The 1952 coup, also known as the July “revolution” did not only change the balance of power on the political side but also on both the financialand cultural sides, as members of the “ex” royal family got poorer, the men responsible for the revolution were getting richer.All of this, along with the massive sales that happened to the confiscated royal treasures shortly after King Farouk went into exile, raises some important questions: Why were most of the confiscated goods sold in less-than-successful auctions? Was it to bring much needed money to build modern Egypt? Was it to erase every single sign of the monarchy? Or was it to cover what was stolen from these treasures?

This is not the only mystery when it comes to the issue of Egyptian jewels;there are many other questions that come to mind, like, what was sold? Who purchased it? How much were they sold for? How was the money spent? And where are these pieces now? As for the unsold jewels: Where are they now? Are they still in a good shape? Will they ever be put in Alexandria’s Royal Jewelry Museum? All these questions among many others are a mystery that has to be solved.

Below we see some pieces that were found, and others that are still lost:

Jewels that were found:

King Farouk’s Egyptian Revival Bracelet:

King Farouk purchased this 1925 bracelet from Harry Winston the jeweler in the late 40’s, and later, Winston was wise enough to send his boys to the auctions in Egypt to get thesejewels back. The bracelet is composed of rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamondsmounted in platinum. In the 60’s Richard Burton purchased the bracelet from Winston as a gift for his love, Elizabeth Taylor, who wore it on the set of Cleopatra,  anda few more times later and last year it was sold in her jewelry auction for over 800 thousand dollars.

Queen Nazli’s Hummingbird Box:

This box was made in 1938 by Van Clef and Arpel for Queen Nazli, the box was used for cigarettes andis made of gold, diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. It’s not known when or in which auction this box was sold but now it’s in Van Clef and Arpel’ private collection.

The Ruby Feuilles (leaves) Earrings:

Made of gold, platinum, baguette diamonds, and rubies, this pair of earrings that was made in 1950 by Van Clef and Arpel for King Farouk was probably a gift for Queen Nariman. The earrings were purchased later by Van Clef and Arpel in one of the auctions and now it’s in their private collection. The earrings along with the Hummingbird box and other pieces from the Egyptian Royal court are now exhibited in the Van Clef &Arpel jewels exhibition at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris, the exhibition will continue till Feb 10th.

Lost Jewels:

Queen Farida’s Wedding Tiara:

This tiara is made of diamonds and emeralds and was a wedding gift from Queen Nazli, its value back then was around 7000 pounds. The fate of this tiara is unknown since it hasn’t been seen since Farida got divorced.

Queen Farida’s Boucheron necklace:

This amazing 346 carat necklace was purchased in 1937 by King Farouk to be a wedding gift for Queen Farida. The necklace that was created for the Universal Exhibition was purchased for 2.8 million francs, around 28000 pounds and Farida wore it during her wedding. This necklace was never seen after the divorce, but rumour has it that one of the daughters of a renowned officer wore it at her wedding!

Queen Nariman’s Boucheron parure:

A year before his wedding to Queen Nariman, King Farouk ordered a parure from Boucheron. The parure consisted of a necklace, a brooch and earrings made of sapphire, topaz and diamonds. Its cost at that time came up to 5.7 million francs. Queen Nariman wore the parure on her wedding day along with a tiara.It’s not known where the parure and the tiara are now!

Princess Fawzia’s Wedding Parure:

This parure was commissioned by Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1938 to be the wedding gift (shabka) for Princess Fawzia. Queen Nazli who didn’t approve of this marriage insisted on Van Clef &Arpel. The parure consisted of a tiara made of baguette and pear-shaped diamonds weighting 164 carats and mounted in platinum, a necklace and a pair of ear clips. The historical value of its cost is priceless, and its value in 1938 is also unknown, in addition to its whereabouts to this day!!!

King Farouk’s Piaguet&Capt watch:

This watch which is known as “the King Farouk Shepherdess Automaton” dates to circa 1805- 1810, it’s made of three-colour gold and pearls with  the background printed with enamel. What makes this timepiece exceptional is that it boasts seven movements; the shepherdess moves her hand up and down, the animals raise and lowertheir heads and the water wheel moves with the water represented by glass rods.

The watch was sold in 2009 in an auction in Geneva for 690 thousand dollars, it’s believed that it was sold in the famous 1957 auction in Cairo, it’s also thought that like all the other pieces its value was underestimated and it was probably sold for a few pounds.