FAMOUS FANS

From the wives of wealthy American industrialists to Punjabi princelings and many a queen in between, Boucheron’s brilliant designs have a global following

MARY-LOUISE MACKAY

In 1878, Mary-louise Mackay, the wife of an American industrialist, placed one of the most famous orders in the history of jewellery-making at Boucheron Paris. A two-tier necklace made of diamonds and sapphires, it boasts a central sapphire from Kashmir that weighs 159 carats. Known today quite simply as the Boucheron Necklace, it is so grand and dramatic that it really should find a home next to the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.

QUEEN ELIZABETH, THE QUEEN MOTHER

Which brings us nicely to the late Queen Mother, who was left an extraordinary collection of jewellery by Mrs Ronald Greville in 1942. Greville was famous for her incredible stones—and was known to shame society women in London for their inferior gems. Her bequest to the queen included three pieces by Boucheron: a spectacular diamond necklace, a valuable pair of large pearl earrings, and a bandeau tiara with an emerald of 93.7 carats glittering at the centre. How’s that for royal jewels?

THE MAHARAJA OF PATIALA

When the Maharaja of Patiala walked into 26 rue Vendôme in 1928, he was starting a relationship that would prove hugely important in both his life and Boucheron’s future. He commissioned the jeweller to make a total of 149 pieces incorporating 1,432 emeralds, 7,571 diamonds and hundreds more sapphires, rubies and pearls. The results inspired later Boucheron collections, and a few pieces sit in pride of place in the Paris flagship store today.