Focus on... Kent Jewels: More Random Pieces

It will appear that we have covered most of the important or well-known pieces in the Kent collection. This post is dedicated to some of the jewels that didn't warrant a separate article.

Most jewels belong to Princess Michael of Kent because although it was the Duchess of Kent who inherited the bulk of jewels from Princess Marina's collection, Marie Christine is the only one among Kent ladies who wears her jewels fairly regularly.

Jewellery Sets

Princess Michael has some really interesting sets in her collection. One of them is the beautiful aquamarine set that consists of a necklace of pearls and aquamarines, a pair of earrings and a brooch. Sometimes, the Princess wears the brooch (made of three large square aquamarines) in a necklace setting. 

Princess Michael wearing her Aquamarine Set

Another beauty is a citrine set consisting of a pendant and a pair of earrings. The pendant can be worn with a detachable pearl drop. Marie Cristine often dons it both on its own (as a brooch), or incorporated into a necklace.

Princess Michael wearing her Citrine Set

Yet another set presents a very interesting combination of turquoises and amethysts. The set consists of a necklace incorporating turquoise and amethyst pendants, and matching earrings. The pendants in the necklace are detachable and can be worn with other pieces such as a pearl choker (as Marie Christine does in the third picture below). 

Princess Michael wearing her Turquoise and Amethyst Set

Other sets include cat-eye stones, turquoises and amethysts. There are also some ethnic jewels such as the Indian set which she occasionally wears, consisting of a necklace, earrings, and a bracelet. 

Princess Michael wearing some of her other sets

Marie Christine has never been afraid to experiment with various styles, and she certainly doesn't limit herself to diamonds and pearls: her collection is always interesting and slightly over-the-top - not unlike its owner. 

Necklaces

The Duchess of Kent doesn't wear a lot of jewellery but she does have a fabulous collection of pearl necklaces. It includes a pearl choke with pearl and diamond pendant (the pendant is detachable and can be worn as a brooch) - a gift from the Duke and Duchess of Kent (first picture below), a three-row pearl choker (fourth picture below), a one-row pearl necklace with a small pearl pendant in a diamond frame (second picture below), and quite a few other pieces.

The Duchess of Kent wearing some of her necklaces

Princess Alexandra is another Kent lady who isn't too fussed about jewellery. Nevertheless, she has some really nice pieces that deserve a mention. In her youth, Alexandra had a gorgeous pearl and diamond necklace with a matching brooch (first picture below): unfortunately, neither have been seen decades so it is likely the set was sold at some point. 

Princess Alexandra wearing some of her necklaces

Alexandra's favourite piece though has to be the pearl and diamond choker she wears nearly on daily basis (third picture above). And speaking of chokers: there is another fantastic choker in her collection which has unfortunately been seen just a couple of times. It consists of four rows of pearls with a large emerald pendant (middle picture above).

Princess Michael wearing some of her pearl (paste and real) necklaces

Princess Michael's collection of necklaces is quite huge and equally diverse. Her favourite and most-worn piece is probably her pearl and diamond choker - a gift from Prince Michael on the occasion of their son's birthday (second picture above). Some of her other pearl necklaces contain pearls of such huge sizes that I suspect they are paste. But even if it is so, Marie Christine certainly wears them with aplomb! 

Princess Michael wearing some of her other necklaces

As far as her non-pearl necklaces go, Princess Michael appears to think the bigger and longer the necklace is, the better. She has necklaces of every imaginable style and stone. Interestingly  she isn't afraid to mix things up a bit, wearing obvious paste jewels with family heirlooms and historic pieces. 

Brooches

The favourite brooch of the Duchess of Kent is a diamond encrusted bar brooch she used to wear to virtually all tiara events (first picture below). It appears to be set in platinum. One of Princess Alexandra's favourite brooches is a six-petal diamond flower brooch which is one of her most-worn pieces (fourth picture below). Among other pieces, the Princess also has a lovely emerald and diamond butterfly brooch which she usually pairs with her emerald earrings (second picture below), and a timeless classic - a gold flower bouquet brooch (third picture below). 

The Duchess of Kent wearing her Diamond Bar Brooch (left), and Princess Alexandra with  some of her brooches

Princess Michael has a diamond and pearl brooch, which she usually wears suspended from a necklace, that used to belong to Empress Maria Feodorovna (first picture below). It used to belong to Princess Marina who was of course the daughter of Princess Nicholas of Greece and Denmark (born Grand Duchess Elena of Russia), herself Maria Feodorovna's daughter. Interestingly though Princess Marina received the brooch not from her mother but from Queen Mary of Teck who had bought it from Elena in 1920s. 

Princess Michael with some of her brooches: the first one on the left (suspended from a necklace) is a brooch that belonged to Maria Feodorovna

Marie Christine's other brooches include a butterfly brooch adorned with crystals (second picture above), an autumn leaf brooch (third picture above), as well as a brooch of three interlocking silver crescents (fourth picture above). The crescent was the emblem of Diane de Poitiers, one of Princess Michael's ancestresses, who she wrote about in her book "The Serpent and the Moon". Marie Christine usually wears the brooch when promoting the book.