Queen Victoria’s jewellery collection was immense but has been widely scattered throughout her descendants. Prince Albert created many pieces and parures for her, including a striking emerald and diamond set.
In 1843, Prince Albert designed a set of emerald and diamond pieces for his wife- it includes a necklace featuring large square emeralds surrounded by diamonds, a pair of earrings with large pear-shaped emeralds surrounded by diamonds that are suspended from emerald and diamond posts, and a coordinating emerald and diamond brooch.Â
Two years later, he asked jeweller Joseph Kitching to create a coordinating tiara. The tiara has a base of small rectangular emeralds with interspersed cushion-cut diamonds, a scrolling design of diamonds and diamond-shaped emeralds, and nineteen inverted pear-shaped emeralds to literally top it off.
Queen Victoria wore the emerald and diamond set often, including in multiple portraits by Franz Xavier Winterhalter.
In 1893, Victoria chose to give it to her daughter, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll. She had no children, and left this historic piece of royal jewellery to the daughters of the Duchess of Fife.Â
Currently, the 3rd Duke of Fife owns the entire set. It is on display at Kensington Palace, along with other jewels that are also in the Duke of Fife’s collection.
