Unseen in public for a century before it was auctioned earlier this year, a rare Boucheron tiara commissioned by the diamond-loving Viscountess Harcourt will go on display at Christie’s New York alongside a host of other Boucheron treasures. Get all the details below.
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As the niece of the infamous Gilded Age banker J.P. Morgan, and part of Britain’s glittering aristocracy by marriage, Mary Ethel, Viscountess Harcourt, knew a thing or two about fabulous diamond jewels.
She was a devoted client of the French jewellery house Boucheron and amassed an enviable collection of the Maison’s diamond jewels during her lifetime. As a young woman, she was taken by her beloved father, Walter Hayes Burns, to Boucheron to select pieces for her wedding trousseau, prior to her 1899 marriage to Lewis Vernon Harcourt, son of the aristocratic British politician, Sir William Vernon Harcourt.
His only instruction? For Mary Ethel to order anything her heart desired.
She duly chose a lavish set of jewels, which included a diamond tiara with fleur-de-lys motifs. This she wore with a diamond necklace set with 28 diamonds that were taken from the ‘Comb of Pamilles’, part of the French Crown Jewels which were originally made for Empress Eugenie (and which had been bought for Mary Ethel by her grandfather).
Now, one of the tiaras commissioned by Viscountess Harcourt will go on display at Christie’s New York, as part of an exhibition of Boucheron’s extraordinary creations from the past 168 years, all the way through to today.
Made by Boucheron in 1924, the Harcourt Diamond Bandeau is crafted in platinum and white diamonds, with an early Art Deco silhouette. Viscountess Harcourt gave it to her daughter, the Hon. Doris Harcourt, as a wedding present for her marriage to the future 6th Baron Ashburton.
Its olive wreath motifs were inspired by a classic design, symbolising peace and harmony, making the jewel an emotional as well as spectacular present for the young bride.
Prior to its auction at Bonhams in London earlier this summer, the piece had been passed down through Doris Harcourt’s family, and hadn’t been seen in almost a century. It eventually sold for £508,000, including buyer’s premium, which far exceeded its estimate of £200,000 – £300,000.
The tiara can be viewed at Boucheron: In Focus, A Monograph of a Visionary, which is being held at Christie’s in New York from October 8th – 18th. The retrospective will include 80 different creations drawn from both the maker’s archive and its contemporary collections, to show the breadth of its work since its foundation in 1858.
In addition, the Maison’s newest high jewellery collection, Human Being, which was unveiled in July in Paris will make its American debut at the exhibition. The show will revolve around a selection of themes central to the house, including architecture, nature, couture and innovation, with antique and modern pieces displayed side-by-side to show how these themes still run through is designs today.
“This exhibition therefore marks an important new milestone in our American journey. It was conceived as a monograph, devoted to a single subject and exploring it in depth: rather than following dates, it lets us curate around meaning, around the ideas and the spirit that define who we are. That is the whole idea behind this immersive journey: to let visitors see how a piece from 1858 and a piece created today sit in the very same conversation,” says Hélène Poulit-Duquesne, CEO of Maison Boucheron.
“What I hope they take away is a real understanding of who Boucheron is – not a museum of the past, but a Maison whose pioneering spirit has been consistent for 168 years. If American visitors leave feeling that Frédéric Boucheron’s audacity is still alive in what we create today, then we will have told our story exactly as we wished.”
Boucheron: In Focus, A Monograph of a Visionary, will run from 8th-18th October 2026 at Christie’s New York.
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