Georgiana’s Cuff

Heart of Texas Bead Retreat

Summer Retreat

May 30-June 2, 2024

Embassy Suites Grapevine, Texas

Georgiana Spencer (1757-1806) was born to the wealthy Spencer’s at Althorp (family home) in the Kingdom of Great Britain. As a young teenager, she was very shy and reserved. She caught the eye of William Cavendish, 5 th Duke of Devonshire (1748-1811) and they were married in 1774. She was 17 years old and he was 26 years old. Theirs was not a happy marriage as they were completely different from each other. She blossomed after being catapulted to fame by marrying William. She was young, beautiful, and vivacious while he was reserved, studious and quiet.

Lady Diana Frances Spencer (1961-1997), later Diana, Princess of Wales, was also born at the Spencer family home, Althorp. She met Prince Charles at the age of 16. They were married when she was 20 years old and Charles was 32 years old. History repeated itself here as Charles and Diana were ill matched as were William and Georgiana. Diana also blossomed after marrying Charles, as we all know, by having watched her confidence grow stronger and her fashion choices becoming more developed.

You might ask what else do these two beautiful women have in common? Georgiana was Diana’s great, great, great, great, great Aunt. Diana was a direct descendant of Georgiana’s brother, Earl Spencer. What gets more interesting is that both of these women were considered a “phenomenon” and both had the ability of making people feel special. Even more so, they were both fashion icons. Georgiana was all the rage with her fashion choices. The state of ostriches, at one point, were in trouble as Georgiana had placed some feathers in one of her hats and the world went nuts over trying to replicate what she had done. As we know, the world followed everything that Diana wore to distraction.

Both marriages were ill-fated, for sure. William’s mistress, Lady Elizabeth “Bess” Foster lived at Chiswick with William and Georgiana, along with her two children from other affairs. Charles and Diana had Camilla, maybe not a live in, but certainly part of a menage a trois. Both men married their mistresses after the death of their wives!

Even though they were 204 years apart, their likenesses are undeniable. Georgiana’s Cuff Bracelet was designed to bring these two iconic beauties ascetics together. Georgiana would have worn the gems and jewelry of her time, so an oval CZ is bezeled and embellished as the center component on the cuff. This component is flanked by two bezeled CZ pears. Perfect for a brooch in the 18 th century.

Diana loved to mix royal jewelry with department store finds. She was known to refashion necklaces and bracelets to wear them in a more contemporary way. Two cuff blanks are covered in beadwork then joined on the ends to create a double cuff. This contemporary approach would have been right up Diana’s alley. Pull all of the elements together and you have Georgiana’s Cuff Bracelet!