Stories of the famous Cartier tiaras - part II: the death of the Lusitania, the olive wreath and the wedding of Kate Middleton

In this part, we continue our acquaintance with the exquisite tiaras of the Cartier jewelry house and the interesting stories associated with them.

Today's story opens with an exquisite Greek-style tiara created by Cartier jewelers in 1909. It was ordered by Canadian businessman and aristocrat Sir Montagu Allan as a gift for his beloved wife Marguerite Allan. The main decorative motif of this tiara is a Greek meander radiating symmetrically from a large Old Mine diamond in the center. Along the top and bottom edges of the tiara is decorated with small pearls.

Tiara Allan. 1909

Margarita often appeared in this tiara. The pages of the Canadian gossip column were full of references to the presence of the Allans at various events of those years and necessarily described Margarita's luxurious jewelry.

With the outbreak of the First World War, the eldest children of the Allan couple - daughter Martha and son Hugh left Canada for the UK. Martha became a nurse, and Hugh joined the Royal Naval Air Service. In the spring and summer of 1915, Sir Montagu himself intended to go to Great Britain. After conferring, the Allans decided that Margarita and her younger daughters Anna and Gwendolyn should also go so that the whole family would be together during the difficult years of the war. And this decision became fatal for them.

Liner "Lusitania". 1907-1913. Wikimedia Commons

On May 1, 1915, accompanied by her daughters and two maids, Margarita Allan boarded the Lusitania, which was leaving for her last voyage. On May 7, the Lusitania was attacked by a German submarine and sank within 18 minutes. The number of boats on board was sufficient to save all passengers and crew members, but the sinking ship continued to move and capsized most of the boats (according to existing information, only 6 out of 48 boats were successfully launched).

In total, 1198 people died that day, including both Allan daughters. Despite the fact that Margarita with her daughters and maids went on deck almost immediately after the explosion, they failed to get on the boat and they jumped into the water directly from the deck of the ship. The children were probably dragged along by the liner, and they could not swim out, and Margarita and her two maids were picked up by a lifeboat.

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Marguerite Allan with her younger daughters Gwendoline and Anna. 1906. Wikimedia Commons

Leaving Canada, Lady Allan took with her her entire wardrobe (20 chests) and jewelry, including a meander tiara from Cartier, which was saved in this disaster by one of her maids, hiding the jewelry in her outerwear. In subsequent years, Margarita again often appeared at social events in this tiara, which is confirmed by archival photographs.

Lady Margaret Allan. 1930s
Lady Margaret Allan. 1930s

Since Marguerite outlived all her children, the tiara, after her death in 1957, passed to her cousin Elsbeth Paterson Dawes. Dawes, in turn, bequeathed it to her granddaughter, Elzbeth Bourne Straker, who sold the Allan tiara at Sotheby's for $2015 in 868, the centennial year of the sinking of the Lusitania. The buyer was the jewelry house Cartier, which carefully keeps the tiara in its collection of historical jewelry.

At the beginning of the 1907th century, Louis Cartier, among other things, became famous for his impressive platinum tiaras. He was the first jeweler to use platinum instead of gold and silver. This material was lighter and stronger, which made it possible to encrust many more stones and create jewelry that seemed to consist of only diamonds. One of these was the exceptionally beautiful tiara Marie Bonaparte in the form of an olive wreath, created by the Cartier jewelry house in XNUMX.

Tiara Marie Bonaparte in the form of an olive wreath. 1907

Golden wreaths were common in ancient Greece and Rome and came back into fashion at the beginning of the XNUMXth century during the Empire era. Since that time, their popularity has not faded. During the XNUMXth and early XNUMXth centuries, jewelers made a huge number of tiaras in the form of laurel, olive, oak, and flower wreaths. And directly this tiara could be created as a kind of tribute to the great ancestors of Marie, who was the great-granddaughter of Lucien Bonaparte (Napoleon Bonaparte's brother).

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Princess Marie Bonaparte wearing an olive wreath tiara. Early XNUMXth century

Marie received this diamond olive wreath as a gift for her wedding to Prince George of Greece and Denmark in 1907. Along with other wedding gifts, this tiara was put on display a few weeks before the wedding.

Princess Marie Bonaparte wearing an olive wreath tiara. 1930

Each leaf of the wreath is completely covered with diamonds, and 11 large stones were stylized olives and could be replaced with rubies or emeralds. The large pear-shaped diamond in the center was also removable and subsequently replaced by Marie with an impressive diamond star. The tiara became the princess's favorite piece of jewelry, and she wore it to all major events, including the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953.

Princess Marie Bonaparte and Prince George of Greece and Denmark on the day of the coronation of Elizabeth II. 1953
Princess Marie Bonaparte and her daughter Princess Eugenie of Greece. 1953

After the death of Marie Bonaparte, the tiara was inherited by her only daughter, Princess Eugenie of Greece, and after her death in 1989 passed to her daughter Tatiana Radziwill, who sold the tiara at auction. The buyer of the tiara was the Albion Art Institute.

And the last tiara we will talk about is the Halo tiara, which Kate Middleton married Prince William in 2011. This small but sophisticated tiara has always been a favorite of the ladies of the British Royal Family.

Royal Tiara Halo. 1936

Tiara Halo was ordered by Cartier jewelry house in the middle of 1936 by the Duke of York George (the future King George VI) and it was intended as a gift to his wife Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The tiara consists of sixteen graduated curls on a medium-width rim. It was made with 739 brilliant-cut diamonds and 149 baguette-cut diamonds. Elizabeth did not often appear in this jewelry, and in the spring of 1944 she gave it to her daughter, Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen of Great Britain, on her 18th birthday. Perhaps it was then that a tradition developed, according to which all young princesses wore this tiara only until their marriage. She was light, graceful and perfectly emphasized the beauty of young princesses.

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Duke and Duchess of York. November 1936

Elizabeth herself never managed to wear this tiara, but she often lent it to her sister Margaret, including on the day of her own coronation in 1953. The next owner of the jewel was the daughter of Queen Elizabeth, Princess Anne. Like Margaret, she only wore the tiara until marriage. The last time Princess Anne appeared in her in March 1970 during the royal tour of New Zealand, in which she went with Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Princess Margaret wearing the Halo Tiara on the day of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. 1953
Princess Anne wearing the Halo tiara during her royal tour of New Zealand. 1970

After that, the tiara went into storage for several decades, and the world saw it again only on April 29, 2011, on the wedding day of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Prince William and Kate Middleton on their wedding day. 2011

On that day, many hoped to see Kate wear the Spencer tiara, but the royal family preferred the Halo tiara. This choice could have a symbolic meaning associated with the history of the tiara - its first owner became queen soon after she received the tiara as a gift. Then the tiara was presented to Princess Elizabeth, who also later became queen. And now, when Kate Middleton married the crown prince, she officially became not just a duchess, but also the future queen of Great Britain, which, perhaps, was emphasized by this tiara.

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