despite her husband John F Kennedy constantly bestowing jewelry upon her and white house guests often presenting the president’s wife with exclusive gems she seldom adorned herself with them citing that public figures should not flaunt their wealth she believed that true wealth lies in the beauty of the Soul whatever she chose to wear it seemed to seamlessly integrate into her image refined elegant and always tasteful since her youth Jacqueline Kennedy often adorned herself with a pearl necklace later thanks to her
pearls became widely popular during her years in the White House however these weren’t the most famous jewels and it is these that I shall recount today after the tragedy that befell America’s first couple in August 1963 losing their child a boy born prematurely who did not survive despite the efforts of doctors their relationship became more tender each sought to console the other and help overcome their grief for Christmas John commissioned a ring from Van CLE and Arpels intended to be a special gift for his wife who adored the color pink a
huge exceptionally delicate pink kunzite weighing 50 karats according to Jon’s design symbolized his love and hope for Renewal the stone was surrounded by 20 diamonds symbolizing the 10 happy Christmases they had already spent together and the 10 yet to come in November 1963 the gift was delivered to the White House but John did not have the chance to present it just a week later he was assassinated and the ring was passed on to Jackie by his secretary Miss Lincoln along with a letter expressing his love for her Jackie
rarely wore this ring despite some historians claiming she never parted with it it was too painful for her after Jackie’s death this pink Marvel with its tragic yet remarkably touching story was sold at a sbe’s auction for $400,000 the buyer chose to remain anonymous another Unique Piece was the engagement ring from Senator John Kennedy who had later become the president of the United States the ambitious politician presented his beloved with a true Masterpiece of jewelry crafted by Van Clee and Arpels Jacqueline’s ring featured a complex
design with a Duo of diamonds weighing 2.88 karats and an emerald weighing 2.84 karat the main Stones were surrounded by smaller Diamonds the ring was magnificent however upon moving to the White House Jacqueline wanted to give it a more lavish appearance and asked to add Diamond leaves and round Stones weighing an additional 2.
88 carats John Kennedy was so elated by Jackie’s acceptance of his proposal that a few days after their engagement he presented his bride to be with a second gift an intricate white gold bracelet adorned with diamonds the piece was purchased at the van cleff and Arpels jewelry boutique on Fifth Avenue in New York City Jacqueline adored this Jewel so much that she rarely parted with it the bracelet adorned her wrist during the days leading up to their wedding and at numerous sarees in the White House in July 1953 hardly any fashion magazine failed
to mention that the engagement bracelet was a splendid alternative to the traditional engagement ring suggesting that couples in love should take note of this idea today this precious item belongs to Caroline the daughter of John and Jacqueline Kennedy however as known the president of the United States was not Jackie’s only husband in October 1968 the former first lady married Greek billionaire Aristotle anasis who had previously sealed his Proposal with a precious jewelry gift Jackie’s new ring bore no resemblance to the previous one
it featured only one stone but what a stone it was a 40.4 2 carrot Marquees cut diamond crafted from a massive 601 Kat Stone discovered in loso in 1967 the jewel was unique only 18 Stones were cut from the precious Boulder Jackie’s ring was named loo III it’s no wonder Jackie hesitated to wear the jewel in public It is believed she dared to flaunt the ring only twice before finally hiding it away another of Jackie’s adornments was the Sunburst Watsky Diamond brooch Jackie Kennedy discovered this Jewel in a London
antique shop in 1962 made of gold silver and diamonds the treasure was crafted in the 19th century by Watsky a jeweler to the British crown the sun-shaped brooch was priced at $50,000 according to other sources twice as much and to purchase it Mrs Kennedy secretly sold diamond brooches she had received as wedding gifts from Joe and Rose Kennedy to avoid offending her husband’s parents Jackie ordered and showcased copies of all parts of the set they had gifted she often chose this striking vintage piece for evening
ensembles wearing it both as a dress brooch and a hairpin today the brooch is owned by Jackie’s daughter Caroline in the early 1960s Tiffany designer John Schlumberger devised a new type of bracelet bulbous in shape and adorned with Pon enamel decoration this special enamel technique involves using foil chips French pona meaning scale which was employed by 19th century Jewelers one of the first recipients of such a jewel was Jackie Kennedy her husband presented her with this gift in 1962 after visiting the Tiffany Boutique in
New York City Jackie later acquired matching earrings with white enamel and wore these Jewels separately or as a set throughout her life pearls are always appropriate believed the most iconic first lady of the United States not limiting the Pearl’s Beauty to Natural Origins alone in her jewelry collection Jacqueline Kennedy possessed several faux pearl necklaces of varying lengths from chokers to Classic strands in two to three layers and evening ornaments of the so-called Opera length Jacqueline Kennedy’s influence on the rise of
artificial pearls was perhaps as significant as Coco Chanel’s in her time I’d like to delve deeper into one astonishing piece that belonged to Jackie the vanle and arel set Maharani in the late 1960s Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis received as a gift from her husband Aristotle Onasis a set of gold necklaces in earrings adorned with diamonds rubies emeralds and sapphires from the jewel of vanle and Arpels the necklaces value amounted to 1,200,000 Jackie lamented that such a significant item spent most of its time locked away
in a safe as she was reluctant to part with her Treasures then one day she approached Jeweler Kenneth J Lane with a request to create an exact replica Kenneth was invited to inspect the piece personally to craft a duplicate he recalls this encounter in his book faking it the only thing I won’t be able to replicate exactly said Jackie’s jewelry King are the cabachons it’s impossible to make them from such lowquality artificial Stones Jackie burst into laughter they agreed that the work would not be costly provided Jackie
allowed Lane to include the necklace in his collection Jacqueline agreed years later the necklace was requested for the TV series Dynasty every time we met with Jackie she whispered in my ear ear smiling I saw our necklace in Dynasty recalls Lane later the necklace was auctioned by SBE for $91,000 in May 2015 at a christe’s auction in Geneva an anonymous buyer acquired a rare set of earrings and a ring for $32,000 these were gifted by Jacqueline Kennedy’s second husband Greek billionaire Aristotle Onasis to his
newly wed wife on their wedding day in 1968 the Pinnacle of the Ring was a symbol of love a heart-shaped Ruby while the top part of the earrings resembled flowers adorned with small Diamonds the pear-shaped Ruby pendants of the earrings were detachable and Jacqueline preferred not to wear these pendants Jacqueline had always been a fashion trend Setter and she remained so to this day 23 years after her passing in all these Jewels Jackie Kennedy’s innate style and ability to blend clothing and accessories are evident her
