“Liz Taylor settles for a simpler life with the county farmer.” So read the headlines (or something similar) in December of 1976 when Elizabeth Taylor and John Warner tied the knot.
[Read more…]Wedding Wednesday: Elizabeth Taylor and John Warner
Royal British Tiaras: The Portland Sapphire Tiara
While this over-the-top tiara is listed in as a Royal British Tiaras by us today, it wasn’t truly worn by royalty. Aristocrats and nobility? Yes. Royalty? Nah. But when you have a tiara as stunning as The Portland Sapphire Tiara to talk about, who wants to get caught up in the little details?
[Read more…]Great Jewelry Collectors: Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich came by her jewelry obsession honestly. The German-born actress’ mother came from a well-heeled family that had owned a jewelry store in Berlin’s Unter den Linden neighborhood – a very fashionable area. Marlene learned early on that jewelry purchased from the best retailers would not only hold its value, it would end up proving invaluable in her life.
[Read more…]Wedding Wednesday: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
It was a love for the ages. Or so it seemed for a while. It was definitely one for the history books! When Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton got together, both were married to others. Liz to Eddie Fisher and Richard to Sybil Williams. But apparently theirs was a love not to be denied. And thank goodness because just wait until you see the jewelry.
[Read more…]Royal British Tiaras: The Ladies of England Tiara
We’re getting down to the nitty gritty now and to some of the tiaras that haven’t been seen in decades and decades. Today, I’m just going to break your heart right out of the gate. This tiara exists no more. Sadly, the Ladies of England Tiara was broken up over 100 years ago and some of its diamonds used to create the Cambridge Lover’s Knot and the Honeysuckle Tiaras. But…. that won’t stop me from drooling over the photos of it.
[Read more…]Great Jewelry Collectors: Hélène Beaumont
There are famous folks who want to remain in the shadows. I get that. What I don’t get are those that become ghosts. In trying to research today’s post, I looked high and low for information and images about American Socialite Hélène Beaumont but there was little to find. Thank goodness there’s a magnificent piece of jewelry being auctioned off by Sotheby’s in May, having once belonged to her, or she may have slipped into obscurity for most of us commoners.
[Read more…]Great Jewelry Collectors: Grace Wilson Vanderbilt
Depending on your age, the Vanderbilt you most associate with the name may be different. But I bet that if it’s not Anderson Cooper, it may be his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, that comes to mind. And if you’re of the age where you have millennials as grandkids, you may even remember the last of the gilded days, where the New York elite still had grand parties in their even more grand mansions. In that case, Grace Wilson Vanderbilt, one of the last (if not THE last) to host such gatherings, may just be the Vanderbilt in your mind’s eye.
[Read more…]Wedding Wednesday: Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher
It’s slightly scandalous to be married four times. But when your fourth husband is your now deceased third husband’s best friend, who was married at the time you started your relationship with him….. well THAT’S scandalous. And so goes the marriage of Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher.
[Read more…]Royal British Tiaras: The Honeysuckle Tiara
Choices. It’s all about choices with this tiara. What’s that you say? You don’t like how the central element clashes with your red dress? Well, just swap it out, dear. Indeed, the Honeysuckle Tiara is one of the best kinds – it’s convertible!
[Read more…]Great Jewelry Collectors: Mrs. George Washington Kavanaugh
There are great jewelry collectors with fantastic pedigrees and great class. And then there was Mrs. George Washington Kavanaugh. Born Maria Magdalena Muller in Richmond, Virginia, she first married William Haberle, who was a brewery heir from Syracuse. Little is known about how she met Mr. Haberle or for how long they were married. But by all accounts, they didn’t lead a very glamorous life, instead living in a drab, typical upper middle class Queen Anne house on Prospect Avenue in Syracuse.
[Read more…]Wedding Wednesday: Elizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd
The third time is a charm. That’s what they say, right? For Elizabeth Taylor, she thought she’d found true love with husband number three, Mike Todd. Fresh from marriage number two, she fell hard for the 47 year old Todd (she was only 24). He was also twice divorced. What drew Elizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd together? Was is the multiple marriages and an understanding of what happens when a marriage falls apart? Was it her beauty that drew his to her? Maybe it was the engagement ring that won her over (see it below). Maybe it was his larger than life personality. Sadly, we’ll never know.
[Read more…]Royal British Tiaras: The Fife Tiara
I’m back with the final chapter in my visit to London and Kensington Palace, where I got to see the three tiaras on display there, as part of the Victoria Revealed Exhibit. And I have to say, this is my favorite chapter. And favorite tiara of the three. In fact, one of my top three tiaras… ever. Yes. Ever. The Fife Tiara.
[Read more…]Great Jewelry Collectors: Mary Goelet Innes-Ker
The Gilded Age. It was a time of plenty but for many it was…. well, a time of PLENTY. There were haves and have nots. And then there were the have more than you can imagines. Mary Goelet came from a family in the last category. One of the wealthiest heiresses of the time, back when American heiresses were marrying British and Scottish nobility because they had everything else here in America but a title, Mary Goelet Innes-Ker was the cream of the crop.
[Read more…]Wedding Wednesday: Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Wilding
Love will find a way, as the saying goes. Even when that love is 20 years your senior. Or junior, depending on who your asking. Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Wilding married at Caxton Hall in London on February 21, 1952. No matter that she had been divorced barely a year at that point (the same for him). No matter that he was also 20 years her senior. When it’s love, it’s love. Or so they say.
[Read more…]Royal British Tiaras: Queen Victoria’s Emerald Tiara
Oh to have a husband that loves to dabble in amazing jewelry creations and then gift them to me. Alas, I do not have such a husband. Queen Victoria did, however, and good ol’ Albert created gorgeous pieces for her, including what we now call Queen Victoria’s Emerald Tiara, to match some other amazing emerald jewels he’d made for her. Let’s discuss, shall we?
[Read more…]Great Jewelry Collectors: Princess Salimah Aga Khan
Last week I introduced you to Gabriella Princess zu Leiningen, a woman who married well (twice) and had the jewelry collection to prove it. Her last husband, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, had been married before and was no stranger to bestowing lovely women with amazing jewels. So, today I want to introduce you to…. his first wife, Princess Salimah Aga Khan.
[Read more…]Wedding Wednesday: Elizabeth Taylor and Nicky Hilton
Every wild story has a beginning. And an end. The history of Elizabeth Taylor’s husbands, all seven of them, is truly a wild story. One that started when she was merely 18 years old with a hotel financier (and Paris Hilton’s great uncle) named Conrad “Nicky” Hilton. Here’s their story.
[Read more…]Royal British Tiaras: The Fife Fringe Tiara
There are tiaras that are instantly recognizable (we’ve featured several that fit into that category). And then there are tiaras who’s style was so fashionable “everyone” had to have one. But then, that made it hard to distinguish one from one another. Such an unfortunate problem to have, right? And today’s #TiaraTuesday feature, The Fife Fringe Tiara, is one of the latter.
[Read more…]Great Jewelry Collectors: H.S.H Gabriella Princess zu Leiningen
What’s the easiest way to amass an amazing jewelry collection? Well, maybe not the easiest, but the quickest way is to marry one of the most wealthy men in the world. When money is no object, it appears like jewels just magically fall from the sky. Or Cartier. Just ask Gabriella Princess zu Leiningen. She married His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, 49th Imam of the Ismaili community, international entrepreneur and horse breeder, and also the founder of the Aga Khan Development Network. And then she divorced him. What happened next was the stuff of legends.
[Read more…]Wedding Wednesday: Angela Lansbury and Peter Shaw
It’s not often that we see romance last for long in Hollywood beyond the silver screen. But Angela Lansbury and Peter Shaw were the exaction to that rule. Married in 1949 (second marriages for them both) they were married 54 years before Peter died of heart failure in 2003.
[Read more…]Great Jewelry Collectors: Diana, Princess of Wales
She needs no introduction but just in case you’re reading this fifty years after publication, we’ll clue you in. Diana, Princess of Wales was an amazing woman who gone way too soon. A gentle soul who chose to hold hands with the sick and stand side by side with the poor, she had a jewelry collection that rivaled her true beauty. There are many pieces we could cover, but we’ll hit what we think are the highlights here. And we’ll start with a family piece, The Spencer Tiara. She chose it to wear in her wedding over the Cambridge Lover’s Knot, which had been offered by the Queen. The tiara is still in the family, belonging to her brother, the current Earl Spencer.
[Read more…]Wedding Wednesday: Rita Hayworth and Dick Haymes
They say the third time’s a charm. But that’s not always the case. Actually, in the case of Rita Hayworth, it appears not the third, fourth nor fifth time sealed the deal. But we find it interesting that she was married to four of her five husbands for five years each. The one exception: Dick Haymes, to whom she was only married for two. And now we know why. Here’s the story of Rita Hayworth and Dick Haymes.
[Read more…]