Empress Sisi's Gem From The Hulu Documentary, Explained
The Sisi's gem stolen by notorious jewel thief Gerald Blanchard was just one of at least 27 similar items Empress Elizabeth commissioned from Austrian court jeweler Köchert, and the Viennese jeweler, Pioté. The items can be seen in an 1865 painted portrait of Elizabeth by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (pictured), and as that image spread around Europe similar jewel-encrusted stars for women's hair became the must-have fashion accessory in European high society. Elizabeth also appeared with the stars in her hair at several notable royal functions.
Over time, the collection was dispersed to Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting while some were given away to her family members, according to The World of Habsburgs. Eventually, many — but not all — of Elizabeth's collection of original diamond stars were lost. Among the last known originals still in private hands was put on display in Vienna on the 100th anniversary of Empress Elizabeth's assassination and then stolen by Blanchard.
In 1902, a descendent of Empress Elizabeth and a member of the Austrian royal family purportedly received a collection of 27 stars as a wedding present but by 1963, those gems were no longer in the family's possession, according to estate records. (The Köchert stars were just one of two sets of stars she commissioned in her lifetime.)
[Featured image by Art UK via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0]
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