Peggy Hopkins Joyce by Raymond P.R. Neilson and the Portuguese Diamond

A portrait of Peggy Hopkins Joyce by Raymond P.R. Neilson.

This past spring at Sotheby’s the personal collection of Fred Leighton was offered at auction and included jewelry, furnishings, and art. Fred Leighton (real name Murray Mondschein) was known as a jeweler and if you have ever watched a red carpet in the past twenty years you know his work because he became famous for putting vintage and estate jewelry on stars like Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz, and Michelle Williams, among many others. He died in July 2017.

The jewelry offered in his personal collection contained all the great houses—Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Tiffany & Co, to name a few—and his furnishings showed his love of both travel and color.

One of the paintings in his collection was this portrait of Peggy Hopkins Joyce by Raymond Perry Rodgers Neilson (1881-1964). I could not take my eyes off of it! Neilson did a superb job of capturing an elegant lady and I loved the details of her dress and jewelry. I read over at the Frick Collection website that Neilson was a New York City portraitist. I think he was so talented!

Love these jewelry details.

Wearing the Portuguese Diamond.

Have a look at the gem around her neck. What I did not realize at the time when I first saw this painting is that Peggy is wearing a very famous diamond. I read that it is known as “the Portuguese Diamond,” is an Asscher cut, and weighs 127.01 carats, with a clarity grade of VS1. The name was given to the stone by Harry Winston, who acquired the diamond from Peggy in 1951. Wikipedia says Peggy got it from Black, Starr & Frost in February 1928 for the trade of a $350,000 pearl necklace and $23,000 in cash. Winston traded it in 1963 to the Smithsonian Institute for 3,800 carats’ worth of smaller diamonds. It is on display in the Gem Gallery at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The diamond has strong blue fluorescence, which appears even in daylight or incandescent light. GIA says the blue fluorescence masks the faint yellow color of the stone. They graded it an M in color when they examined it in 1997. Fascinating! You can read even more details on the Smithsonian site.

The Portuguese Blue Diamond. Photo by Harold and Erica Van Pelt, courtesy of GIA.

There was a reference to Peggy in the book I read recently Wallis in Love: The Untold Story of the Duchess of Windsor, the Woman Who Changed the Monarchy by Andrew Morton. He called her “the international gold digger and sometime actress” who traveled to the South of France with Lady Furness’s husband, Lord Marmaduke Furness. Lady Furness was born Thelma Morgan, and her twin sister was Gloria, who later became a Vanderbilt. In retaliation for her husband taking off with Peggy, Lady Furness began her campaign to seduce the Prince of Wales, which was a success. They were lovers for five years. Thelma was the only who introduced him to Wallis Simpson.

But back to Peggy, “international gold digger,” what a moniker! I didn’t realize she was an actress but sure enough, IMDB credits her with a few roles. Her photos don’t look nearly as fine as the Neilson portrait of her. I read that she was married six times and was known for her affairs with wealthy men. This probably explains how she was able to afford the Portuguese Diamond! Being the jeweler that he was, I am sure Fred Leighton knew all about the diamond Peggy was wearing in the painting and possibly even bought the picture because of it!

Let me know what you think of this painting of Peggy Hopkins Joyce or if you know anything about her or the artist Raymond P.R. Neilson or have visited with the Portuguese Diamond.

How Do You Store Your Jewels?

A J. Crew Factory jewelry tray holding Alex & Ani bracelets and my favorite long earrings!

I finally realized I have a jewelry organization problem. I figured it out when I noticed that I have six separate stashes of jewelry, both fine and faux, in different spots around the bedroom plus a medium-sized box of pieces that I consider seasonal. It was when I was looking for my summer jewelry that I realized I didn’t know where half of it was and couldn’t put my hands on any of it easily! I eventually located everything I was looking for in a cardboard box—each piece safely nestled within their own smaller boxes—but it only reminded me that I forget about what I own all the time because I am not seeing it on a regular basis.

A J. Crew dish with Carolee brooch and CrewCuts bracelet my girl owns.

Pieces that I wear daily like rings and stud earrings end up in various jewelry dishes and trays, and, of course, because I see them they get more regular wear. I have picked up a few trays from J. Crew or J. Crew Factory. The small round blue and white dish below came from Pearl River Mart in Chinatown.

A tiny bowl of rings.

I do love the jewelry trays on top of a dresser or bookshelf but they can’t hold much and I am thinking it’s time to get more organized about storing jewelry so I could see it all regularly and get more wear out of each piece. I like the idea of opening a dresser drawer and finding my entire jewelry wardrobe there so I could have easy access to it. I found this neutral-colored set of four stackable jewelry trays by Stock Your Home on Wikibuy. I like the look of them, that kind of golden-beige shade would allow the colors of the jewelry to stand out. Maybe these organizers would make me feel like I was perusing my own private jewelry boutique if I could open a drawer and find a lot of what I own stored in them instead of seeing box after box stacked in various spots and not remembering what is inside!

Stock Your Home Stackable Jewelry Trays. Photo courtesy of Wikibuy.

If you have any tips on storing jewelry, let me know. Do you switch out what you see regularly due to the season? Do you use a jewelry organizer or trays, or are you more haphazard about it like me? Do you keep the fine jewelry you own in a safe? I would love to hear how other ladies and gents take care of their jewelry when they are not wearing it!

As for Wikibuy, I like that everything on their site is arranged to show me what my options are from different online retailers for an item I am in the market for and then shows me which retailer will sell me that item for the best price. It seems a lot easier and more organized than a Google shopping search, which is a way I have shopped for things in the past when I haven’t gone directly to a store’s website. I can also search for coupon offers or go straight to a store’s home page, which are other nice features. They will also alert you if the item on your watch list goes on sale! I was able to hone in on these jewelry organizers immediately and am already thinking of how I can clear out a drawer to make room for them. I might need to buy two sets!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the lovely people at Wikibuy but all opinions expressed here are my own.

Princess Charlene at the Monaco Red Cross Ball 2018

Albert & Charlene at the Red Cross Ball 2018. A nice photo of them!

It’s always fun to see what Princess Charlene wears to the annual Monaco Red Cross Ball and I think this may be one of my favorite evening looks I’ve ever seen on her! I read over at The Royal Couturier that Charlene wore Atelier Versace to the ball, held on July 27, 2018. The silver evening bag is by them as well. I love the intricate beading on this dress so much, along with the dégradé color. The people who create these gowns are extremely talented and Charlene wears this dress very well!

Love the back bodice detailing of this dress! Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Corbis.

The full shot. Stunning!

Note the simple studs paired with an ear crawler!

Earrings both simple and edgy!

Love the diamond bangle too.

I was glad to see that the jewelry look was all about diamonds and of course Charlene mixed it up a bit, pairing tiny diamond studs with a diamond ear crawler on her left ear. I also loved the simple diamond bangle and I wonder if that is her amazing (and huge) engagement ring on her left hand, which I wish she would wear more often. It’s clear by now that she prefers to keep it pretty pared down in the gem department most of the time but I do love it when she gets her big diamond ring out! The Royal Couturier says it’s by Repossi and thinks the rest of her jewelry is too. You can read her full write-up here. A lot of the photos I used in this post came from The Daily Mail and their article about the event is here.

Magnificent beading, great bag, and is that her e-ring I spy?

I do not know if Charlene has a stylist or just works with designers within individual fashion houses (maybe both?) but I continue to love how she dresses for her position, body type, and personal style, whether she is making the selections herself or with the help of an assistant. This dress is another winner for me, it looks good on her from every angle and in different lighting. Check out how beautiful it is on the dance floor under the pinky-purple lights!

On the dance floor with Albert.

Let me know what you think of Charlene’s look!

Duchess of Windsor Style Earrings by Magnificent Costume Jewels

At my local thrift shop I recently found a pair of earrings that immediately made me think of the Duchess of Windsor and her love of cluster-style earrings, usually featuring colored gemstones surrounded by diamonds. My thrift store specials feature a ring of faux cabochon sapphires with a center cluster of faux diamonds. They are clip-on so they remind me even more of something Wallis would wear! I got them for about $20 and they are signed: MCJ. A little internet research turned up that this stands for Magnificent Costume Jewels, a company founded by jewelry historian and designer Clive Kandel. He has made some amazing costume jewelry. The prices can be pretty high for some of his pieces so I feel lucky to have gotten these for a song.

Love that blue.

These earrings look great with my triple strand of Jackie pearls by the Franklin Mint but they are also lovely on their own!

They are clip so the weight plus the backing takes a bit of getting used to since my ears are pierced and my daily earrings are studs that I put on and forget about, but I hope to get some wear of out these beauties the next time I want to add some glamour to my look.

Let me know if you have heard of Magnificent Costume Jewels before, own any pieces by Clive Kandel, or if you have some tips on wearing clip earrings to make them more comfortable!

The Duchess of Windsor’s Emerald and Diamond Earrings

Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, Cannes, 1939.

I came across this photo of the Duchess of Windsor that I’d never seen before while searching for something else. The caption said it was taken in Cannes, 1939. It’s the most glamorous picture of Wallis I’ve ever seen! I don’t think she photographed particularly well most of the time but in this picture she looks quite nice. I think that is Fruity Metcalfe on the right, who was Best Man at wedding of Wallis and David on June 3, 1937. I believe that is Herman Rogers, one of her good friends from her days in China, on the left.

As to the earring I spy on Wallis, I’m seeing a cluster earring of the type she favored and wore so well—usually with a colored gemstone surrounded by diamonds. I’ve looked through the Sotheby’s catalogue from the 1987 auction of her collection and found one of her earrings that it could be—a step-cut emerald with clipped corners surrounded by navette diamonds, mounted by Cartier. The catalogue does not give a date for the earring and the notes state only one was available to bid on in 1987—the other was part of the lot (Lot 77) but included the mounting alone, the stones had been removed. Probably to make another piece of jewelry!

From the 1987 Sotheby’s catalog.

Nice!

This 1967 picture of Rose Kennedy, Wallis, and David in his shades and tux makes me laugh! Photo by Bert Morgan.

Could the earrings she wore in 1939 be the same pair of earrings she wore in this photo from 1967 with Rose Kennedy and the Duke? Or were the 1939 earrings part of the cache stolen from her in 1946 during a robbery at Ednam Lodge, a country estate in England?

It is so hard to tell from the slightly blurry black-and-white photograph if they are the same pair. If you have information let me know in the comments section.

I wonder if the person who bid on the remaining earring (and the empty mount of the other) back in 1987 removed the stones to make a new piece of jewelry, had new stones put into the mounting to have the earrings made into a set again, or converted the sole surviving earring into a one-of-a-kind pendant with a historical provenance! I would have the single earring made into a pendant or brooch I think. How about you?

Boivin Starfish, Signed and Unsigned

I’m reading an interesting book called Diving for Starfish: The Jeweler, the Actress, the Heiress and One of the World’s Most Alluring Pieces of Jewelry by Cherie Burns about her hunt for information on the ruby and amethyst starfish created by the jewelry house Boivin in the 1930s. Apparently only three or four of them were ever made back when they were originally fabricated. Juliette Moutard is credited with their design, based on an idea by Jeanne Boivin (wife of René Boivin, the founder of the house and sister of Paul Poiret, the famous couturier). Boivin did not sign their work. Burns writes:

“…Jeanne Boivin did not want to sign Boivin pieces because she believed the design alone was adequate to identify them.”

Boivin Starfish from the 1950s.

I happened to be at Christie’s for the Rockefeller auction exhibit when I unexpectedly got a chance to visit with two Boivin starfish about to go to auction in Geneva. They were stunning and huge! One was made of rubies and amethysts, the other, emeralds and aquamarines. They are fully articulated, so they move and mold themselves to the person wearing them.

This particular passage in Ms. Burns’ book has me thinking about the two starfish I saw in person.

“And then I had heard also that jewelers had on occasion taken a piece they believed to be Boivin to be stamped on its underside, so that prospective buyers would have confidence in its origin. (And thus establishing that it was possibly not original!) What was I to make of this? Like so much of the jewelry business it was shrouded in ambiguity and it would plague my attempt to identify the starfish later.”

According to the online catalog the starfish I saw at Christie’s were later creations, from the 1950s, so they are not the originals Ms. Burns spent her time hunting for, and, tellingly, the starfish I saw are signed, which, if you believe Ms. Burns, is not a good thing, and I would think would make them less valuable than the original starfishes, which I do believe are unsigned.

They are huge and gorgeous!

I would expect that these starfish, while stupendous, would not fetch the prices at auction than the starfish that belonged to either Claudette Colbert, the original owner of the starfish brooch, or Millicent Rogers, the Standard Oil heiress, who also owned one of the original pieces, would garner. However, both still sold for a lot of money. The ruby and amethyst brooch sold for CHF 125,000 (approximately $126,000) and the emerald and aquamarine sold for CHF 150,000 (approximately $151,000).

A photo of the starfish once owned by Millicent Rogers.

Love this photo of Millicent wearing her starfish. And her dachshund is adorable!

A closer shot so you can see the stones and settings in detail.

The emerald and aquamarine starfish in closer detail.

Signed or unsigned, I would be thrilled to have either one of these in my collection! I am only partway through the book and so far Ms. Burns writes of the secretive and mysterious world of high jewelry, of trying to get information about the original starfish only to be met with silence, hostility, or shifting and shady answers. It is a fascinating read!

Let me know if you are reading (or have read) the book or have ever seen one of the famous Boivin starfish.

Meghan’s Wedding Jewelry

My favorite shot from the whole wedding. Gorgeous!

A friend of mine asked me what my favorite part of Harry & Meghan’s wedding was. My favorite part was everything! I loved that they had it at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, I loved Meghan’s dress by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy (and it may not have been intended, but it seems like a nice tribute to Hubert de Givenchy himself since he just passed away in March), and I loved all the jewelry!

I loved the neckline and silhouette of her dress by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy.

I have never seen the tiara Meghan wore before, and I generally don’t like tiaras, but this one was stunning! I was crazy for the geometric patterns and it sparkled like pure glitter in the sun. It was created for Queen Mary (Queen Elizabeth II’s grandmother) in 1932 and the center brooch is detachable and was given to her in 1893 for her own wedding. If you would like to learn more and see some amazing close-up shots of it, head over to The Court Jeweller. You won’t be disappointed!

A great shot featuring the tiara, earrings, engagement ring, and wedding band!

A closer shot. Perfect manicure and I love seeing the delicate gold wedding band too.

I thought the tiara went so well with Meghan’s Galanterie de Cartier earrings which I wrote about last month. Now I am assuming the earrings were selected because they “spoke” to the tiara’s design. These earrings are so very gorgeous in person, I got to visit with them a few weeks ago at the Cartier Mansion and I told the SA that they feel like modern Art Deco to me. After seeing them with the tiara I feel like this even more.

Galanterie de Cartier earrings.

You can see the bracelet in this photo. I also love the small bouquet.

The diamond bracelet she wore immediately caught my attention and I knew I had seen it somewhere before…Because of the research I did on the Cartier website learning about Meghan’s earrings (plus the Cartier Trinity Ruban earrings that Princess Charlene wore recently) I thought it might be Cartier so I headed back to their website and there it was: Reflection de Cartier.

The bracelet is made of 18k white gold set with 104 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 4.50 carats and with 52 baguette-cut diamonds totaling 5.61 carats. My mother tells me that Prince Charles gave Kate Middleton a diamond bracelet for a present when she married William so she thinks that Prince Charles probably did the same for Meghan.

Reflection de Cartier bracelet. Stunning!

And maybe Prince Charles also gave her the fabulous earrings she wore to the evening reception, because they too are from Cartier, the same Reflection de Cartier collection. You can just make them out in the side shot of Meghan & Harry leaving for Frogmore, down below. They are made of 18k white gold, each set with 19 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 0.81 carats and 10 baguette-cut diamonds totaling 1.08 carats.

A great look for both of them, heading to the evening reception.

Reflection de Cartier earrings. Love them!

Cartier earrings and a ring from Princess Diana’s collection.

I read that the aquamarine ring Meghan wore was a gift to her from Harry and was a piece that belonged to Princess Diana. It was made by Asprey. I loved this close up shot of it I found over at the Daily Mail.

A closer shot of the ring. Wow!

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding. I enjoyed it thoroughly and cried several times too! I hope the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be very happy together and I hope we will continue to see Meghan wear her new jewelry often!

Crazy for this shot of them in the landau carriage!

Love love love this photo of them.

Let me know what you thought about any aspect of the wedding!

Princess Charlene and Her Cartier Trinity Ruban Diamond Earrings

Charlene & Albert, April 2018. AP Photo.

Just after I did a post on Meghan’s Galanterie de Cartier diamond earrings, who should I spy also wearing Cartier diamonds but Princess Charlene of Monaco! I saw these photos in the Daily Mail of a recent tennis match she attended with Prince Albert and of course I loved her outfit and makeup and mirrored sunglasses right away. On closer inspection, having spent enough time on the Cartier website to learn about Meghan’s earrings (ha!), I recognized what Charlene had on were the Cartier Trinity Ruban earrings, in diamonds set in 18k white gold. Gorgeous! Do you think maybe Albert is whispering to Charlene how great she looks in the above photo?

I do believe those are Cartier Trinity Ruban earrings on Charlene! Reuters photo.

Just like the Galanterie de Cartier, you can pick the size and specs of the center stone of the Cartier Trinity Ruban earrings, from .50 to .59-carat each, to .70 to .79 each, to 1.00 to 1.15, or 1.50 to 1.69. I love that swirl of pavéd diamonds around each center stone and how it gives the entire earring a 3D effect. They look so modern and glamorous on Charlene. I don’t know what size she is wearing, maybe the half-carat each (any guesses?), but they seem like they would be a great earring for every day wear!

Cartier Trinity Ruban diamond earrings.

A shot of the side. Love that swirl of diamonds!

I hope they were a gift to Charlene from Albert. She just turned 40 this past January so perhaps they were to mark that special occasion? I visited with these this past weekend since I was near the Cartier Mansion on Fifth Avenue. The pair I saw had a center stone size of well over a carat, so with the added pavé swirl they were quite large and so very elegant!

Let me know what you think of these Cartier earrings on Charlene!

Meghan Markle and Her Galanterie de Cartier Diamond Earrings

Great Cartier earrings on Meghan!

As the next royal wedding gets closer I am looking for signs that Meghan will be a Jewelry Gal as she becomes a member of the British royal family, so I was happy to see a few bloggers identify the new diamond earrings she has been wearing lately as the Galanterie de Cartier. I think so much of her jewelry thus far has been very simple and dainty and a tad on the Californian bohemian side so I was so glad to catch these earrings on her and to note that she has been wearing them a lot all of a sudden!

I found a few pictures from around the web showing them on Meghan. I think she looks great in every shot and the earrings help light up her face.

They go with everything of course.

Love them with the black beret!

The Cartier website says the price is available on request so I had a chat with an ambassador to get the details. The earrings are only available for purchase at the boutiques since you can pick the size and specs of each center stone, which can run from .18 to .20-carats and from .40 to .44-carats. For instance, the larger size, with each center diamond being around .40-carats, F color, and VS1 clarity were quoted to me as being around $12,300. If you like the smaller size, they offer a center stone of .20 each, D color, VS1 clarity at around $6,900. They are set in 18K white gold. I like the idea that you can pick your center stone based on your preferences and budget. I also like the flat profile of these earrings, their disk shape, their pavé outline, and their Art Deco feel. I may have to visit with these in person next time I am by the Cartier Mansion. I think they are ladylike, elegant, and if I owned them I would wear them every day!

Galanterie de Cartier diamond earrings.

A side profile.

Since Meghan will be the first American woman to marry into the royal family since Wallis, it is not lost on me that she is stepping out in Cartier, a jewelry house with deep ties to the Windsors. Some of the most amazing pieces that Wallis ever received from David, both when he was Prince of Wales and then King Edward VIII, were by Cartier, so I love that the first “big” jewelry we are seeing on Meghan comes from them as well. I hope they won’t be the last. I also hope Harry bought these Cartier earrings for Meghan as a present!

From another angle.

Let me know what you think of these Cartier earrings!