Sissi's Stars: the Twinkling Hair Ornaments of Empress Elisabeth of Austria
All about Sissi's diamond stars from Franz Xaver Winterhalter's iconic portrait
While I continue working on my Greece series (Part 2, Santorini coming soon!), let’s dive into one of my favorite historical figures Empress Elisabeth “Sissi” of Austria – and her jewelry! Frankly, I blame Romy Schneider’s regal depiction of this incredible woman for my life-long interest, even if it was at the end of the day, far from the truth.
The Empress
Born in Munich on December 24, 1837, Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie became Empress of Austria when she married Emperor Franz Joseph at the tender age of 16.1 She is well-known as one of the most beautiful and notable women of 19th-century Europe. Affectionately known as “Sissi,” Elisabeth was, and still is, a beloved royal figure, famous for her kindness, beauty, rebellious nature, and her affectionate match with Emperor Franz Joseph I.
Although she led a tumultuous and suffocating life in Vienna marked by bouts of illness and depression (she is well-known to have detested the strict, formal nature of Habsburg court life), she was an avid traveler, horse rider, and advocate for Hungary and Hungarian rights.2 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 created the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, despite her mother-in-law’s (Archduchess Sophie) hatred for the Hungarians. Coming from an informal, hands-on upbringing by her parents, not to mention her shy and introverted nature, it is easy to imagine the shock she experienced by the brusque change in her environment after her marriage. However, she was also a bit of a rebel, headstrong, and to many, neurotic and self-involved.
She openly expressed her displeasure at not being able to actively raise her children, shirked her duties at court, smoked, and even got herself a tattoo in Corfu, Greece, one of her favorite places to visit.3 The tattoo was a small anchor supposedly placed on her left shoulder as an expression of Sissi’s great love for the sea. It was also very appropriate considering how unmoored and adrift she likely felt in her (largely) unhappy life.
Sissi was also, of course, known for her strict self-care rituals, her most recognizable and iconic feature being her unbelievably long, thick, chestnut hair which grew all the way down to her feet. According to biographer Brigitte Hamann:
“Elisabeth considered her hair her crowning glory. She was proud of nothing so much as the cascade that enveloped her like a cloak when it was loosened.”4
I always find myself captivated anytime I see one of Sissi’s portraits, as generally, the only “jewel” she wore was her hair cascading down her back or braided, dressed in deceptively simple white or cream gowns. So it’s no surprise that one of her most famous jewels was designed to accentuate her beloved tresses, immortalized in her most famous portrait.
The Portrait
There are few portraits as famous, admired, or frequently quoted as Empress Elisabeth’s 1865 portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. This iconic painting by the German artist is perhaps, just as famous as the empress herself, with her half-turned pose, sweet serene smile looking over her bare shoulder, her lush white satin evening dress covered with thousands of silver foil stars shimmering under a delicate layer of tulle, echoed in the incredible diamond and pearl “edelweiss” stars woven throughout her dark braided hair. She was 28 years old at the time the portrait was completed.
Originally commissioned by her husband, Winterhalter also completed two private portraits of Sissi meant for her husband, which he [Franz Joseph] hung in his study (above).5 The artist painted the empress four times. In the 1865 portrait, she is wearing an evening ball gown, believed to be created by Charles Frederick Worth the most renowned dressmaker of the 19th century.6 Like Queen Victoria, Sissi was considered to be a trendsetter and many aristocratic women and princesses followed her lead, imitating her dress, her style, her signature coiffure — and even her stars!
The Stars
While described as “stars,” these hairpins are actually imitating the edelweiss, the emblematic flower of the Austrian Alps. White, delicate, and star-like, the edelweiss was a natural source of inspiration for the Austrian monarch. An 1858 commission by A. E. Köchert (designed and made by Imperial Court Jeweler Alexander Emanuel Köchert) for Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the stars were a set of 27 diamond pearl hair pins featuring 10-pointed stars of diamonds fanning out around one enormous pearl in the center.7 Interestingly, a second set of 27 diamond stars, this time without pearls, was later commissioned and made by the former Court Jeweler of Rozet & Fischmeister.
These stunning stars were not just hair pins but could be worn as a necklace, tiara, pendant, or brooch.8 Sissi wore these regal accessories to a number of events, including her brother’s wedding in Dresden, before eventually gifting them to her ladies-in-waiting and members of her family. Her granddaughter, Archduchess Elisabeth, the daughter of Crown Prince Rudolf, inherited the full set of 27 stars (the Rozet & Fischmeister set) and wore them for her wedding to Prince Otto of Windisch-Graetz in 1902.9
Today, only a few stars remain in Austria. In 1998, Gerald Blanchard, once called the “world’s most ingenious thief,” stole one of the stars from an exhibit at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna commemorating the 100th anniversary of Sissi’s death. He replaced it with a replica from the gift shop and the star was not recovered by Canadian police until 2007, when it was returned to Austria. After admitting his crimes and returning the Sissi star his sentence was reduced to 8 years in prison.10 He was released in 2012.
Even today, the stars of Empress Elisabeth still captivate and entrance, as her 1865 portrait by Winterhalter continues to enchant. From Emmy Rossum in The Phantom of the Opera (2004) to Romy Schnieder (1957) and Cara Delevigne (2014), Sissi’s legend, beauty, and story endures and inspires.
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Mimi Matthews, “The Beauty Rituals of 19th Century Empress Elisabeth of Austria,” October 5, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
Leslie Tihany, C. (June 1969). “The Austro-Hungarian Compromise, 1867–1918: A Half Century of Diagnosis; Fifty Years of Post-Mortem.” Central European History. 2 (2): 115. JSTOR 4545523. S2CID 145522363. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
Brigitte Hamann, “The Reluctant Empress: A Biography of Empress Elisabeth of Austria,” Ullstein, 1994 (originally published 1988).
Hamann, “The Reluctant Empress,” 1994.
Emmanuel Burlion, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1805-1873, Brest: Burlion, 2011: 36. Also see: Polly Cone, The Imperial Style: Fashions of the Hapsburg Era: Based on the Exhibition, Fashions of the Hapsberg Era, Austria-Hungary, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 1979-Ausust 1980, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980: 142.
Helga Kessler-Aurisch, Laure Chabanne, Tilmann von Stockhausen, Mirja Straub, Eugene Barilo von Reisberg, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, Richard Ormond, and Donald W Dobler, High Society: The Portraits of Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, 2015: 214.
“Canadian police recover famed Star of Empress Sisi jewel,” Sydney Morning Herald, June 3, 2007.
“The Stars of Empress Elisabeth,” A. E. KÖCHERT. Retrieved on January 6, 2025.
“Sisi’s stars – The famous jewels Empress Elisabeth wore in her hair,” The World of the Hapsburgs. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
Mariah Espada, “The True Story Behind the Hulu Documentary ‘The Jewel Thief’,” July 13, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
For more on the theft of the star see, Bowers Bahney, Jennifer (2015). Stealing Sisi's Star: How a Master Thief Nearly Got Away with Austria's Most Famous Jewel. McFarland & Co.
For more on the fashion of the Winterhalter portrait see Fashion History Timeline: “1865 – Franz Xaver Winterhalter, The Empress Elisabeth of Austria,” Posted by Zorya Serra di Cassano, 2018.