THE KAISERIN'S JEWELS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2818, 18 March 1908, Page 90

THE KAISERIN'S JEWELS.

The German Empress (says M.A.P.) brought to Windsor large quantities of her beautiful jewels, including her famous rope* and ornaments of matchless pearls. At the State banquet she presented a vision of splendour which justified in a double sense the compliment the Kaiser once paid her when he referred to her as "the jewel that sheds lustre by my side." Th# Emprees'a magnificent diamonds, which she- wears on great occa- < dons at Court, are valued at a quarter Of a million sterling. Most of them are heirlooms of the Prussian Crown, and can only be -worn by a reigning queen, a dow- i ager being unable to make use of them. '

The value of the diamonds wMicti are fli# >] Kaiserin's private property, amounts to ' over a hundred thousand pounds. The greater number of tnem were left to her by the Empress Augusta, who specially bequeathed to her granddaughter several dazzling necklets and parures. Her Aiajesty possesses 40 diamond rings, and numberless bracelets, brooches, and pins. The principal ornament of her diadem is a diamond as large as a cherry, on each side of which are set from 30" to 40 extremely fine stones. All these diamonds are kept locked in separate cases, and are put away in a secret strongroom, which is_ most carefully guarded. A few days before a Court function at which her Majesty intends to be present a Court jeweller carefully examines the stones to see if any j of them are loose, or if they want cleaning. When the Empress appeared recently at a grand ball the Court jeweller calculated that her train was beset with diamonds worth £6000, while her dancing shoes were valued at £500. | in private life, however, the Empress wears hardly any jewellery at all — in fact, j her life, apart from State occasions, is i conducted on the simplest possible lines, i She is extremely economical as regards j the clothing of her children — in fact, when ' her sons were boys the suits of the elder ones were actually cut down to fit their younger brothers 1 With her own wardrobe the Empress is equally careful. She has a staff of dressmakers who are always at work remodelling heT gowns, so that it is possible for her to appear several times in them without their being recognised. At State functions she is as superbly dressed as any Queen in Europe, but when in the country she delights in i the simplest costumes — a serge skirt, a pretty blouse, and a plain straw hat being h«r favourite attire.