Köchert

Eugen, Duke of Württemberg (1788-1857) for the diamonds originally set in the Order of St. Andrew

Wilhelm, Duke of Württemberg (1828-1896)

Alexandrine Mathilde, Duchess of Württemberg (1829-1913)

Princess Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe, Queen of Württemberg (1864-1946)

Princess Nadezhda of Bulgaria, Duchess of Württemberg (1899-1958)

The diamonds composing this star-shaped brooch by Köchert were originally set in the upper part of the eagle of the Order of St. Andrew, the most elevated order of knighthood within the Russian Empire. Eugen, Duke of Württemberg (1788-1857) was awarded this distinction for serving in the Russian army as General of the Infantry at the time of the Napoleonic Wars.

Eugen, Duke of Württemberg, was a son of Eugen Friedrich Heinrich, Duke of Württemberg (1758-1822) and Luise zu Stolberg-Gedern (1764-1834). This made him the nephew of the first King of Württemberg, Frederick I (1754-1816) as well as of Empress Maria-Feodorovna of Russia, born Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg (1759-1828). As a younger son of a reigning Duke of Württemberg, Eugen Friedrich Heinrich chose a military career serving in the Prussian army. He took up residence in the Prussian province of Upper Silesia, then Prussia, now located in Poland. Today, he is still well remembered as a patron of the composer Carl Maria von Weber.

Just like his father Eugen, Duke of Württemberg (1788-1857), opted for a life in the army. His family ties to the Russian Empress made a career in the Russian Imperial military a natural choice. He swiftly rose to the rank of General of the Infantry. In 1812, at the height of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, he notably fought at the Battle or Borodino.

Eugen, Duke of Württemberg (1788-1857) left his badge of the Order of St. Andrew to his eldest son Wilhelm, Duke of Württemberg (1828-1896) as a testamentary gift. Wilhelm had the current star-shaped brooch created by Köchert of Vienna in 1887 re-using diamonds originally set in the order.

Just like his father and grandfather before him, Wilhelm served in a foreign army. His career in the Austrian army was particularly brilliant, participating in the battles of Magenta (1859) and Königgrätz (1866). In 1889, Wilhelm became commanding General based in Lemberg, Galicia, today Ukraine, but then part of the sprawling Austro-Hungarian Empire. Towards the end of his life he took a keener interest in domestic and military issues in his native Württemberg.

Wilhelm, who remained childless and unmarried, repeated several times that he wished his unmarried sister Alexandrine Mathilde, Duchess of Württemberg (1829-1913) to have the star-shaped diamond brooch by Köchert. She refused to accept on several occasions believing that he might still marry and have descendants. In 1891, she noted down that she accepted the item temporarily. During Wilhelm’s final illness in July 1896 he repeated his wish that she should consider the brooch as a gift to her and thus her full property, rather than as a temporary loan.

In her last will and testament dated 25 October 1909, Duchess Alexandrine Mathilde of Württemberg testated this brooch to Queen Charlotte of Württemberg (1864-1946) who in turn gifted the brooch to Princess Nadezhda of Bulgaria, Duchess of Württemberg (1899-1958).