Since we were already on the subject of Dutch Royalty just yesterday, I thought we’d just stay right on track and discuss the gorgeous engagement ring that belongs t Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.

Antique, Vintage and Estate Fine Jewelry
Since we were already on the subject of Dutch Royalty just yesterday, I thought we’d just stay right on track and discuss the gorgeous engagement ring that belongs t Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.
For month’s now I’ve been featuring a different British Tiara here on the blog each Tuesday (if you’ve missed out, sit down with a big cup of coffee and start from the beginning). But it’s time to switch things up a bit. For the next little while, we’ll look at the Royal Spanish Tiaras, starting Queen Ena’s La Buena Tiara (also called the Fleur-de-Lys Tiara).
When you’re the wife of one of America’s best loved composers, it’s expected you’ll have a few pieces of lovely jewelry. But what happens when you’re a wealthy woman in your own right? You buy your own amazing jewelry AND let your husband by you amazing jewelry. Linda Lee Porter did.
They say you don’t get to choose love. It chooses you. And apparently, one doesn’t have much choice on where it strikes either. I guess rehab is as good a place as anywhere else. I bet if you were able to ask Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky they’d agree.
If you have been following along on Wednesdays, I’ve been covering all eight of Elizabeth Taylor’s weddings. And some of her jewelry. She was quite the collector and one of these Fridays, I’ll discuss her collection in detail. But today, we’ll talk about a woman, Marjorie Merriweather Post, who’s jewelry collection put Liz’s to shame.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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? Maybe it was the engagement ring that won her over. Maybe it was him. Sadly, we’ll never know.
Love will find a way, as the saying goes. Even when that love is 20 years your senior. 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. No matter that he was also 20 years her senior. When it’s love, it’s love. Or so they say.
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.
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 (his first and her second) they were married 54 years before Peter died of heart failure in 2003.
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.
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.