Maharaja of Nawanagar’s Cartier Ruby Necklace

Today marks the 45th Anniversary of the Death of Gloria Guinness, who passed away on this day in 1980! The Maharaja of Nawanagar commissioned this magnificent Cartier Ruby Necklace in 1937, which was worn by socialite Gloria Guinness to Truman Capote’s legendary Black and White Ball and now belongs to the Qatar Royal Family’s Al-Thani Collection

But first, let’s learn about Gloria Guinness! A Mexican socialite from an elite family who grew up partly in exile her father’s political persecution during the Mexican Revolution, in 1933, Gloria Rubio entered into a short first marriage with Dutch Jacobus H. Scholtens, getting divorced by 1935, when she married Franz Egon, Count von Fürstenberg-Herdringen, with whom she had two children before their divorce in 1940. Between 1942 and 1949, she was married to Ahmad-Abu-El-Fotouh Fakhry Bey, a grandson of King Fuad I of Egypt, before finally marrying Thomas Loel Guinness, from the banking branch of the Guinness Family, in 1951, when she became the stepmother of Patrick Guinness, who became also her son-in-law, and Lindy Guinness, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava. Known as ‘the most elegant woman in the World’, Gloria Guinness was a contributing editor to Harper’s Bazaar from 1963 to 1971, photographed by Cecil Beaton, Slim Aarons, Alejo Vidal-Quadras; designed for by Balenciaga, Schiaparelli, Givenchy, Yves Saint-Laurent; and was also a close friend to Truman Capote, as one of his ‘swans’. The Guinnesses had an apartment in Manhattan, a 350-ton yacht, an apartment on Avenue Matignon in Paris, a stud farm in Normandy, a mansion at Manalapan, Florida, a house in Acapulco, Mexico and an 18th-century farmhouse called Villa Zanroc in Épalinges, where Gloria passed away on this day 45 years ago.

This magnificent Art Deco Ruby and Diamond Necklace commissioned from Cartier by the Maharaja of Nawanagar in 1937 consists of an oval and cushion-cut ruby and baguette-cut diamond graduated fringe with brilliant-cut diamond detail to the pavé-set and baguette-cut diamond links and rectangular-cut ruby backchain.

The rubies in this extraordinary necklace were supplied from the Royal treasury, Cartier supplied the diamonds, and the piece created to an original Cartier design – one of the more important jewels commissioned by Digvijaysinhji.

This magnificent ruby and diamond necklace exemplifies these two great associations with its sumptuousness, craftsmanship, quality and style, making it an outstandingly exciting piece for any jewellery connoisseur. It rivals some of the most important ruby and diamond necklaces.

Not only does this jewel have a captivating history but it is also special for another reason. One trend which was prevalent during the Art Deco period and which continues today is the rarity and scarcity of fabulous Burmese rubies. The 116 rubies in this piece, weighing over 170 carats, all originate from the famous Mogok mines of Burma, with their natural rich, deep red colour, bereft of any enhancement.

The Maharajas of Nawanagar had a special relationship with Cartier in the 1930s and several of the most iconic Art Deco Cartier Jewels were created through the collaboration of the Maharajas and Cartier through a shared love of extraordinary stones and jewellery. While Maharaja Ranjitsinhji commissioned the most spectacular jewels, his nephew and successor Maharaja Digvijaysinhji most notably ordered this Ruby Necklace.

The splendid necklace was commissioned from Cartier in 1937 by Maharaja Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar. He was the adopted son of the famous Ranjitsinhji of Nawanagar, who before his death in 1933, was a passionate collector of jewels and one of the world’s best cricket players, playing for England and Sussex between 1985 and 1912. India’s inter-state cricketing prize, the Ranji Trophy, initiated in 1934 by Maharaja Bhupindra Singh of Patiala, was named after him.

In Roland Wild’s 1934 biography of Maharaja Ranjitsinhji, he wrote ‘… London was in easy reach, and his box at Lord’s often called him, there to play the host to scores of old cricketing friends. London, too, tempted him to continue increasing the value of the State jewels, and in the course of many years he laid the foundation of one of the world’s greatest stores of modernised jewellery. He was expert in the study of pearls, and in devising means of beautifying old necklaces and settings.

On accession, he had found that under the administrations of 1895 to 1904, and 1906, the easiest course had been taken to restore the State finances to health. All the State jewels that were not reverenced for their antiquity or history were sold, and the few treasures that were left were clumsily set and unattractive. The Jam Saheb himself loved jewellery, and would fondle precious stones with the touch of an artist. He began to pit his knowledge against the opinions of the experts. He already envisaged the possession by the State of the finest collection in India. It took twenty-three years to fulfil that ambition.’

When the young Digvijaysinhji succeeded the throne he inherited the fabulous Nawanagar State treasure. He maintained the close relationship with Jaques Cartier enjoyed by his father for twelve years and the firm continued to recreate jewels of the highest class. Indeed, in Wild’s biography of Maharaja Ranjitsinhji, Jaques Cartier wrote an article entitled ‘The Nawanagar Jewels’. On the subject of rubies Cartier wrote ‘If there was one precious stone about which it was possible not to agree entirely with the late Maharaja it was regarding the best colour for rubies. He liked them with a tinge of purple and his early purchases reflected this taste, but later he changed somewhat his opinion and bought some stones of the pure crimson which keeps clear of purple’.

Following the Independence of India in 1947 and the abolition of the Princely States, the famed jewellery collection of the Maharajas of Nawanagar was broken up and dispersed, with this Cartier Ruby Necklace returning to Cartier by the early 1950s.

In the early 1950s the necklace was returned to Cartier and re-offered for sale to an exclusive and select clientele. The wife of one such client immediately fell in love with the piece and after the purchase, had it slightly altered from the original design to fit her slender neck in the shorter, prevailing fashion of the time while maintaining the geometric design and the originality of the Deco period.

In 1966, the Maharaja of Nawanagar’s Cartier Ruby Necklace was worn by socialite Gloria Guinness to Truman Capote’s legendary Black and White Ball, layered with a sumptuous diamond necklace.

In 2004, the Nawanagar Cartier Ruby Necklace reappeared at Christie’s Geneva, where it sold for CHF 2,924,000, and is now part of the Qatar Royal Family’s Al Thani Collection, displayed around the world, currently in the Cartier Exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Table of Contents

Royal Jewels in the Cartier Exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum

Dufferin and Ava Shamrock Tiara

Devonshire Diamond Palmette Tiara

Devonshire Diamond Tiara

Devonshire Diamond Rivière

Devonshire Parure

Ruby Clasp

Craven Brooch

Insect Brooches

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