"The rise of Chinese jadeite fashion cannot fail to mention two famous women in this trend, one is the Empress Dowager Cixi, who ruled China for half a century, and the other is Song Meiling, who was the first lady of the Kuomintang. ”
This passage in "Jade Story" shows the depth of Song Meiling's love for jadeite. To what extent? The twisted jade bracelet she wears all year round on her hand has not been taken off until she died. And today, the bracelet is worth up to 200 million!
What is the magic of the twist bracelet that can make Song Meiling so obsessed?
The source in this article comes from the official media (Sohu "First Lady Song Meiling and Winter Emperor Meng Xiaodong Turned Against Each Other Because of a Twist Bracelet Worth 200 Million?", Zhihu "What is the charm of the twist bracelet that Song Meiling is unwilling to take off when she is old?"), but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, please read sensibly, for reference only!
Twist bracelet Song Meiling's "heart treasure"
On September 22, 1997, in New York, USA, Song Meiling made an official appearance on her 100th birthday wearing a Chinese-style cheongsam. The guests at the meeting were all concerned about the former first lady of the Kuomintang, but the most eye-catching thing was Song Meiling's whole body of jade jewelry, especially the twisted jade bracelet.
This twist bracelet is Song Meiling's "heart treasure", she loves jadeite, and she will wear this bracelet on important occasions. But few people know that Song Meiling is not the first owner of this pair of twist bracelets, and its original owner is Meng Xiaodong, the fifth wife of gangster Du Yuesheng.
Song Meiling
One day in the thirties of the last century, in order to please Meng Xiaodong, Du Yuesheng came to Beijing to look for gold and silver jewelry. After several searches, he finally found this twist bracelet in Deyuanxing, Langfang Ertiao Hutong, and spent 40,000 oceans to pocket it. And if you want to talk about the origin of this twist bracelet, it is also very exquisite.
The person who sold the twist bracelet to Du Yuesheng was the "Jade King" Tiebaoting of the Republic of China, and the Deyuanxing he operated was the most famous jade shop in the Republic of China. After the abdication of the Qing Emperor Puyi, in order to take out loans, many treasures in the palace were taken to the bank to pay off debts, but he did not expect to attract the coveted by the Japanese. They sent a spy to Koshiro Yamada to try to take the treasure for themselves in the name of trading.
Du Yuesheng and Meng Xiaodong
Tie Baoting was the appraiser in charge of this matter in charge of the Beiyang government at that time, and after learning the news from Ma Hongkui, he immediately took action with a patriotic heart. With the help of Ma Hongkui's father, Tiebaoting and other peers bought the treasures in batches, so that the circulation of these treasures was finally limited to China. 259 national treasures worth 8.85 million oceans have also been saved from the poison of bad guys.
The twist bracelet that Du Yuesheng bought at a high price was a piece of high-grade blue water green jadeite bought by Tiebaoting for 30 yuan in 1936, and half of this material was made into a jadeite bead necklace. The twist bracelet was later transferred to Meng Xiaodong's hands, and the beauty of the Republic of China couldn't put it down and often wore it on his hand. But before Meng Xiaodong could finish his enjoyment, the bracelet changed hands.
At a banquet, Meng Xiaodong and Du Yuesheng, who were dressed in cheongsams, just appeared, and the twist bracelet on her hand attracted Song Meiling's attention. In the name of appreciation, Song Meiling held the bracelet for a while, and her eyes were still full of envy when she returned the bracelet. Du Yuesheng, who was good at observing words and feelings, saw everything in full, and he realized that he must not miss this good opportunity to tie up with Jiang Song's forces.
With Song Meiling's identity at that time, it was not difficult to want a jade bracelet, and if she didn't speak directly, she was probably pretending to be reserved. Although this was a token of love for Meng Xiaodong, in order to win the shadow of Jiang Song, he finally gave the twist bracelet to Song Meiling in the name of playing mahjong. Since then, Song Meiling has become the second holder of this bracelet.
Successfully got what she wanted, Song Meiling cherished this jade twist bracelet and wore it on her hand almost all the time. Whenever there is an occasion to meet foreign dignitaries, twist bracelets will appear, and in a sense, they can be regarded as historical relics that have witnessed many major events. Today, the bracelet is still in the custody of the Jiang family, and its value has been assessed to be more than 200 million yuan.
Emerald bead necklace Belong to the bumpy
The jade bead necklace, which was sold at the same time as the jade twist bracelet, was bought by American retail tycoon Frank Winfield Woolworths and given to his only daughter, Barbara Hutton, as a wedding gift at the age of 21. Like Song Meiling, Barbara is the richest woman in the United States from a wealthy background, but her love life is a complete mess.
In 1933, at the age of 21, Barbara wore a jade bead necklace and married a prince from Georgia. But only two years later, Barbara parted ways with this man who was full of money, and married another Danish earl. But this aristocratic man is greedy for money and loves domestic violence, and Barbara is really unbearable, and chooses to leave the other party after three years of marriage.
Perhaps influenced by the concept of "the right match", Barbara's mate selection criteria are always inseparable from the word "noble", and the man who marries her must be either rich or expensive. Except for the third husband, who is the famous Hollywood actor Gary Grant, the remaining six husbands all have some aristocratic genes. But her vision of choosing a husband is too poor, and every term fails to go to the end with her.
Since you can't get emotionally satisfied, you try to enjoy it materially, and that's how Barbara's habit of spending money came about. Barbara's collection of jewels includes the crown of the Grand Duchess of Vladimir of Russia and the emerald necklace of Catherine II. As for the jade bead necklace, it was later given by Barbara to her friend Louisa.
In her later years, Barbara's life fell into poverty due to excessive profligacy, and she had to rely on selling her collection to make ends meet. Due to the accidental crash of her son Lance, Barbara also contracted a bad habit of alcohol and drugs, and finally died of a heart attack at the age of 66 in a California hotel. Who would have imagined that at the time of her death, the American socialite would not even have $3,500 in her bank.
Returning to the jade bead necklace, it was transferred to Luisa and kept for decades in the Georgian Mdivani family as a dowry. The necklace, later renamed the "Hutton-Mdivani Emerald Necklace", was permanently added to the collection of Cartier Jewellery in 2014 for HK$214 million. At this point, the jade twist bracelet and the jade bead necklace have their own belongings.
#文章首发挑战赛#
Resources
[1] Sohu "First Lady Song Meiling and Winter Emperor Meng Xiaodong Turned Against Each Other Because of a Twist Bracelet Worth 200 Million?", https://www.sohu.com/a/644951629_121663084
[2] Zhihu "What is the charm of the twist bracelet that Song Meiling doesn't want to take off all her life?" https://www.zhihu.com/pin/1694317687239458816