Emeralds have been capturing our attention for thousands of years; from Cleopatra, whose likeness was carved into emeralds, through the jewelled splendour of the Spanish court, and of course the magnificence of Mughal rulers for whom emerald represented the colour of paradise. Prized for their rich colour, along with their aura of power and privilege, they have adorned some of the most famous women in history, heiresses, filmstars, and a multitude of Maharanis, like Sita Devi.
Sita married the Maharajah of Baroda, then the eighth richest man in the world, in 1943. She became known as the ‘Indian Wallis Simpson’ due to her passion for jewellery, assembling a magnificent collection of more than 300 jewels, many from the Baroda treasury dating back to Mughal times. The couple moved with the international jet-set, travelling the globe with trunks filled with thousands of saris, shoes and furs, buying a second home in Monte Carlo which Sita made her main residence. In 1949 Sita commissioned Van Cleef & Arpels to create a dazzling necklace (christened ‘The Hindou Necklace’ by Van Cleef & Arpels), featuring thirteen Colombian tear drop emeralds, weighing over 150 carats, suspended from a platinum, pave diamond and emerald lotus leaf design, with a central lotus flower. The Maharajah was deposed in 1951, following allegations of financial impropriety, and the couple divorced in 1956. Sita continued to live in grand style for a few more years until her wealth started to deplete and she was forced to auction off some of her jewels in 1974, including the Hindou Necklace. The necklace came to auction once more, in 2002, and was acquired by Faerber, international dealers known for buying and selling some of the world’s most outstanding antique jewellery. Perhaps you caught a glimpse of it last year, when it was on loan to the Van Cleef & Arpels exhibition ‘Gems’, at The National Museum of Natural History in Paris?
If not, then feast your eyes on some of the most beautiful emerald pieces just waiting to grace your own jewellery box.
