The Bismarck Necklace (center) on display at the National Museum of Natural Sapphires. Photo by Jorfer, Public Domain.
In 1926, Harrison Williams purchased Vanadis, the largest private yacht in the world. After refitting it to serve his adventurous purposes, he renamed the ship Warrior, and set sail that July with his brand new wife, the wealthy divorcee, Mona Strader Schlesinger Bush.
At every port of call during their round-the-world honeymoon excursion, the Midwestern utilities tycoon purchased lavish gifts for his new bride. It is believed that Mona's now-famous Burmese* sapphire was the most illustrious of these gifts.
According to the National Museum of Natural History, the 98.57-carat, cornflower blue, cushion-cut sapphire was later cut and mounted by Cartier as the central stone in this magnificent Art Deco necklace.
In total, 312 natural white diamonds provide the setting for this blue sapphire, with its perfect clarity and excellent transparency. The pristine sapphire is surrounded by a ring of round brilliant-cut and baguette-cut diamonds. The neck chain features a series of one baguette-cut diamond connected to two round brilliants.
During the ensuing 27 years of their marriage, the necklace set sail for many voyages on the Warrior, as Mona enjoyed the high life of a socialite wife in America. The tides turned, however, when Mr. Williams passed in 1953.
Mona, consummately wealthy by this time, decidedly abandoned Bayville Estate, which she had shared with her husband, and married her "secretary", Count Albrecht 'Eddy' von Bismarck. The couple moved to Paris, where Mona quickly became one of history's most celebrated fashion icons.
Her beauty was unparalleled, her portraits regularly captured by the most celebrated artists and photographers of the mid-century. She would appear in Vogue no less than 50 times, Cole Porter sang of her in "Ridin' High", and Salvador Dali memorialized her on canvas. She was the first American named Best Dressed in the World by the upper echelon of Paris fashion, including Chanel, Lelong, and Lanving, and the world was her oyster.
Though her South Sea pearls appear to be her signature piece in many of these photographs, novelist Edward C. Young relates that it was actually the blue sapphire necklace which secured the starring role in her iconic style. He calls the jewel her "trademark gem," and describes the grand entrances she would make when wearing the necklace.
"Mona's hair went prematurely gray, and she made the most of it....tinting it slightly amethyst, to go with her massive sapphire, blue Balenciaga... color-coordinated dog (Micky)....The footmen wore blue uniforms when they deposited her at a social gathering in her blue Rolls Royce," he writes. He goes on to describe her obsession with matching colors and declares, "Mona knew how to make an entrance." {cited}
Indeed, she appears to have been an expert on making exits, as well. In 1967, for reasons only speculated by this author, Mona donated the necklace to the Smithsonian Institute. It resides now in the Gem Gallery at the National Museum of Natural History. In her honor, the Institute named the necklace "The Bismarck Sapphire".
Perhaps she knew her gig was up. Balenciaga, her favorite couturier closed their doors, and though she would marry one more time in 1971, her heyday was indeed over.
Her last husband, 14 years her junior, died in a sports car accident in 1979. His secret habit of siphoning funds for his children came to light, and the tragedy of a life lived for money and power completed its circle.
Sad? Yes. Unusual? No. It is these tragic stories that often endow such beautiful pieces of jewelry with incalculable value. For in them resides the memories of the high-life, with its meteoric highs and its wretched, lonely lows.
~Angela Magnotti Andrews
*Most of the anecdotal internet reports indicate the stone was from Sri Lanka, but the official report from the National Museum of Natural History declares the stone to be of Burmese origin. 
11 years ago
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