A Royal romance told in Princess Diana's gems

[sara8150]

The world's most famous engagement ring, a wedding band with a secret and the day Diana cast off her rings: A royal romance told in the Princess's priceless gems
A royal romance told in Princess Diana's gems  | Daily Mail Online

[Curryong]

Interesting, sara, thanks for posting. It's hard to remember that many of the more iconic jewellery pieces were borrowed. However, the rest of her gems were left to her sons. Very odd to me that she didn't really like emeralds as they are one of my great favourites among the coloured stones! Kate has of course worn several of Diana's pieces now, most famously Big Blue. I'm not so sure that the pearl chokers etc that Diana loved will ever be worn again, very 1980s! Perhaps the next generation, Char and any girl sibling or cousins. These things often come back into fashion after a few decades.

[amabel]

I think she preferred Sapphires which I don't like as they are often such a dark color.. but she did look lovely in green and with emeralds. 

[Curryong]

^ Yes, it's strange that Diana didn't appear to like emeralds very much, considering that she looked sensational when wearing them. She probably thought sapphires matched her eye colour. Not that I would say no to sapphires, which are in my own engagement ring in fact.

Off topic but on RD yesterday there were several photos of Diana in pink nylons and pale green ones, matching her clothing. I have to say I can't remember that particular fashion trend, but Diana seems to have made it popular.

[Duch_Luver_4ever]

Ill have to mildly disagree with the pro-emerald people. While she could make them work, along with most gems, and of course the "gems" she carried around every day (eyes and smile) were the ones most often noticed at first and best, I do think she chose wisely with sapphires, esp the bigger one stone earrings vs the smaller two stone ones, and the pendant. The choker was great for the real OTT gowns, etc. when she really wanted to dazzle like no one else could.

@Curryong do you have links to those pics with the matching nylons, id like to see them.

[Curryong]

Ill have to mildly disagree with the pro-emerald people. While she could make them work, along with most gems, and of course the "gems" she carried around every day (eyes and smile) were the ones most often noticed at first and best, I do think she chose wisely with sapphires, esp the bigger one stone earrings vs the smaller two stone ones, and the pendant. The choker was great for the real OTT gowns, etc. when she really wanted to dazzle like no one else could.

@Curryong do you have links to those pics with the matching nylons, id like to see them.

I don't, I'm afraid. They were on Royal Dish on the 'Diana Photos' thread, and people there rarely if ever give any links to the photos they put up. However, they were there yesterday.

[royalanthropologist]

I think that Diana never quite transitioned from princess to queen in her look. She was always youthful, even girlish. The main Windsor jewels were designed for ageing formidable queens like Mary of Teck.

Looking back, amongst the queens current tiaras; only the lovers knot would suit or perhaps even the smaller bandeau tiaras and the girls of great Britain if it came to that.  Diana would have looked ridiculous for example in the full scale Dehli Durbar parue because they were meant for a grand dowager-type person with big hair and kind of foreboding look.

Diana worked best with simple modern pieces. Pearls and diamonds were particularly great on her. Unfortunately at the time she grew into her own, her relationship with Charles was not so great so he was not inclined to shop anything substantial for her.

Even the queen was now reluctant to give her things like perhaps the Kokoshnik or the Grand Duchess vladimir tiara which would have suited her to a T because they all had a suspicion that this girl was never going to be the queen. QM had some simple strathmore pieces but she was certainly not going to give them to Diana at that stage when she was persona non grata at Clarence House.

I think Catherine will face similar problems. If she is already being overwhelmed by the lovers-knot, it is highly unlikely that she will ever wear something on the scale of the Boucheron showpiece.
Double post auto-merged: September 03, 2017, 08:50:23 AM

Having said all that: one of the finest photographs of Diana was when she was wearing that pearl choker with a huge sapphire QM had given to her as a broach. I mean it was sensational. The emeralds in Australia were too disco-Di for me. They made her look too glitzy for a royal princess...more like a Hollywood star.

Gosh...I really do wish I had a huge problem of being overwhelmed by enormous  Diamonds, Saphires and Emeralds in my collection....Oh happy times :hehe: :lol: :windsor1: :partaay: I would definitely do my housework wearing a tiara if I could.  :P :nod:

[amabel]

^ Yes, it's strange that Diana didn't appear to like emeralds very much, considering that she looked sensational when wearing them. She probably thought sapphires matched her eye colour. Not that I would say no to sapphires, which are in my own engagement ring in fact.

Perhaps she was superstitious about them. I've read in a book about royal jewellery that Charles never realised that Diana didn't like emerlads, but I think they DID suit her very well, with green gowns.  or white or yellow. 

[Curryong]

Even in Diana's day though there weren't multiple occasions on which to wear tiaras throughout the year. She wore them on occasions to ballet premieres, which doesn't happen now though I wish it would. Perhaps in the new reign. However, unlike most married in royals of that time and since, Diana had the use of her own family tiara. That was an advantage, and really, in the course of her duties throughout the year, two tiaras were enough.

[royalanthropologist]

You know I used to lament so much the lack of tiara events. I see no point in a princess or queen going to a state dinner without a tiara. These magnificent jewels are shut away. Even during Diana's time I was frustrated at how stingy the queen was. Here was a gorgeous girl who could wear many, many things but they were kept for a monarch who only wore a few.

On the other hand, it would have been something of a diplomatic crisis if Diana had worn all the family jewels and Camilla had to wear them again. I know there is already some anger about the emerald brooch with the Prince of Wales feathers. That would be nothing compared to the uproar if Camilla was wearing something like the Lovers Knot.

[Duch_Luver_4ever]

True the emeralds looked best on a complimentary color/s like green or yellow, but I always found green made Diana look pale or washed out a bit, same with yellow. Whereas lavenders, blues and pinks went well with her and with sapphires.

True Charles didnt really go all out in buying her jewelry after the engagement/wedding, as for HM, who knows, I think some of all those things, a lot of the jewels were made for older/sterner looking women and with Diana's youth and look they just wouldnt have had the same effect. Also after things went south relationship wise, it would have been thought prudent to not lend anything that might be tough to get back, also with HM and QM still alive, there would have been more call for them to be worn.

I always thought the Spencer tiara was far and away the best looking on her, but that likely was due to all the gentle rounded curves/flowers in it tend to highlight youth and beauty. The lovers knot was sort of imo her "training wheels" for the older ones, that had things been different, in her 50s,60s and beyond, might have worn.

Also I think its a fortunate happenstance (or maybe the die hard tinfoil hatters would say HM didnt share them cause she knew Diana wouldnt be around in old age LOL, just kidding) that those Tiaras and jewels wernt shared as it gives Camilla something to wear more in style with her age and her sterner look. Someone should write in her bible "Thou shalt not wear the lovers knot...ever"

I can just imagine the s#$%storm that would happen if she wore the lovers knot, I know when i saw that photoshopped pic, it made me freak the f#$% out. But im sure soon after the coronation Charles will likely make it available to her.
Double post auto-merged: September 04, 2017, 03:53:36 AM

The Lovely Diana - Diana Wearing a Tiara Spam

just surfing and found a nice example of the earrings I mean.(plus spencer tiara)

[LouisFerdinand]

Other than the Spencer Tiara, did Diana ever wear any of the other Spencer heirloom jewellery on loan?

[Duch_Luver_4ever]

She wore the honeysuckle Tiara once, saw it on pintrest, dont have a link. IMO its too linear and fussy for her, maybe if she were alive it might be more approp. as she ages. Her earrings on her wedding day were loaners from her mum.

[TLLK]

already some anger about the emerald brooch with the Prince of Wales feathers

Fortunately there are two of those brooches!

[Curryong]

^ I don't believe that Camilla has ever worn any recognisable pieces of jewellery that Diana wore as Prss of Wales. The public outcry even now would mean bad PR. for Cam. Her boys have Diana's private jewels, and the Queen's returned the rest to the vaults. Camilla has plenty. Pieces left to Charles by his grandmother, some left to the QM by Mrs Ronnie Greville, some Shand items, others bought for her privately by Charles, among them.

[royalanthropologist]

Camilla has access to many, many jewels (Charles does like to buyer her some amazing rockers from time to time)  and even more will come her way if she becomes queen. Virtually the entire collection. Even the ones worn by Diana are accessible to her as a the senior royal lady. However, I think that she is not going to wear something like the lovers knot anytime soon. It is not a suitable gem for her and has so many connotations that are not worth the resulting bother. More importantly: It would also be disrespectful to W&H and strike many people as a show of arrogant triumphalism. Those jewels Diana wore are likely to be used by W&H's family; albeit on loan.

[amabel]

I thought that she had...

[Duch_Luver_4ever]

Nope, theres a photoshopped pic of her in them, tho. She'll likely wait till after the coronation.