Die Smaragd Juwelen der französischen Kaiserin Marie-Louise

The Emerald Parure of Marie-Louise Empress of France

La parure de l'impératrice Marie-Louise

weddingpresent from Napoleon I to his wife Marie-Louise of Habsburg. Her jewels chest is in Die Schatzkammer in Vienna.
This diadem was originally mounted with emeralds and was made by Francois-Regnault Nitot and delivered to the new Empress on march 1810.
The original parure consisted of a diadem; a necklace; a pair of earrings and a comb. Total use of 138 emaralds, 2.162 brilliants and 382 rose-cut diamonds. In the diadem were 22 large and 57 small emeralds, 1002 brilliants and 66 rose-cut diamonds. The central emerald stone weighed 12 carat.
Marie Louise went to Vienna after the fall of Napoleon I and took with her her personal jewelery, including the emarald parure. The parure stayed in the Habsburg family until 1953.
Then a Scandinavian decendant of the Habsburg family sold the diadem and kept the other pieces of the parure. They sold it to the famous Jewelhous Van Cleef and Arpels. They replaced the emaralds with turquoises and sold it to Mrs. Merriweather Post. She donated the diadem to the Smithsonian Institution in 1966

Das Orginal der Parure | The Imperial Emerald-Diamond-Parure

Die Kaiserin mit der Smaragdparure|The Empress wearing the Emerald-Parure

Spätere Versionen der Tiara | Later Versions of the tiara

Das Smaragdcollier und die Ohrringe| The Emerald-Diamond-Necklace and the Earrings with Emeralds

More Imperial Jewels