THE ESTERHAZY JEWELS.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 22, 17 June 1867, Page 142

THE ESTERHAZY JEWELS.

(IWn the Times.)

Ax last these for Itiore than tUree-quarter3of a century have, when Worn by the princes of the great house of Esterhazy, excited the admiration < f the chief courts of Europe —••came under the hammer of the auctioneer, and are to be no more worn, at least by men. There are few who have not heard traditionally of the surprising splendour and value of these gems. The jewelled boots,- the diamond orna inents, and pearl suit of the Esterhazys liave been almost as well known at our and foreign courts as the reigning sovereign himself. The history of this passion fcr precious stones, which in one branch of the Esterhazys developed itself into almost a mania, may be very briefly told. Towards the close of the last century Nicholas 3?rince Esterhazy attended the coronation of Francis 11. as King of Hungary. On that occasion he was captain ol what may be termed the King’s body guard-—that is to say lie was at the head of a troop of 24 princes and nobles only inferior ,to himself in rank and wealth. The first of the jewelled uniforms were made for this pageant. Every part of the equipment of an officer’s dress which, should have been of metal was made of pure brilliants of the finest water, and the effect, as may be imagined, was so dazzling, at a ceremony where all was meant to be display, that the prodigal Prince continued to increase his lavish ostentation in the same way, till, as we have said, the jewelled-suits of the Ester hazys became the talk of the Courts ol Europe. As the feudal proprietor ol Dearly one-third of Hungary, the owner of thirty-three manors, and suzerain of ; seventeen lordships, be found little difficulty in gratifying his taste for precious stones; and, indeed, the family gems alone supplied enough to deck an empress. These fashioned into the most extraordinary and almost priceless ornaments—these, sewn over uniforms till the fabric was literally stiff and cumbrous with their weight —were worn by Prince Nicholas and Prince Paul at the coronation.of Francis H., George IY., William IY., and Yictoria, and at the coronation of both . the-last aDd present Emperors of Austria and Russia. The last Prince Paul died deeply indebted at the commencement of last year. His estates were of course entailed, but his pri private property —those jewels among tde rest —passed into the hands of his creditors, and by them or their trustees hare been sold to Mr Boare, oi 64 Strand, where there are now on view previous to being broken up and sold separately, at so much per carat, according to the value of the gems. Their arrival and intended sale iti this * Country have created a sort of panic in the diamond market, where the ' prices have lately ruled extraordinarily high, and this sudden consignment o] jewels, containing more than fifty thousand brilliants—many of immense value, to say nothing of emeralds, rubies, topazes, and pearls, lias of course bad a certain effect upon present prices, . The most conspicuous and the most . valuable among ,all these splendid ornaments is the diamond aigrette or plume of diamonds, which in place oj ordinary feathers Prince Nicholas used to wear in his Hussar cap. This is ,eaid to be largest diamond ornameni .in the world. The plumes contain nearly 5000 brilliants, which weigh , in the aggregate a pound and a-half, The height of the whole ornament -is sixteen inches, and its width ten inches, every part being built up of clear se! diamonds of the purest color. With this, found the Hussar cap, is worn a loop and tassel of rows of pearls and brilliants, and the tassel and pendants - contain some stones of great price, The diamond-mounted sword anc Scabbard are quite in keeping witl; ' the head-dress, and are of brilliants o; the raras kind. The short belt, how ever, which is meant to hang from tin shoulder to the waist, the tnost valuable of all. It is a mere hand of the finest diamonds anc pearls, one stone at the top being es . timated at the value of .£20,000, ant one at the bottom at £12,000. Witl - these, among snuff-boxes and singlt * diamonds, are shown the. late Prince’s c Orders. The gradual progress of the taste for jewellery can be easily traced < ln: these latter. There, are no less that six Orders of the Golden Fleecer Tin if tbs erdiauy Order, ut itael

sufficiently magnificent, but from this larger and more valuable ones have been successively mode, till the fifth and sixth are probably of their kind unequalled by any jeweHed'Orders in the world. The fifth is composed entirely of the largest and finest brilliants, with the fleece formed in yellow diamonds. 1 The sixth'jewel is of diamonds and emeralds, and contains what is said to be the best formed and best colored emerald of its size which is known to exist. In fact thi3 stone is considered matchless. With these are also the Orders of the Bath, and St. Andrew, in diamonds. It is, however, in the pearl suit, as it is called, that the extravagant ostentation of the Princes is most strikingly and most conspicuously displayed. This is the full uniform of a General of Hungarian Hussars, and every part of its massive and singularly beautiful embroidered jacket, pelisse, and trousers is formed entirely of eostly pearls. The weight of this superb costume is such as would be cumbersome to men of ordinary strength even for a short time. It is calculated that more than a peck of pearls, some of great beauty and value, have been used in the adornment of this suit alone. The exquisite patterns in which the gems are sewn on are almost more worthy of admira tion than the pearls themselves. The whole collection will remain on' view at Mr Boore’s for some two or three weeks to come. The display is well worth seeing, not ODly for its extraordinary value and splendour, but as a still more extraordinary illustration of the lengths to which personal display can rise even among men when once the passion is indulged in.