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A rare surviver of 19th century British aristocratic jewels, the Rosebery pearl and diamond tiara, bracelet and brooch were at the heart of Lady Rosebery’s vast array of magnificent jewels.   Much ancestral jewellery has been sold anonymously, remounted or broken down but these pieces have descended through various branches of the family and were sold at auction via Christies in June, 2011 for 1,161,250 pounds sterling. 

 

Hannah Rothschild was born into a world of great wealth and luxury. When her father died in 1874, she became the wealthiest woman in England, inheriting properties,  two million pounds in cash, art and jewellery.  The Rosebery jewels were acquired at the time of her marriage to the handsome and intelligent Archibald, 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847-1929), on 20th March 1878.    The Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, gave the bride away  and the guest of honour was the Prince of Wales.   A devoted wife, who was committed to her husband’s success, Lady Rosebery was an influential hostess.  Political and social leaders mixed with royalty and famous authors of the day such as Oscar Wilde and Henry James at her salons in London.  Unfortunately, Lady Rosebery  died of typhoid fever in 1890 and did not live to see her husband appointed Prime Minister in 1894.

 

 The exquisite Rosebery tiara is a particularly potent symbol of the Rosebery’s wealth and status. It is accompanied by seven pearl and diamond drops that can be attached to the band to form a coronet, or hung beneath each detachable circular cluster when they are worn as brooches.  Empress Eugenie encouraged the use of pearls in the mid-nineteenth century, and regularly wore a magnificent pearl and diamond parure composed of pearls which had been held in the state treasury since the reign of Henri IV and Marie de Medicis. 

 

Upon the impending marriage of his son and heir Harry Primrose, Lord Dalmeny, Lord Rosebery decided to divide his late wife’s jewels amongst their children. The Rosebery pearl and diamond tiara was among the gifts to the bride. On 18th April 1909 The New York Times reported on the wedding in great detail: ‘chief in importance was the collection of jewels that belonged to the late Lady Rosebery, which had lain unworn in their cases for nearly twenty years. Parures, tiaras, necklaces, bracelets, brooches, pendants, earrings and clasps composed of diamonds of great size and of pearls formed a collection of sufficient quantity and quality to make the coronation ornaments for a dozen Queens. One tiara formed of a semi-circle of pearls as big as walnuts, contained about 150 diamonds of the first water. This gorgeous headdress is convertible into a necklace, to which may be fitted seven magnificent diamond pendants, each one centered with a pear shaped pearl.’  

 

Subsequently the jewels descended through the family and the Rosebery pearls now form part of a private collection.

 

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