The jewerly from Monaco most iconic, a country known as the Principality of Monaco, are part of the collection of jewels of the royal family of a country that with just two square kilometers of extension, is the second smallest country in the world, after «The Vatican»; but despite being so small it is considered a tax haven; where the famous Casino in Monte Carlo, the yachts, the Formula One Grand Prix, the paparazzi, the James Bond movies, and the jewels of Monaco stand out; which are carried by their princesses.
It should be noted that the jewels of Monaco are located in a paradise on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and surrounded by France; that stands out for its great tourist and financial movement; where it also has the highest concentration of millionaires per inhabitant in the world. An interesting fact emerges from the report «The New World Wealth» by the Knight Frank real estate company, which records that, in Monaco, 13,400 millionaires live, of the total of 38,550 people who inhabit it, which represents 34.8 % of the total population.
Thus, in this rich country, full of millionaires and wealth, Prince Rainier married the beautiful American actress Grace Kelly, with whom he had two daughters, Princesses Carolina and Estefania, and a son, Prince Albert; who have inherited the fortune of this couple known throughout the world.
But every Principality or royal family has its collection of jewels, and the second smallest country in the world is no exception. However, these jewels have not always been inherited from mothers to daughters or daughters-in-law, because Carlota Grimaldi, mother of Rainier III and great-grandmother of the current Carlota, flatly refused to cede the jewels of Monaco to the Princess. Grace Kelly, when she married her son.
Therefore, since that marriage, each Princess has dedicated herself to creating her own collection of jewels, so that they form part of the general jewelery collection of Monaco, which they will then decide whether to leave to their daughters or to their sons’ wives. .
The Grace Kelly case happened again with Charlène Wittstock, wife of Prince Albert of Monaco, Rainier’s only son with Grace Kelly; since instead of her jewels passing to Charlene; they were ceded to her granddaughter Carolina, diverting her successor line and skipping a generation.
Now, when talking about the jewels of Monaco, we must first mention that the beautiful tiaras that Grace Kelly had worn were wedding gifts and loans; since she did not use to wear a lot of jewelry, and the ones she wore were not very showy or ornate, since her style was simple and sober, using tiaras adapted to her hairstyles; and usually small, such as the Bains de Mer tiara, which became very popular in her day; and it was designed by Cartier in 1956, and was made with diamonds and rubies; inlaid in gold and platinum.
This tiara is one of the most iconic Monaco jewels, and is characterized by the three stones that adorn the top; They can be used as a stand-alone necklace or brooch, since they can be separated from the base. This is one of the jewels of Monaco, which was a wedding gift; which was given to him by a Monegasque company “Société de Bains de Mer”, which is the owner and founder of the Grand Casino, the Opera and the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo.
It should be noted, that Cartier was the jewelery designer preferred by beautiful Grace Kelly; but he also owned jewelry from other French jewelers; and Rainier knew it, that’s why when he proposed to her, eight months after meeting her, he gave her a Cartier ring, which was made with a 10.47-carat emerald-cut diamond, and later he continued giving her jewelry from this famous jewelry designer. jewels.
Within the jewels of Monaco, there are the tiaras of Princess Carolina, who has been the main heiress of all the historical jewels of Monaco; but she has also inherited some family jewels from her current husband, Prince Ernest Augustus of Hannover.
One of Princess Caroline’s favorite Monaco jewels is the Cartier Pearl Drop tiara; which is considered the most iconic and significant, due not only to its tradition but also to its great beauty. This beautiful jewel with pear-shaped pearls was given by Pierre de Monaco in 1949 to her wife, Carlota, and Carolina inherited it after her death. The base is white gold and platinum and pearls dangle from diamond-studded bows.
Another of Princess Carolina’s favorite jewels, and which was also Queen Charlotte’s, is the Diamond Fringe tiara; which is a diamond necklace, which goes with art deco earrings, also diamonds.
On the other hand, Carolina de Monaco likes to wear the Floral tiara and the Brunswick tiara; which belonged to Josefina Bonaparte, but was later bought by the House of Hannover; and inherited by Carolina, as part of the family jewels of her husband, Prince Ernest of Hannover.
Finally, within the jewels of this family, there is the own collection of Princess Charlène, wife of Prince Albert of Monaco; among which the “Diamond Foam” tiara stands out, designed by Lorenz Bäumer in 2011 and the Ocean tiara, designed by Van Cleef and Arpels in 2011 and made with diamonds and sapphires. Both have marine motifs alluding to her life as a swimmer.