi prince of preslav!
ok...so, i''m very happy to tell you my love of egypt goes as far back as i can remember..i truly know it is past lives i spent there..i''m told that even as a small child in this life time i was dressing egyptian without knowledge of what that was..i was writing diaries with secret pictograms that i would ''make up'' so my sisters could not read them if they happened to find them, only later to find out that many of the pictos i had ''created'' for my diary were actual heiroglyphs from ancient times. it''s just in me. not really sure what else to say..but like "Evy" said in "The Mummy" ..."Egypt is in my blood"!

and as for the claddagh ring you just posted..i posted the picture below..way way back on page 78 of this thread because i thought that these rings probably are the predicessors to our heart crown rings of more recent tradition...here''s what i had said..

from page 78 -

"ok everyone, i have a new subject....claddagh rings...now, legend has it that these rings date back more than 300 years. cool story behind them and all. so, i am wondering if the beautiful claddagh ring, was indeed the predicessor to our royal crown rings we have been seeing for a while now..there are currently three photos of these rings up here, including lady amethyst''s avatar....i am posting a photo of my ring..hubby bought it for me..he is irish in descent, and i have added a royal crown ring from the 1960''s..i see a similar design for sure..what do you all think? which came from which? how far back do the crown rings go? seeing as the claddagh rings are topped with a crown over a heart, it appears to me the obvious influence in the royal rings..."
jenna

and now, since i have yet to find a crown ring that dates back further than 300 years...i do believe that the claddagh is the forerunner of our crown heart rings!
cool. and i''m glad you noticed prince of preslav!

 

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and here''s a nice irish claddagh with aquamarine

 

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and emerald

 

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and a neat rendition of a claddagh pendant

 

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and this is a fabulous ''needle case''..royal. and i just love it..i''d wear it as a locket!

 

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here''s a really detailed claddagh in gold..

 

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and now for a few from the most reveared period of gold work in our common history, this is a gold pharaoh''s mask from the 21st dynasty of the kingdom of egypt.

 

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and a gold pharaoh''s ring

 

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the egyptian solar barque

 

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beautifully detailed scarab pectoral necklace from the king tut collection

 

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a royal steatite pectoral both front and back.

 

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a fantastic pectoral of the purifying ritual with amun

 

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here is the reverse side of a royal gold pectoral, notice that they were sure to chase finish the entire reverse to egyptian royal jewels so they could be worn or viewed from either side..unlike the vast majority of jewels today that have a definate viewing side and a definate back side!

 

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and here we have the front...inlayed with the usual jewels of the egyptian royals of old, carnelian, lapis, turquoise..

 

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and of course, the jewel of jewels..this pectoral belonged to sithathoriunet, princess of the 12th dynasty egypt, her father senworset II, who''s name is in the cartouche of this piece, ruled egypt during one of it''s most beautiful and prosperous times.
this pectoral is the first known of it''s type, being that the usual ''frame'' or kyosk generally used in this type of royal piece, was dropped and the design fully supports it''s self. gorgeous

 

[Sithathoriunet]

Snake and serpent rings may be traced back to the 4th century BC. This design was frequently used during this period and copied by following civilizations. Symbolism for snake rings is vast. The serpent is the emblem of Asclepius, the God of Medicine, whose powers allowed for the resuscitation of the dead. Serpent rings became very popular in the Victorian Jewelry Period when Albert gave Queen Victoria an engagement ring in the form of a serpent. The snake motif, is believed to be the sign of eternal love.

 

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A gold Roman snake ring, from ca. A.D. 1st century

 

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A Glimpse into the Life of Queen Victoria.

In 1837, at the age of 18, Victoria, a descendent of the Georges through her father and of German Saxe Coburg through her mother, became the Queen of England. She was like a fresh breeze over Britain. Victoria was young and pretty and could be admired, respected and emulated by her subjects. Everything she wore became an instant fashion trend. The jewelry of the time became known as "Victorian Jewelry".

The years of her reign were some of the most progressive in our history. Horse-drawn carriages were replaced by automobiles; candles gave way to electricity, and toilets were brought inside! This was a generally an optimistic and prosperous time characterized by rapid changes is industry, science, art and fashion. In 1840, Victoria married her beloved Albert. The engagement ring that he presented to her was a snake with an emerald-set head. This would become the first Victorian Engagement ring ever made. The snake was a symbol of eternal love and emerald was her birthstone. Birthstones were often used in engagement rings of the time.

Victoria''s wedding dress was decorated with hand made lace and adorned with a sapphire and diamond brooch, presented to her by Albert, the day before their wedding.

As a wedding gift to Albert, before they were married, Victoria presented him with two garters. At the wedding, Albert wore the collar of the garter over his shoulder and the diamond garter on his left knee.The queen gave each of her Royal Bridesmaids a brooch depicting a bird, resting on a large pearl. The body of the bird was encrusted in turquoise (peacock-blue was her favorite color) with ruby eyes and a diamond beak.

In 1848 Victoria and Albert purchased Balmoral Castle in the Highlands of Scotland. Victoria was enchanted with Scottish design and shortly after her children began wearing tartan plaids to royal events, Scottish items were recognized as "fashion" pieces. Flexible bracelets, enameled with family tartan colors and brooches and pins were the most popular Scottish items. Although most of these items were silver, some were fashioned in gold. Scottish Victorian Jewelry contained smoky golden quartz from the Cairngorm Mountains (a.k.a Cairngorm), carnelian, bloodstone, jasper, moss agate and enamel.

In 1851 Albert sponsored The Great Exhibition of Industry of All Nations, in London, in the Crystal Palace that was built in Hyde Park. In addition to the wondrous machinery and inventions on display, the Victorian jewelry, watch and precious stone exhibits attracted world wide attention. More than 6 million guests visited the exhibit viewing the 280 carat Koh-i-Noor diamond and the 177 carat diamond belonging to Adrian Hope. More everyday items, like chatelaines and brooches, earrings, crosses, quatrefoils and necklaces were also on display, some reflecting a Gothic revival of medieval design. Enameled architectural elements were incorporated into many of the jewels. Natural motifs, such as gem-embellished flowers, adorned with enamel were also on display. These varied and eclectic designs appealed to the romantic nature of the Victorians and would become identifying motifs of Victorian jewelry. Both Victoria and Albert purchased "keyless" watches made by Patek & Co. at the exhibition, bringing a great deal of celebrity to the firm.

The decade of the 1860''s was tragic for the queen. In March of 1861 her mother, the Duchess of Kent died. Later that year, in December, Albert, the love of her life passed away. She was overwhelmed with grief and sorrow. She did not attend his funeral but retreated to Osborne House where for the next 40 years, she had his side of the bed turned down every evening, and his shaving set prepared for him every morning. The entire nation went into mourning. Authors were commissioned to record his biography and several monuments were built in his honor.

Death was a significant part of everyone''s life in Victorian times. The infant and child mortality rate was very high and antibiotics had not yet been discovered. Mourning periods were defined by protocol. The customary full mourning time was one year, followed by a half mourning period lasting 6 months. All relatives of the deceased, including wives, daughters, sisters, cousins, aunts, etc., were obligated to wear mourning fashions during this time. Lockets became a common fashion accessory, as they not only served as personal reminders of the loss (holding pictures- daguerreotypes-or locks of hair), but also brightened and freshened the look of the mandatory clothing styles. Several styles of Victorian mourning jewelry were manufactured at this time including, mourning rings, gem-set or painted brooches with compartments for hair, jet pieces carved or fashioned as beads, and finally elaborate pieces incorporating hair-work, either displaying complicated patterns or elaborately woven hair. Pearl and diamond necklace made to commemorate Victoria''s 50 Years on the throne

In 1887 Queen Victoria Celebrated 50 Years on the throne with her Golden Jubilee. At that time, the "Women of the British Empire" each gave between a penny and a pound to provide a memorial for Victoria''s 50 Years on the Throne. Part of the money raised funded a large equestrian statue of Prince Albert, and the remainder was used on the necklace pictured on the right. The centerpiece can be detached and worn as a pendant, although no one has ever done that. Queen Victoria left the necklace to The Crown in 1901.

Souvenir pendants, brooches and various other examples of Victorian Jewelry were created to commemorate the Golden Jubilee, and are often seen today.

Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901 in what had become a modern world filled with factories, railroads, instant telegraph communication and steam cars. Her death ended a way of life. Although her death ended a simpler way of life, we have the wonderful legacy of Victorian Jewelry to remind us of a more decorative and sentimental time.

 

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queen victoria