The Best Royal Jewels of 2020: #8 (Queen Maxima in Indonesia)

Our countdown of the best royal jewels of the year continues with one of the state visits that took place at the beginning of 2020. The eighth spot on this year’s list goes to King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands’s bejeweled visit to Indonesia.

Before the official state visit events began, Queen Maxima attended a conference on March 9 at the Kempinski Hotel in Jakarta, in her role as a special advocate of the UN Secretary-General for Inclusive Financing for Development. She wore her playful seashell earrings and stacked bracelets (plus a watch and a fitness tracker!) for the meeting.

The state visit really kicked off on March 10, when King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima were officially welcomed to the Bogor Presidential Palace by President Joko Widodo and his wife, Iriana.

Queen Maxima wore pieces from Queen Juliana’s married suite of aquamarines for the welcome ceremonies, including the briolette drop earrings and the large aquamarine pendant.

She also wore the aquamarine bracelet and ring, as well as her family initial bracelet, her diamond wedding bracelet, and her engagement and wedding rings.

Next, the couple visited the Erasmushuis in Jakarta, where they viewed a photo exhibition and greeted members of the Dutch community. Queen Maxima changed her outfit and jewelry for the event, wearing her checkerboard fringe earrings, diamond bracelets, and the gorgeous cluster ring from the family’s emerald parure.

On March 11, the royal couple visited Yogyakarta. Queen Maxima wore pearls and diamonds with her ensemble, including earrings with pearl studs and drops and a classic single-stranded pearl necklace. You’ll also spot her wedding bracelet on her left wrist.

When she took off her gloves, she also revealed a pearl ring on her right hand.

The visit included a stop at the Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat palace complex, home of the reigning Sultan of Yogyakarta. Queen Ratu Hemas, wife of the sultan, wore some gorgeous diamond jewelry to meet with the Dutch royal couple, including pieces that (I think) she wore for her husband’s coronation ceremonies in 1989.

While in Yogyakarta, the couple also made a visit to the 9th-century Prambanan Temple.

Queen Maxima wore pieces from her collection of diamond citrine jewelry, including earrings with citrine drops and the large citrine and diamond cluster brooch with its three pendants.

To her bracelet stack, she added her large brooch featuring various shades of citrines.

On March 12, the king and queen traveled to North Sumatra, where they visited the village of Lintong Nihuta in Toba. (This day of events was pushed forward; the king and queen were originally scheduled to visit Kalimantan on the island of Borneo on March 12, but a boating accident on March 9 canceled that portion of the visit, and the entire program was toned down as a result.)

Queen Maxima wore pieces from Queen Juliana’s suite of rose quartz jewels for meetings with the local villagers.

Queen Maxima changed her clothes and jewelry for their final stop, a visit to Lake Toba. The large natural lake is located in the caldera of a supervolcano in North Sumatra. The couple toured the the Silima Lombu Ecovillage on the site.

Queen Maxima wore a pair of modern pearl drop earrings for the final event of the visit.

She also wore her customary stack of bracelets, including the gold and cabochon bracelets engraved with the names of her family members, as well as her diamond wedding bracelets. You’ll also spot an intriguing ring of diamonds interspersed with orange material on her right hand.