The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

The Best Royal Jewels of 2016: #4 (Silvia’s German Jewels)

by // Leave a Comment

(DOMINIC LIPINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
We’re getting in to some really amazing jewels now! Our countdown continues with the fourth best bejeweled appearance of the year … if you missed any of the previous posts, catch up here!

#4: Silvia’s German Jewels
(Clemens Bilan/Getty Images)
For a dinner at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin this October, Queen Silvia of Sweden wore two major pieces of royal jewelry with German roots. (Here’s our post on the event.)

(MAJA HITIJ/AFP/Getty Images)
On her head, she perched the Baden Fringe Tiara. In recent years, the tiara has been worn almost exclusively by Crown Princess Victoria. But this was a very good choice for a dinner in Germany, as the tiara originally belonged to Queen Victoria of Sweden, who was born Princess Victoria of Baden.
(MAJA HITIJ/AFP/Getty Images)
But the best part of this bejeweled appearance wasn’t even the tiara; it was the brooch! This is another piece of jewelry from Victoria of Baden’s collection, and this was the first time we saw Silvia wear it in public. How unimaginably vast is the Bernadotte collection, when the women of the family can regularly pop on jewels that haven’t been seen in decades or even centuries? (You can see a close-up of the brooch + photos of Victoria wearing it over here!)

The Best Royal Jewels of 2016: #5 (Maxima’s Wellington Sparkle)

by // Leave a Comment

(DOMINIC LIPINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
Our countdown of the best royal jewels of 2016 is at the halfway mark! Catch up on previous posts in the series over here!
#5: Maxima’s Wellington Sparkle
(Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

During a state visit to New Zealand in November, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands pulled out all of the sparkling stops for a state dinner in Wellington.

(Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Although the dinner was black tie, Maxima wore Queen Emma’s Diamond Tiara, pairing it with Queen Wilhelmina’s diamond earrings and diamond scroll brooch. She also added her own diamond wedding and family initial bracelets.

(Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Maxima attended numerous glittering events in 2016, but for me, this was her best bejeweled appearance by far! (More from this event over here.)

The Best Royal Jewels of 2016: #6 (Kate’s Royal Loans)

by // Leave a Comment

(DOMINIC LIPINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
Our countdown of the best royal jewels of 2016 continues with spot #6. (Catch up on the previous posts in our top ten over here!)
#6: Kate’s Royal Loans
(Stephen Pond/Getty Images)

For years, many of us had been hoping that the Duchess of Cambridge would begin wearing more pieces from the royal vaults. In 2016, we got our wish, thanks to a whole lot of jewelry loans from the Queen to Kate. Above, she wears the diamond chandelier earrings that the Queen loaned to her shortly after her marriage for an EACH gala at Houghton Hall in June.

(Stephen Pond/Getty Images)

At the Houghton Hall event, she also wore the diamond Art Deco bracelet that was made from one of Queen Mary’s choker necklaces. (More images from this event here!)

(Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

For her second trip to Canada, Kate borrowed the Queen’s Diamond Maple Leaf Brooch for a second time. She wore it multiple times during the trip; above, she paired it with her tanzanite earrings for her arrival in Victoria. (See more images of Kate wearing the brooch during the trip here!)

(Arthur Edwards – Pool/Getty Images)

In Canada, Kate also debuted a new pair of earrings borrowed from the Queen: the small diamond and pearl earrings that the Queen wore during her Silver Jubilee celebrations. The earrings really shone during Kate’s first foreign solo trip — a visit to the Netherlands in October. Photographers even captured her wearing the earrings while looking at another famous Girl with a Pearl Earring during the trip. (More images, including an earring close-up, over here!)

(Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

On Remembrance Sunday, Kate wore the Queen’s Bahrain Pearl Earrings. The earrings were made using pearls given to the Queen by the nation of Bahrain as a wedding present in 1947. (More from Remembrance Sunday over here!)

(Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)

Kate debuted another pair of diamond earrings from the Queen’s jewelry box in November, when she attended a reception at Mansion House in London. (More images over here!)

(Dominic Lipinski-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

For the annual diplomatic reception in December, Kate wore a trio of jewels loaned by the Queen: the Lover’s Knot Tiara, diamond earrings, and the diamond bracelet that Prince Philip designed for the Queen as a wedding present in 1947. (More over here!)