Today marks the 20th Anniversary of the Death of Princess Esperanza of Orléans-Braganza, née Princess of Borbón, who passed away on this day in 2005. A royal born into the Spanish Bourbons and later a prominent figure in the Brazilian Imperial Family through marriage, we are featuring her trademark Diamond Necklace!
Orléans-Braganza Diamond Tiara | Diamond Necklace
But first, let’s learn about Princess Esperanza of Orléans-Braganza. Born on June 3, 1914, in Madrid, she was a Spanish royal by birth, the daughter of Infante Carlos, born a Prince of the Two Siclies, and Princess Louise of Orléans. She was one of the couple’s four children, with her siblings including Princess Dolores Czartoryska, and Princess María de las Mercedes, who later became the Countess of Barcelona and mother of King Juan Carlos I. She also has two half siblings from her father’s first marriage: Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, and Infanta Isabel Alfonsa, Countess Zamoyska. In 1944, Princess Esperanza married Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza, Head of the Petrópolis branch of the former Imperial House of Brazil, in a grand ceremony in the Cathedral of Seville. The couple had six children together: Prince Pedro Carlos, Princess Maria da Gloria, ex Serbian Crown Princess and current Duchess of Segorbe, Prince Alfonso, Prince Manuel, Princess Cristina, and Prince Francisco. Throughout her life, Princess Esperanza divided her time between Spain, where she owned an estate in Villamanrique de la Condesa—an inheritance from her mother—and Brazil, where her husband maintained the historic Grão Pará Palace in Petrópolis.
Princess Esperanza’s Diamond Necklace is composed of small round brilliant-cut diamonds, arranged in repeating groups of four, linked by slightly larger stones. Hanging from each cross-patterned group is a larger diamond, forming a uniform fringe around the entire necklace. The Princess also owned a pair of matching earrings in drop-style, with round diamonds at the top, followed by small links with two smaller diamonds. From there, two larger diamonds are suspended at different lengths, creating a “négligée” effect with asymmetrical drops.
Nothing is publicly known about the exact origins of this Diamond Necklace, which is consistent with the general lack of detailed information surrounding the full extent of Princess Esperanza’s jewellery collection and family heirlooms. It is possible that the necklace was a wedding gift, though it may also have been assembled later using inherited stones from either side of the family, both Infanta Luisa of Spain or Princess Elisabeth of Orléans-Braganza, who owned an impressive collection of diamonds collets.
In 1957, for the wedding of her sister-in-law, Princess Theresa of Orléans-Braganza, to Mr. Martorell y Calderó, Princess Esperanza paired her diamond necklace with the magnificent emerald jewels inherited from her late aunt, Queen Amélie of Portugal.
The diamond necklace continued to be a staple of Princess Esperanza’s gala attire throughout the 1960s. In 1962, she combined it with her mother’s Diamond Tiara for the wedding Ball of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sofía of Greece.
She again wore the diamond necklace with Queen Amélie’s emeralds for a debutante ball at Casa de Pilatos in Seville in 1966, and once more the following year for the wedding ball of Infanta Pilar of Spain and Luis Gómez-Acebo in Estoril.
In 1968, Her Imperial Highness wore the diamond necklace together with Infanta Luisa’s Diamond Tiara at a banquet at the Itamaraty Palace during Queen Elizabeth II’s state visit to Brazil.
Princess Esperanza also wore her diamond fringe necklace in 1972 at the wedding of her daughter, Princess Maria da Gloria, to Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia.
The diamond suite reappeared frequently during the 1990s at notable family gatherings. Among them were the wedding gala of Infanta Elena and Jaime de Marichalar in 1995, held at Doña Esperanza’s palace in Villamanrique, and the wedding of Princess Clotilde of Orléans to Edouard Crépy in 1993, also held at the same estate.
One of its last notable appearances was at the wedding of Princess Adelaide of Orléans to Pierre-Louis Dailly in 2002, likewise hosted in Villamanrique.
Following Princess Esperanza’s passing in 2005, the diamond necklace was worn on a few occasions by her daughter, Princess Maria da Glória, Duchess of Segorbe.
In 2009, both the necklace and the matching earrings were sold at Sotheby’s in Geneva. Their current location is unknown.
Orléans-Braganza Diamond Tiara | Diamond Necklace
This article was written by assistant editor, David Rato, who runs the Spanish Royal Jewels account on Instagram!
Orléans-Braganza Diamond Tiara
Diamond Necklace
This tiara of diamonds set in platinum represents an exceptional specimen of the Belle Époque jewel design. With a half-moon shape, almost as a sort of kokoksnik tiara, very characteristic of this period, its’ openwork frame is filled with delicate diamond-set leaves, tendrils and arches. The central motif, a quatrefoil arrangement, presents four large pear-shaped diamonds and an important old European-cut diamond.
There is no general consensus on the origins of this tiara, which first belonged to King Juan Carlos of Spain’s maternal grandmother, Infanta Luisa of Borbón, born Princess of Orléans. It was likely given to the Princess on the occasion of her marriage to Prince Carlos of Borbón-Two Sicilies, Infante of Spain, in 1907, who was the widower of Princess Maria de las Mercedes. While some authors claim it was likely crafted in Britain around 1905, others seem to claim that it could have been manufactured in Spain.
Old press reports also don’t provide us with a final answer as “the gifts received by the couple could not be displayed, as had been announced. Many of them are in Madrid or Villamanrique, and it has not been thought appropriate to send them to Wood Norton”. Nonetheless, some British and Spanish press recall that Doña Luisa’s husband-to-be gave to his bride a “complete parure of rubies and diamonds including a diadem, a necklace and a bracelet”, while others describe the groom’s gifts as “a diadem of immense diamonds, a diamond necklace, a collar, a stomacher, bracelets and rings set with the same gems, and a gold-lifted dressing bag, each accessory monogrammed in brilliants”.
Don Carlos and Doña Luisa were hardworking and beloved members of the Spanish Royal Family, often accompanying King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenie, or doing solo engagements. The Infanta would wear her Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara for several gala occasions, as several photographs available attest. It was also worn for several studio photographs taken of the couple.
After the fall of the Spanish Monarchy in 1931 and the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939, Don Carlos and Doña Luisa were able to return to Spain, settling near their dear city of Seville, where they both died years later. In 1958, after Doña Luisa’s passing, the Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara was inherited by her youngest daughter, Princess Maria de la Esperanza, who was by then Imperial Princess of Brazil, while her second daughter, the Countess of Barcelona, inherited, among other items, a Sapphire Tiara, a Pair of Diamond Earrings, and a Pearl Bow Brooch.
As the aunt of King Juan Carlos, Princess Esperanza wore the Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara during the marriage festivities of Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofia in Athens in 1962, including the Wedding Ball at the Royal Palace of Athens.
Princess Esperanza was active in Brazilian High Society, and wore the Diamond Tiara for a reception held in Petropolis on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s State Visit to Brazil in 1968.
Doña Esperanza’s daughter, Princess Maria da Gloria of Orléans-Braganza, would receive the Diamond Tiara as a wedding gift from her mother in 1972, when she married Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, no pictures of her wearing this piece seem to be publicly available, but she likely wore it for the Wedding Ball of Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace in 1973.
In 1981, the Diamond Tiara, together with a beautiful set of emerald jewels from Queen Amelie of Portugal, was sold at auction at Sotheby’s. Since then, it has reappeared twice on the auction block, more recently at Christie’s in 2018, where it fletched the high sum of 395.000 euros.
The Diamond Kokoshnik now belongs to the ‘V Muse Jewelry’ collection, who has been sponsoring the “Le Bal des Débutantes” in Paris since 2022.
For the 2023 edition of the Ball, they generously loaned Infanta Luisa’s Diamond Tiara to Archduchess Ildiko of Austria, Princess of Hungary, the daughter of Archduke Georg of Austria and Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg, whose cavalier was Prince Constantin d’Orleans.
This article was written by assistant editor, David Rato, who runs the Spanish Royal Jewels account on Instagram!
