In October 1929, Prince Umberto of Savoy (1904-1983), heir to the throne of Italy and later the last King of Italy, commissioned the court jeweller Chiappe of Genoa a group of jewels on the occasions of his marriage in January 1930 to Princess Marie José of Belgium (1906-2001), daughter of King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth.
Among the beautiful pieces he ordered was a stunning diamond double-clip brooch designed as a pair of Savoy knots, the symbol of the Italian Royal House. The clips could be worn also as a single brooch joined together by a diamond bar brooch as we can see from the original drawings. The two clips appeared on the international auction market in 1999 without the central motif that originally was created to join them.
Jewels often are split between family members and it is always rewarding when the missing link, as in this case, can be found.