The Greek Royal Family's Emeralds are so amazing - such large drops and so perfect.
It also says -
Queen Olga Konstantinovna
Along with her dolls, Queen Olga of Greece, born a Russian Grand Duchess, brought these wonderful emeralds from Russia as part of her dowry when she married into the Greek royal family at the age of 16. The second picture above shows her regally dressed and adorned with the splendid emeralds. One can easily recognize the large drops and the oval cabochon as a brooch on the dress and in the kokoschnik, as well as five round cabochons as part of the choker which were later turned into a brooch.
Her son prince Christopher later said : My mother possessed some perfect emeralds, including a cabochon as big as a bird's egg. When I was eighteen, I borrowed it to wear at a masked ball in Athens, to which I had been invited. The guests came in historical Polish costumes and the jewel was an important accessory. She gave me the stone, warning me several times to take great care of it. I had fastened it as brooch to my hat. The last notes of the mazurka played and I was talking with my friends, when my sister-in-law, Princess Nicolas came over to me and said: " The emerald on your hat is the largest I have ever seen. Can I look at it?" As soon as she took it from my hands, the stone came apart from its brooch setting and fell to the ground. Emeralds, unlike diamonds, are very fragile jewels and can shatter like glass. We stood stiff as stone as we watched the jewel roll on the carpet, toward the marble floor and feared the worst. Words cannot describe, how relieved I was, when I saw it stop its course, unharmed."
In the first picture, Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna 1830-1911, Olga's mother, wearing this magnificent emerald set.
Queen Elizabeth later wore the jewels, as a headband with a central emerald and floral ornaments and as very long earrings in the art deco style.
The next illustration shows the addition of further oval cabochons and floral ornaments rising from a base of round diamonds. After a further change, one can recognize the final form, as a kokoschnik frame composed of interlaced "E" for Elizabeth in diamond, and the large cabochons between them. Her sister, Marie of Yugoslavia, had a similar tiara, here can one clearly recognize it. Unfortunately I could not find a picture of Queen Elizabeth wearing the brooch.
I love how the emeralds can be worn in so many different ways. In the second link you can see all the different ways that Queen Anne Marie wears these amazing emeralds. For King Harald's recent birthday party Her Majesty wore the diamond necklace with three large drops hanging down, but sometimes a brooch/stomacher with more large drops is worn as well.
I think there is seven large emerald drops altogether and at least nine other large circular ones. I'm glad the Greek Royal Family still have all of these emeralds.
