Jewels of the Houses of Hesse (by Rhine and Kassel)

[grandduchessella]

The turquoise & moonstone tiara? Geoffrey Munn covers it in his must-read Tiaras.

And it does seem that it does belong to the Geddes family:

"Or maybe the turquoise and moonstone one that I later spot on Lady Geddes during cocktails at the River Room, attached - how sweet is this- by a little ribbon at the back. "

This was from a report on the Opening of Parliament last year.

[Eric_Lowe]

Yes. That tiara was in the Munn book and also in the Hesse archives photo.

[Clemence]

The jewels in question were  those that had belonged to Empress Friedrich and which had been left to her daughter Mossy, were they not?  They were from her personal collection and were not 'crown jewels'.
The Hesse Darmstadt jewels are altogether different.  David Duff on page 88 of his book 'Hessian Tapestry' includes a list of jewellery that Pcss Alice received at her marriage.  This includes the wonderful diamond tiara from her mother Q.Victoria, not to mention a sapphire and diamond parure from Bertie and a curious gold bracelet from the Duke of Coburg with a painting of his own eye upon it, supposedly to remind Alice that 'the eye of Coburg was ever upon her'!
It would appear that Alice was not short of jewellery and this does not take into account pieces that she may have had the use of when she became Grand Duchess.  On page 126 David Duff aslo has this to say.
'It was a sad Christmas (1866) for Darmstadt.  There were few gifts to be bought in the shops and little money for festivities.  There were still many wounded in the hospitals and the Princess took her daughter, Victoria, round the wards to amuse tham.  She thought of "Vicky the victorious" in Berlin; of Helena in the peace of Frogmore, secure with her dowry and the income that came to her husband from the Queen.  She thought of herself as the Princess "with the second-best pearls", although the famous Hessian jewels graced her neck.'
Anybody know what these might have been?

I wonder why this bracelet was not mentioned:

‘Visibly parted, ever united’: ‘Rare’ gold bracelet found inscribed with a poignant message from Queen Victoria for her late husband to mark daughter’s wedding
Given to Princess Alice before she married Prince Louis of Hesse
Bracelet was last item commissioned and could fetch £10,000 at auction
Lost from royal family when Empress Alexandra killed in Russian in 1918
By EMILY DAVIES
PUBLISHED: 20:11 GMT, 4 March 2013 | UPDATED: 09:30 GMT, 5 March 2013
   
A gold bracelet Queen Victoria had inscribed with a poignant message from her late husband which was then gifted to one of her daughters has been discovered.
The gold, diamond, pearl and enamel band was bought by Victoria and Prince Albert for a wedding present to Princess Alice.
Albert tragically died six months before the big day which went ahead, although Alice was instructed to wear black mourning dress immediately before and after her marriage to Prince Louis of Hesse.

Victoria presented the memento to the princess three months before the ceremony and four months after Albert's untimely death.
It is thought it was the last significant item the couple had commissioned for any of their children.

Queen Victoria gave the gold bracelet to her daughter Princess Alice as a gift for her wedding to Louis of Hesse
The bracelet features a portrait of the princess on the front next to a picture of a ship to signify her leaving the family home and moving to Germany with her new husband.
Princess Alice died in 1878 and the bracelet is thought to have been passed on to her second eldest daughter, Empress Alexandra Feodo Rovna.

It is thought the band left the family after the empress was executed with her husband Tsar Nicholas II during the Russian Revolution in 1918.
It was acquired by Professor Leonard Shaw, a millionaire engineer and antiques collector, who kept it at his home on Guernsey.
An auctioneer visited the property after he died aged 98 in November 2010 and discovered the rare piece of royal memorabilia amongst the vast collection.
The item is to be sold with a pre-sale estimate of £10,000. James Bridges, director at Martel Maides Auctions in Guernsey, said: 'The bracelet was found as part of Professor Shaw's collection after he passed away.
'He had a huge collection of jewellery and pocket watches, he was a real philanthropist, but we don't know how he came to acquire the bracelet.
'He bought a lot at auction in the 1960s through to the 1980s but it could have been from a private seller. I would be surprised if it was ever on the market before now.
'Princess Alice was engaged in 1861 and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert commissioned the bracelet to be made before she moved to Germany with her husband.

'The message on the back can be read in two ways; to signify her leaving the family behind or because Prince Albert was apart from his wife and daughter after his death.
'Princess Alice died when she was 35 and had seven children but two of them were murdered in Russia. It could have been here that the bracelet left the family.
'Queen Victoria liked giving jewellery as gifts to people such as nannies and godparents, but it is unusual to have something she gave one of her children for sale. It is incredibly rare.'
Princess Alice's wedding at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight was described as 'most sombre of Royal weddings' following her father's death.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2288045/Queen-Victoria-Rare-gold-bracelet-given-Princess-Alice-inscribed-poignant-message.html#ixzz3149JIaqJ
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2288045/Queen-Victoria-Rare-gold-bracelet-given-Princess-Alice-inscribed-poignant-message.html
The sapphire parure (necklace with pendant,brooch,bracelet)from Bertie passed to Alice's eldest daughter Victoria who wore them with a matching tiara on her wedding day.In 1914 Victoria & her second daughter Louise went to russia to visit her sisters.As they were to attend various state functions she took all her gems.The outbreak of WW1 and the gruelling journey back to the UK via the Scandanavian countries meant she was advised to leave them in Russia.The revolution meant they were never able to recovered.Count Benkendorff mentions them in his memoirs etc.Among the gems was Queen Victoria's wedding present to her grandaughter a set of diamond stars and a diamond locket ( a christening present from Queen Marie Amelie of the French).

[Dru]

The Hesse family wedding tiara, made from sheaves of wheat that were on a gown in Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna's trousseau.

[Eric_Lowe]

They were saved while other jewels belonging to Mossy & Malfelda were lost during WWII.

[Kimberly]

Hi there Eric. Please could you tell me who "Peg Hesse" is?

[rachel5a]

Peg- Margaret Geddes- the wife of prince Louis of Hesse, BTW was their marriage cosidered morganatic?

[Dru]

Malfelda

I thought her name was Mafalda?

[Kimberly]

Thanks Rachel5a.

[Marc]

Peg- Margaret Geddes- the wife of prince Louis of Hesse, BTW was their marriage cosidered morganatic?

I don't think the marriage was considered morganatic.As a daughter of a Lord,she could probably scrape through,if the Head of the family says "yes".

Even in the case of "scheduled to be morganatic" by his family(which I don't think so),at the time of his actual marriage Prince Ludwig was the only Head of the family due to airplane crash and thus he was the only one able to decide will it be morganatic or not...

[rachel5a]

That's true. But her father was created Baron Geddes in 1942 so at The time of her marriage she was miss Geddes wasn' she?

[Carolath Habsburg]

Malfelda

I thought her name was Mafalda?

You re right, Dru. Its Mafalda. Eric loves to miswrite names , lol.

[Marc]

That's true. But her father was created Baron Geddes in 1942 so at The time of her marriage she was miss Geddes wasn' she?

True :-)

But even if it was supposed to be a morganatic marriage,the actual decision in the end was made by Prince Ludwig himself,as at the time of their marriage,he was the Head of the family and the only one who could decide...

[Marc]

Malfelda

I thought her name was Mafalda?

You re right, Dru. Its Mafalda. Eric loves to miswrite names , lol.

Not just the names as a person who wrote many books about royalty and visited many archives,as he said,he always says "morganEtic",the term which doesn't exist

Even when he is told that that he is wrong,he always repeats the same mistake again and again But,that's just Eric we used to,so no hard feelings ;-)

[Eric_Lowe]

Yes it always easy to look at other people's mistakes. I am sure you never make any.