The Goelet family owe their enormous wealth to the good luck or prescience of one of their ancestors in buying up land on Manhattan Island, where New York City stands. In the days when one could purchase half-a-dozen acres for the same price as one now would have to pay for a square foot of the same soil. They own also the land of which is now the new York Central Station. They live in New York at 608 Fifth Avenue.
The Dowager Duchess of Roxburghe, nee Anne Emily Spencer-Churchill, mother
of the Duke, presented to her daughter-in-law May Goelet, the famous Roxburghe collection of emeralds as wedding gift in 1903. The emeralds were valued at $600,000 at that time. They carry the traditions of 200 years of the Innes-Ker family.
The most important of the emerald gifts is a necklace of big stones. The largest one in the center, the others graduating to a clasp, which is studded with tiny emeralds. This necklace is valued at $25,000.
A beautiful pair of emerald earrings made of pear shaped stones and three large emerald pins are among the collection.
The pins are in the shape of sunbursts and are set in the finest Indian gold.
Each pin has fourteen emeralds and around each stone are very small diamonds used to set off the brilliancy of the green stones.Probably she wore the Roxburghe Emeralds to a costume ball pictured above with the sunburst motifs on head and décolleté.
Sources: The Evening News; Sydney Mail 1903; Pittsburgh Press;
Queen´s
Jewel Treasure
Mountbatten Jewels
Queen Mary Jewels
Queen Alexandras Wedding gifts