Edith Chester Beatty’s diamond and peridot necklace is displayed as part of the Cartier exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, April 2025 (© Lauren Kiehna)
August is the month for marveling at the grassy-green peridot, a semi-precious gemstone that I personally love quite a lot. Today, let’s take a closer look at a magnificent peridot and diamond demi-parure currently on display in London as part of the Cartier exhibition at the V&A.
Edith Chester Beatty’s diamond and peridot jewels are displayed as part of the Cartier exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, April 2025 (© Lauren Kiehna)
The necklace and its coordinating bracelet are featured in a section devoted to colorful gemstones in the Cartier special exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum. The jewels are set with more than 325 carats’ worth of peridots, surrounded by diamond accents, in platinum. The design of the necklace echoes other pieces made by Cartier during this era, including the aquamarine and diamond tiara that now belongs to the Princess Royal.
Both pieces date to 1936, the famous year of three kings in Britain. Numerous impressive pieces of jewelry were commissioned from Cartier in the lead-up to the 1937 coronation, which was initially intended for King Edward VIII but ultimately held for his brother and sister-in-law, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. It’s not stated that these pieces were made with coronation celebrations in mind, but it’s certainly a possibility.
Philip de Laszlo’s portrait of Edith Chester Beatty, ca. 1916 (Chester Beatty Library/Dublin Castle)
The jewels were a special commission from a fascinating American-born couple who had made London their home. Alfred Chester Beatty, born in New York in 1875, had earned degrees in engineering and science from Columbia before embarking on a mining career in the American west. He rose quickly through the industry, earning a reputation (and a fortune) working in management for the Guggenheim Exploration Company before establishing his own independent consulting firm in Manhattan. From there, his interests expanded around the globe, and he earned the nickname “the King of Copper.”
After the early death of his first wife, Beatty moved to London with his two children. There, in 1913, he married Edith Dunn, a divorcée who was also a native New Yorker. The family settled down in Baroda House, a mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens. During the war, they vacated the house so that the American Red Cross could set up an orthopedic hospital for officers there. But more and more, the couple dug deep roots in Britain. Edith, known as “Mrs. Chester Beatty,” became an enthusiastic and successful racehorse owner, while Alfred continued his mining work and nurtured his passion for collecting—stamps, snuff bottles, miniature Japanese sculptures, paintings, and, most importantly, valuable manuscripts.
Edith Chester Beatty’s diamond and peridot necklace is displayed as part of the Cartier exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, April 2025 (© Lauren Kiehna)
Together, Alfred and Edith also acquired a sensational collection of jewelry. They were particularly good customers of Cartier in London. In 1936, they approached the firm with a collection of peridots and asked them to make a modern suite of jewelry with the stones. In the book accompanying the Cartier exhibition at the V&A, Helen Molesworth notes, “The family wintered in Cairo from 1914 to the late 1930s, where it is likely he acquired these spectacular stones, since Egypt was the only origin for such impressive peridot at the time.” The seasons spent in Egypt weren’t just social excursions. During his mining work, Alfred had developed silicosis, and he wintered in warmer weather on advice from doctors.
The Chester Beattys remained part of the social whirl of England for several decades, especially in circles connected to the racing industry and museum collectors. Numerous pieces from their collection were given to the British Museum. Alfred was naturalized as a British subject in 1933, the same year that his son married an Englishwoman. Their daughter, Sarah, would go on to marry the 8th Earl of Warwick, making Alfred the great-grandfather of the present Earl.
Edith Chester Beatty’s diamond and peridot bracelet is displayed as part of the Cartier exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, April 2025 (© Lauren Kiehna)
Eventually, Alfred became disillusioned with Britain, in large part because of personal conflicts with the director of the British Museum. He ultimately decided to move to Ireland, where he supervised the construction of the Chester Beatty Library to house his collection. Today, the library is located in the Clock Tower at Dublin Castle.
Edith remained in Britain, passing away at Baroda House in 1952. Alfred lived on for more than a decade. He received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 1954 in recognition of contributions to the war effort during World War II. Sir Alfred Chester Beatty died in Monaco in 1968, and he was honored with a state funeral in Ireland. The echoes of the couple’s collecting have continued to sound over the decades since, including the sale of the largest of Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings in 1987, and the auction of other pieces of Cartier jewelry in 2018. Today, Edith Chester Beatty’s peridot jewels belong to the Cartier Collection.