The Hindou Necklace by VC&A

Capture the Essence! of India's Maharan Sita Devi and her Hindou Necklace with this exquisite Vintage Emerald and Diamond Necklace. Featuring 12.5 carats of emeralds, this necklace is truly fit for royalty. Photo ©2015 EraGem Jewelry.   The Hindou Necklace, fashioned for Maharani Gayatri Devi (Sita Devi) features an astonishing 154.70 carats in Colombian emeralds. These emeralds belonged to the lavish treasury of the Crown Jewels of Baroda in India.

VC&A Designs the Hindou Necklace

In 1949, Sita Devi brought 13 pear-shaped Mughal emeralds, as well as a host of emerald beads and white diamonds, to the Maison of Van Cleef & Arpels (VC&A) in Paris. The esteemed jewelers at Van Cleef & Arpels designed an elaborate fringe and panel necklace for the Maharani which took almost a year to complete. A series of paired lotus leaves paved in white diamonds, with emerald beads placed at their centers, comprises the main panel of the necklace. A central lotus flower, fashioned from platinum and white diamonds, has at its center a carved cabochon emerald set in an open prong mounting with platinum claw-like prongs. Dangling from the bottom-most leaves and petals are the 13 cabochon emerald drops emerging from diamond-studded fluted caps.

Refashioning the Crown Jewels of Baroda

It was common practice during the mid-century for Indian rulers to commission prestigious European jewelry firms, such as Cartier and VC&A, to refashion their treasury jewels into more modern settings. This exciting fusion of East and West is still seen today in the most iconic pieces of the world's most elite jewelry houses. What was not common was for a ruler to take those jewels permanently out of India and transfer them into their Maharani's name. Between 1943 and 1951, Maharani Gayatri Devi, known colloquially as the Indian Wallis Simpson, frequented her favorite jewelers, Van Cleef & Arpels. Within this short time period, she converted almost 300 Baroda treasury jewels into brand new settings, and transferred a number of them into her own name.

The Crown Jewels of Baroda in Monaco

Her husband, Maharajah Pratap Singh Gaekwar, relocated his second wife and their son, "Princie", to Monaco in 1946. After purchasing a grand mansion in Monte Carlo, the Maharajah ordered the transfer of "cabin loads of the great treasures of Baroda state," as writer K.R.N. Swamy puts it {4}. Listed as the eighth richest man in the world, and the second richest Indian prince, it's not hard to imagine that his Maharani lived in vast splendor while in Monaco. While the Maharajah was emperor of his lands, he was free to do with the Crown Jewels whatever he wished. However, in 1947, India was emancipated from British rule. As such, all Indian rulers including the Maharajah of Baroda, were expected to defer to the Indian Union.

The Lost Jewels of Baroda

It seems that this expectation did nothing to change the Maharajah's perspective on ownership of the treasury. And it seemed that the Indian Union made very few demands that first year. However, after he and Sita Devi spent $10 million during a six-week tour of Europe and the United States, the emperors were subjected to a formal audit of the state's finances. With a famine in India, these claims were taken very seriously by Indian and British ministers of finance {1}. The legislature convicted the Maharajah of a misuse of finances and ordered a swift return of the money to the treasury {1}. In 1951, he was finally forced to sign over his rule of Baroda to the Indian Union. He and the Maharani were expected to return all the items of the treasury, most importantly the jewelry. However, very few of them were actually returned. Those that did find their way back to Baroda had been transformed. The Hindou Necklace (also called the Lotus Necklace, or the Baroda Necklace) remained in the Maharani's possession for nearly two decades following their exile from India.

Sita Devi Sells the Hindou Necklace

In 1956, Sita Devi divorced her husband and moved to Paris with their son. The Maharajah's eldest son, born to his first wife in India, was given governance of the Baroda province. Maharajah Pratap Singh Gaekwar lived the remainder of his life in exile in London. He died in 1968. Meanwhile, Maharani Sita Devi and her son continued to enjoy a life of luxury for the next several decades. Having grown accustomed to a life of luxury and fast living, she continued to wear her lavish jewels to cafe society parties and spend vast amounts of money. By the early 1970s, Sita Devi was destitute. According to Vogue, in 1974, Sita Devi sold all of her jewels, including the Hindou Necklace, during an auction organized by the Crédit Mobilier of Monaco. The sale of her jewels brought a reported $4 million. Since then, the Hindou Necklace has been to auction one more time, in 2002. In a description for Lot 417 in Christie's Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale on May 15, 2002, the necklace is described, with a matching pair of earrings, as "A Magnificent Emerald Drop and Diamond Necklace and Ear Pendants, by Van Cleef & Arpels" {Christie's}. The matching pair were sold to a private collector for nearly $1.65 million. ~Angela Magnotti Andrews, Staff Writer

References

1. "Bakersfield California Details, The," The Bakersfield California, August 12, 1948, p. 12.
2. Christie's. "A Magnificent Emerald Drop and Diamond Necklace and Ear Pendants, by Van Cleef & Arpels." May 15, 2002.
3. "Jewelry See: Legendary Jewelry Sales 1/9," Vogue Paris. Accessed March 14, 2015.
4. Swamy, K.R.N. "The most flamboyant Maharani," The Tribune, August 13, 2006.
5. Swamy, K.R.N. "Yarn of the priceless pearl carpet that has vanished," The Tribune, August 18, 2002.
6. Van Cleef & Arpels. "The Set of the Maharani of Baroda." Accessed March 14, 2015.