{"id":349793,"date":"2021-01-08T12:09:50","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T17:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/?p=349793"},"modified":"2022-02-07T15:15:03","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T20:15:03","slug":"romantic-jewelry-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/romantic-jewelry-gifts\/","title":{"rendered":"Romantic Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Richard
Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor on their wedding day in 1964, in a photo from the auction catalogs for Christie’s 2011 sale of Taylor’s collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s get this out of the way: Some of the relationships we\u2019re highlighting here had not-so-happy endings or involved not-so-nice people. Nevertheless, the gifted jewels were extraordinary and presented in love \u2014 the real, raw, passionate love we all dream of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of these 10 examples illustrates how a well-chosen gem can eloquently express profound feelings, an unwavering commitment, a wish to make amends or burning desire. From glittering grand gestures to symbolic sentimental statements, the pieces at the center of the stories below show that jewelry gift ideas are as boundless as our capacity for love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Queen Victoria and Prince Albert<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Queen
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in a re-enactment of their marriage ceremony. Photo by Roger Fenton\/Roger Fenton\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The relationship between Queen Victoria<\/a> and Prince Albert was famously marked by the exchange of many, many trasures, all imbued with the poetry of love and the power of symbolism. One of the first gifts Prince Albert sent to his then fianc\u00e9e was a gold brooch set with a porcelain orange blossom. A symbol of purity, innocence and fertility, the fragrant flower has long been associated with brides, and on her wedding day, the Queen wore sprays of the bloom in her hair and tucked into the bodice of her gown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orange blossoms remained a theme in gifts given throughout their marriage. Particularly special was the ornate headdress presented on their sixth anniversary, in 1846, which incorporates four small green enamel oranges, one for each of their four children at the time (there were to be many more \u201coranges\u201d in their future).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Elizabeth
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Paris, 1964<\/a><\/em>, 1976, by Douglas Kirkland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Taylor’s diamond and platinum Van Cleef & Arpels<\/a> necklace, a gift from Burton. Photo courtesy of Christie’s<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Every jewelry enthusiast has a favorite Elizabeth Taylor<\/a> and Richard Burton story. For many, it will involve a certain diamond<\/a>, but anyone who has read Taylor\u2019s My Love Affair with Jewelry<\/em> will have a special fondness for this anecdote: In 1968, after a serious fight while Burton was filming a movie in Rome with Sophia Loren (too much flirting!), Taylor returned to the U.S. for some space and to seek medical attention for the stomach pains she was experiencing. She ended up having an appendectomy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burton was so stricken by the news, and by remorse, that he rushed to her bedside, where, Taylor writes, \u201cwe were squeezing the air out of each other and kissing each other and crying.\u201d Next, Burton presented her with a Van Cleef & Arpels<\/a> pav\u00e9-diamond heart-shaped pendant suspended from a diamond choker. Clearly, Taylor notes in the book: \u201cThat man knew how to make up!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Princess
Princess Margaret, wearing one of the floral diamond brooches given to her by Lord Snowdon, with Snowdon in San Francisco on November 7, 1965. Photo by Harry Benson\/Express\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones in the tiara made from Princess Margaret’s brooches. Photo by Martin Keene\/PA Images\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Their relationship rivals the Taylor-Burton romance in turbulence. Nevertheless, Lord Snowden \u2014 a.k.a. Antony Armstrong-Jones \u2014 demonstrated a keen appreciation of Princess Margaret\u2019s inimitable style as well as her complexities in presenting her with a trio of large floral diamond brooches<\/a> as a wedding gift. The pieces are glitzy but wearable, more sculptural and modern than the heirlooms that constituted her finest pieces, and their pointy petals were perhaps a nod to Margaret\u2019s edgy nature and sharp wit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fraught marriage ended badly, of course, but the brooches were recast as an emblem of enduring love when the princess had Wartski London transform them into a tiara at for her daughter Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones’s wedding in 1994. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Grace
Grace Kelly<\/a> with the pearl necklace from the Van Cleef & Arpels suite given to her by Prince Rainier<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a fairy-tale element to any love story that involves a royal and a commoner. Grace Kelly, of course, was an uncommon commoner \u2014 with her exceptional beauty and elegance, the American actress had more than enough princess pedigree to make her a suitable match for Prince Rainier of Monaco. And in 1956, his royal highness famously commissioned Van Cleef & Arpels in New York to create a betrothal gift befitting such a bride: a platinum, pearl and diamond parure comprising a three-strand necklace, a three-strand bracelet, ear clips and a ring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was an inspired purchase. As author and jewelry specialist Beth Bernstein writes in her book If These Jewels Could Talk<\/em>: \u201cIn her always regal style, Princess Grace wore this suite of pearls for many years after their marriage. After their wedding, . . . Van Cleef & Arpels became the jewelers to the Principality of Monaco . . . and went on to design more personalized pieces for the princess, such as her jeweled animal clips as well as the styles she would wear for royal outings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Jennifer
Jennifer Lopez, wearing emerald and diamond earrings from Vivid Diamonds<\/a>, with Alex Rodriguez at the 2020 Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards Gala. Photo by Jerod Harris\/FilmMagic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In December 2019, Jennifer Lopez had been engaged to Alex Rodriguez nine months. What Christmas gift could she expect from her fianc\u00e9? For fans, the answer came in an adorable Instagram post showing J. Lo wearing a pair of emerald and diamond earrings from Miami-based Vivid Diamonds<\/a> (also the source of her fabulous emerald-cut engagement ring<\/a>) while giving A-Rod a very festive kiss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The photo\u2019s caption said it all: \u201cDon\u2019t need no mistletoe.\u201d The actress and singer later told Extra<\/em>, \u201cI was seriously blown away. I got tears in my eyes, not because of how amazing they were, but that he would do something like that, surprise me in that way. It was so touching. My mom was there and she was like, ‘Why you crying? You deserve it!’ and that made me cry more. . . . It has been an incredible holiday season for us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Elton John and David Furnish<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Elton
Elton John and David Furnish at the 28th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party, on February 9, 2020. Photo by Michael Kovac\/Getty Images for EJAF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A diamond-and-sapphire-encrusted Rolex watch<\/a> is an impressive gift. And the one Elton John gave to his husband, David Furnish, while on a family holiday in Portofino, Italy, was a deeply romantic one as well. It was 2018, right before the musician was to leave on his farewell tour \u2014 slated to last three years!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The timepiece (a Rolex GMT-Master II<\/a>, ref. 116758SA) could thus be seen as a keepsake intended to recall the special family times enjoyed on the trip, while also reminding Furnish of his partner\u2019s devotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Barack and Michelle Obama<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n