The Sutherland Diamonds, comprising a necklace of twenty large old brilliant-cut diamonds in silver-topped gold collets with two extension lengths and a pair of earrings, are an extraordinary survival amongst British noble jewels: a magnificent and historic collection of diamonds that has been prominently worn at multiple coronations, adapted and reworked over time to suit changing fashions. They might so easily have been broken up were it not for their grandeur, heritage and alleged link with Marie Antoinette.
Worn by successive Duchesses of Sutherland from the early Nineteenth Century onwards, the diamonds were the most striking family jewel in the celebrated receptions at Staffordshire House, the grandest town house in London until its sale by the 4th Duke of Sutherland in 1912. Recorded in paintings and film footage of coronations, they were worn by Harriet (1806-1868), wife of the 2nd Duke, and Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria, to the Queen’s coronation in 1838 as an enormous upright headband of diamonds. Millicent (1867-1955), wife of the 3rd Duke and Canopy Bearer at the Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra in 1902 wore the diamonds as a tight choker with a line of diamonds extending down the front, very much in the style of a lavalière of the day. In 1937, Eileen (1891-1943), wife of the 5th Duke, wore them à la mode as a long necklace, or sautoir to the Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth.
Tradition links the diamonds to the scandal that contributed to the downfall of Marie Antoinette – the so-called ‘Affair of the Diamond Necklace’. The French queen was implicated in this, one of the grandest jewellery scams in history, and although innocent, her reputation never truly recovered. The connection is unproven, but the size, beauty, and role these diamonds played in royal and aristocratic life in Britain place them among the most remarkable surviving noble jewels.
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