Hariot was born in 1843, the eldest daughter of Archibald Hamilton-Rowan and Harriet Abdy. Their family seat was Killyleagh Castle, County Down (now in Northern Ireland), one of the country’s oldest inhabited castles, which was remodelled in the mid-19th century as a Loire Valley-style chateau, dramatically towering over the surrounding village.

Her father was named after his own paternal grandfather, the political activist and revolutionary Archibald Hamilton-Rowan (1751-1834), who was a founding member of the Dublin Society of United Irishmen. Little is known of Hariot’s childhood in this extraordinary home, but on October 23rd, 1862, at the age of 19, she was married at Clandeboye, the magical Dufferin home in County Down where the family have been based since the 17th century until the death of Lindy Dufferin, the last Marchioness, in 2020.

Her husband was Frederick, then known as Frederick Temple-Blackwood, 5th Baron Dufferin and Clandeboye (1826-1902). Seventeen years her senior, with multiple baronies to his name. Frederick was educated at Eton and Oxford, and among his many achievements, he had been appointed as Lord-in- Waiting, working as an attaché to Lord John Russell in Vienna helping to negotiate the end of the Crimean War, authored a book, Letters from High Latitudes (1856), and in the years immediately preceding his marriage to Hariot, had been appointed Special Commissioner to Syria and, once home, Knight Commander, Order of the Bath. Highly intelligent and deeply committed to his work, his ascendant international diplomatic career was recognised by Queen Victoria and her government, who created him 1st Earl of Dufferin, co. Down in 1871 (his surname was legally changed to Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood the following year), and later the Marquess of Dufferin & Ava in 1888. It was under this title, Lady Dufferin, that Hariot would make her own mark upon the world. The couple had seven children between 1863 and 1875, during which time her husband served as Under Secretary of State for India, and then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster under Prime Minister William Gladstone. Shortly after his elevation to earldom, he accepted the position of Governer-General of Canada, where he and Lady Dufferin would live for six years.

The relative dearth of information regarding Lady Dufferin’s early life in Killyleagh is more than compensated for by an unusually detailed account of her life and career from 1872 onward, as she supported her husband and growing family, while making landmark achievements in diplomacy, healthcare reform and philanthropy in her own right.

A dedicated diarist, Lady Dufferin’s journals would later be published in multiple volumes, covering her time in Canada, India, Russia and Turkey. Throughout her time in Canada, Lady Dufferin immediately took to her role, proving herself a vital ally to her husband. A sharp observer of the country’s political developments on behalf of her husband (who was expected in his role to stay above politics), she was also a consummate hostess and diplomat, establishing her household as the centre of Ottowa’s social scene, and gaining the widespread support of the Canadian people on the numerous tours they embarked upon together.

From Canada, Lord and Lady Dufferin’s partnership continued as he became the Britishambassador to Russia, from 1879-81, then to the Ottoman Empire 1881-84, and then Viceroy and Vicereine of India between 1884-88. During her time in India, Lady Dufferin was approached directly by Queen Victoria, who had heard from a missionary that the women of India had inadequate healthcare, and wanted improvements to be made. The issue, as it was understood at the time, was that Indian women were not only barred from the medical profession, but in particularly conservative communities, would often not receive permission from their families to be seen by male doctors when they fell ill. Medical support and resources for women’s health, including childbirth, were, therefore, severely undersupported, causing unnecessary suffering and mortality amongst women and children.

In 1885, Lady Dufferin established The National Association for Supplying Female Medical Aid to the Women of India, which was popularly known as Lady Dufferin’s Fund. Its goals were to provide healthcare to Indian women and children, to train Indian women in medicine (the fund’s recruits included Kadambini Ganguly and Anandibai Joshi, the first two Indian female physicians), to reform midwifery practices in India, and to build women-only hospitals. Lady Dufferin tirelessly raised funds throughout her travels, including significant domestic contributions from such prominent Indian figures as the Maharajah Sir Jotendro Mohun Tagore, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, and Sir Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, 1st Baronet. As a result of her efforts, several ‘Lady Dufferin’ hospitals were erected across India and modern-day Pakistan, (of which the Karachi Lady Dufferin maternity hospital remains in operation), and the fund was handed down as an endeavour for the subsequent vicereines of India. She laid the foundation stones of several of these hospitals herself.

Lord and Lady Dufferin’s tenure in India came to an end in 1888, and a leather bound inventory of Lady Dufferin’s possessions made that same year lists the jewels and ornaments in her collection, which amusingly includes a horseshoe sapphire and pearl brooch, ‘Given by Eugenie, Empress of the French, to Lord Dufferin as a prize for winning a foot race’.

After the printed list of jewels on the first page is a handwritten addendum: ‘Two large sapphires, set with diamonds as pendant – given me by people of Punjaub (sic) & sent after my return’.

These two large sapphires were from a newly discovered deposit, which had been uncovered by a landslide in the Zanskar range of the northwestern Himalayas in 1881. The deposit, later known as the ‘Old Mine’, soon came under the ownership of the Maharajah of Jammu and Kashmir and was a sourceof exceptional sapphires until around 1887, when it was finally exhausted. Thus, this brief six year window of mining, in a remote and inhospitable corner of the world, yielded the fabled Kashmir sapphires - some of the finest in history - and two of its largest known finds were gifted to Lady Dufferin.

The Dufferins’ departure in 1888 coincided with the exhaustion of the mine, which was closed from 1888-1905. While new deposits in the area were later discovered, and reworking of the Old Mine yielded a few more gem-quality finds in the early 20th century, the scale of production and the quality of the sapphires never managed to equal the initial yield, making Kashmir sapphires as rare as they are beautiful.While large sapphire crystals were reported during the initial discovery of the Kashmir deposits, examples over ten carats are particularly rare, and the Dufferin Sapphires, weighing over 25 and 55 carats respectively, are two of the largest Kashmir sapphires known to have ever come to auction. Each exhibits the deep, velvety blue for which sapphires from these fabled mines are best known, owed to fine clouds of dispersed nanoparticles of iron and titanium, which scatter the light and give the stones a dreamy haziness, quite unlike sapphires from other locations. The handwritten entry for these sapphires in Lady Dufferin’s inventory is marked with a cross in blue ink, and one line of text - ‘Latter left to Maureen, Lady Dufferin’, points to the next chapter in their story, and explains why they appear today in such a striking diamond brooch.

In 1930, Basil Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 4th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (1909-1945) married Maureen Constance Guinness (1907-1998). She was the granddaughter of the 1st Earl of Iveagh and an heiress of the Guinness brewing fortune. They were known as the ‘Golden Guinness Girls’ due to their beauty, fashion sense and style. With their striking glamor and opulent lifestyle, there was a fascination surrounding the three sisters. The press covered their every move, especially their talent for throwing outlandish parties.

By family tradition, the sapphires mentioned in the inventory from Hariot Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, were later mounted in the brooch by Cartier in the 1930s. The jewel has remained in the family and this is the first time it has appeared on the market. The world’s finest and most sought after sapphires originate from the legendary mines of Kashmir. They were discovered by chance due to a landslide between 1879 and 1882, in the Kudi valley, above the almost inaccessible village of Soomjam, in the Padar Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Initially, local villagers traded these stones for salt and other consumer goods. However, in 1882 these extremely precious gemstones began to appear in the markets of Simla, the official summer capital of India, where consequently their popularity grew, leading merchands to recognize their true value. As a result, the Maharaja immediately sent his troops to protect and control the Kashmir mines and prohibited private trading.

The high altitude and the harsh weather conditions limited the mining operations to approximately three months of the year, from July through September. Despite these constraints, between 1883 and 1887, an intensive production yielded some of the region’s finest large crystals. By 1887 the original ‘Old Mine’ was exhausted. Its replacement, the ‘New Mine’, located hundred meters south, was abandoned in 1908 due poor weather conditions and the limited quantity of fine gemstones. Since those early times, their supply has been limited as Kashmir sapphires’ mining has been sporadic at best due to this region’s remoteness and political unrest.

Above all others, what elevates Kashmir sapphires is the unique combination of a rich, intense blue colour with a soft and velvety appearance; often compared to the vibrant blue hue of the cornflower. This outstanding colour, which is accentuated under artificial light, is unlike other sapphires from other sources, which may seem greenish or greyish in comparison.