Precious and powerful

Throughout history, diamond jewelry has been coveted as a symbol of royalty and political power, wealth and social status. In her book Diamond Jewelry: 700 Years of Glory and Glamour, author Diana Scarisbrick meticulously chronicles seven centuries of jewelry history, tracing the events and people who contributed to the continuing allure of diamonds.

Her decision to undertake this project can be traced back to a single event. “I was invited to the state opening of Parliament,” recalls Scarisbrick, an art historian who specializes in engraved gems and jewelry. “The sight of Queen Elizabeth II ablaze with the crown diamonds, advancing toward the throne, was a revelation. Although by no means imposing in height and looks, on that occasion, she seemed the very embodiment of majesty.”

After that, she continues, she began to explore “how jewels as well as dress can surround monarchs with an aura of authority, setting them apart from ordinary people. I became so fascinated by the idea of ‘bejeweled to rule’ that once I had assembled my research, it did not take more than a year to write the book.”

Diamonds in particular stood out for her. “Over the past seven centuries, no other precious stone has so effectively symbolized political power, fame, wealth and success, inspired artists to create magnificent jewels, and also stimulated generations of writers, from Shakespeare to Ian Fleming, to compose novels, plays and poems on its beauty, rarity and mystery,” she declares.

The sweeping timeline of the book — which features 300 illustrations — includes significant moments in diamond history. One of the key turning points, Scarisbrick notes, was “the discovery of diamonds in the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the 1720s, followed in the 1870s by the mines of South Africa, bringing to an end the long monopoly of stones from India.”

Greater availability of diamonds in the 20th century led to what she calls “the democratization of the diamond,” culminating in the success of the “A Diamond Is Forever” marketing campaign that De Beers began in 1948.

Since diamonds were prized possessions, they often passed through the hands of the rich and famous. Scarisbrick points to several examples.

The Sancy

King James I of England acquired the Sancy diamond in 1604 and wore it in his hat, according to the author. “It was sold by Charles I to finance his army during the [English] Civil War, bought by Cardinal [Jules] Mazarin [chief minister to the French monarchy] and bequeathed to Louis XIV [of France], for whom diamonds symbolized the power of an absolute monarch.”

In the 18th century, she adds, Queen Marie Leszcynska, wife of French King Louis XV, wore it on state occasions as a pendant for her necklace. “After 1789, to finance the Revolutionary armies, it was acquired by Queen Maria Luisa of Spain...who gave it to her lover, Manuel Godoy.”

Then followed two generations of ownership by the Russian Demidoffs, “whose fortune came from Siberian minerals. From them, it passed to Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, a merchant of Bombay, then sold again in 1892 to the American millionaire William Waldorf Astor, whose daughter-in-law, Nancy, wore it in her Cartier tiara. After her death in 1978, the Sancy crossed the Channel once again and is now in the Louvre.”

The Regent

The Regent diamond weighed 410 carats when it was discovered in India in 1701, but English gem cutter Joseph Cope later recut it to 140.50 carats. “The owner, Thomas Pitt, governor of Madras…found selling a diamond of this size and quality very difficult after Parliament refused to buy it [when he offered it] to mark the union of England and Scotland in 1707.”

Eventually, the duc d’Orléans, regent of France, acquired the stone in 1717 — hence its name. “Mounted in 1722 in the coronation crown of Louis XV, the Regent remained with the French crown jewels until stolen after the revolution of 1789,” Scarisbrick relates. “Recovered months later, it was then used as collateral for loans financing the revolutionary armies.”

Napoleon had the Regent mounted in the guard of his ceremonial sword, as it “signified the political power and authority won by his military triumphs,” she continues. “In the [1852 to 1870] reign of his nephew Napoleon III, his wife Empress Eugénie appeared at court receptions wearing the stone in the center of her tiara, drawing all eyes toward her. After the setting up of the Third Republic, the Regent was put on show in the Louvre, where it has been ever since.”

The Dresden Green

The pear-shaped, 41-carat Dresden Green diamond is the largest known natural diamond of that color. In the 18th century, it belonged to the elector of Saxony, August III, who acquired it at the Leipzig Easter Trade Fair in 1742. He was inordinately proud of its beauty and extreme rarity, displaying the gem in his hat, says the author.

“The stone, when not worn by the elector, was exhibited with other precious state jewels in the Green Vaults of Dresden,” says Scarisbrick. “With the others, the Dresden Green went missing at the end of World War II, when it was removed to Soviet Russia. In 1958, it came back from Moscow to Dresden, where, as part of the insignia of the Saxon monarchs, it is still on view at the Green Vaults.”

Dropping names

Diamonds have been “associated with many of the great personalities and events of human history,” notes author Diana Scarisbrick.

The 14th century, for instance, saw the influence of French King Charles V and his brothers, the dukes of Burgundy: Their wealth and passion for rare and precious stones “encouraged the development of faceting,” she says, which “led to the eventual release of light and fire from the diamond, unobtainable from the primitive cuts.”

In the 18th century, Catherine II of Russia, who amassed a great collection of jewels, “declared that when attending a state event, it was her diamonds that would show everybody present that she was their empress.” Another key figure Scarisbrick references is Napoleon, who she says “realized that the brilliance of his court could command the respect and admiration of the rest of Europe.” Other 19th-century monarchs followed his example. Among them was Queen Victoria, “who, before her widowhood, always appeared splendidly bejeweled, pleasing the public, who were proud to see her thus ‘representing the glory of England.’”

One of the jewels Napoleon lavished on his second wife, Empress Marie Louise, was a tiara, part of a matching set of ruby and diamond jewelry created in 1811, recounts Scarisbrick. “The tiara for the head was revived as a symbol of authority by Napoleon to align his court with the glories of the Roman Empire.” But whereas the ancient Roman tiara was made of gold, the new Napoleonic tiara “was glittering with diamonds proclaiming the imperial rank of the empress. She did not wear it for very long, as the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 was followed by the return of Louis XVIII of the old French monarchy. Taking possession of the crown jewels, he had this tiara altered for his niece, the daughter of Queen Marie Antoinette. As an unmistakable symbol of monarchical rule, the tiara was subsequently sold by the Third Republic with other jewels from the state collection in 1887.”

American socialite Cornelia Bradley Martin bought the piece and gave it to her daughter, who was married to English aristocrat Lord Craven. “Besides affirming Lady Craven’s high social status and the wealth of the Bradley Martins, the tiara, with its history reaching back to Napoleon, provided a talking point at social events,” explains the author. “On the death of Lady Craven in the 1960s, it was acquired by Greek shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos, in whose family it remains.”

Diamond Jewelry: 700 Years of Glory and Glamour will be published October 15 by Thames and Hudson.

Image: Diamond Jewelry: 700 Years of Glory and Glamour by Diana Scarisbrick; Iberian pendant from the second half of the 17th century, featuring a hanging pearl, emeralds and diamonds (S. J. Phillips Ltd)

Article from the Rapaport Magazine - September 2019. To subscribe click here.