Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough with his wife, Roberte Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough, circa 1945
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Created by the distinguished Parisian jeweller Chaumet in 1931, the Bessborough Tiara is a truly magnificent piece. It features white diamonds mounted in platinum and set in an Art Deco style of clean symmetrical intersecting lines, rising to a 5.6 carat marquise-cut floating central diamond.
For nearly two centuries, Chaumet’s tiaras had adorned aristocracy and ladies of the European court. So the jewellery house was a natural choice for Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough, when he commissioned Chaumet to craft a tiara for his wife, Roberte de Neuflize Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough, on the occasion of his appointment as the new Governor General of Canada. Ponsonby was the third child of Edward, 8th Earl of Bessborough, and his wife, Blanche. Together their family tree holds some impressive weight, including Sir Josiah Guest, great-uncle of Sir Winston Churchill, John, 1st Earl Spencer and famed society swan Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.
The Bessborough Tiara
As well as a successful career in politics, Vere Ponsonby was vice chairman of DeBeers Consolidated Mines and had received the stone now sitting at the centre of the Bessborough tiara as a gift from his colleagues. Once set, the precious diadem was seen atop the countess in her official portraits from their time in Canada as well as at the coronations of King George VI in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
