Recreated royal Victorian headdress to be ‘star attraction’ at IJL

C W Sellors, the Derbyshire-based fine jeweller, will showcase a recreated a royal headdress from a single, black and white photograph at this year’s IJL. The original was designed for Louise Duchess of Devonshire to wear at the Devonshire House Ball in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. The new ITV series ‘Victoria’’ paints a vivid picture of the sophistication of the jewels worn by royalty and the upper echelons of the aristocracy during that period. The process started by making detailed drawings and designs. Clusters of jewels were pre-fashioned before fitting to the intricate silver vermeil frame. It contains 450 stones sourced from all over the world, including CZ Diamonds, Pearls from the Far East, Amethyst and Peridot from Brazil, finished off with ostrich feathers. The headdress, one of two replicas handmade in Derbyshire, has just returned from a promotional tour in the USA. The other reproduction is a centerpiece of the exhibition; House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion, currently on at Chatsworth. Chris Sellors, managing director of C W Sellors, said: “I am immensely proud of what my team has achieved, given that the piece was designed and manufactured with the guidance of just a single black and white photograph. “However, this gave us a degree of freedom to choose which gemstones to use, including our signature Derbyshire Blue John.” The Duke of Devonshire said: “We’ve always had the beautiful ball gown, what we didn’t have was the wonderful headdress that she had, but we had photographs. C W Sellors has made a facsimile of it which is brilliant and it really brings the whole costume to life." Jewellery designer, Rebecca Sellors, who oversaw the making of the headdress said, “I hope people have the opportunity to see up close the sophistication and artistry that has gone into the making of this exquisite headdress. It is great for our industry that such skills are alive and well and working in Derbyshire.” The headdress is on display at C W Sellors on Stand D40 at International Jewellery London.