The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

This Week in Royal Jewels: November 3-9

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November 3-9, 2017
Royal tours and state visits continued this week, and we’ve got lots of sparkle in our countdown! Don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!
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10. For the Place2Be School Leaders Forum in London on Wednesday, the Duchess of Cambridge wore her Mappin and Webb Empress Earrings. (More over here!)

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9. At the beginning of this week’s Israeli state visit to Spain, Queen Letizia wore new earrings set with purple and green stones for a lunch honoring President and Mrs. Rivlin at Zarzuela Palace.
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8. King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians have been state-visiting in India this week. Mathilde wore her pale pink gem drop earrings for a ceremonial reception at the Indian Presidential Palace in New Delhi on Tuesday.
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7. To reopen the Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery of China and South Asia at the British Museum on Wednesday, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore her Ruby Sweet William Brooch. (More over here!)
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6. Empress Michiko of Japan wore pearls with a naturalistic brooch for a diplomatic meeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Monday.
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5. The Duchess of Cornwall delved into her collection of Van Cleef and Arpels jewels again in Malaysia on Friday, wearing diamond earrings with a pair of diamond bracelets at a diplomatic gala in Kuala Lumpur. (See close-ups over here!)
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4. For the return dinner hosted by the Israeli presidential couple, Queen Letizia wore the stunning diamond cluster earrings from the joyas de pasar collection with a pair of bracelets and her new ring. (More over here!)
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3. The Duchess of Cambridge wore a pair of jewels borrowed from Queen Elizabeth II — the diamond frame earrings and a diamond bracelet — for a reception for the Anna Freud Centre at Kensington Palace on Tuesday. (Much more, including details on the bracelet, over here!)
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2. Queen Elizabeth II wore the magnificent Cullinan VI and VIII Brooch for audiences at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.
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1. For the state dinner during the Israeli visit, Queen Letizia piled on the diamonds, wearing the Spanish Floral Tiara, pearl and diamond earrings that belonged to her mother-in-law, the joyas de pasar bracelets, and a pair of diamond brooches. (Much, much more over here!)

The Pearl Sunburst Tiara

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Image licensed to The Court Jeweller; DO NOT REPRODUCE.

Surprise! We’ve got one more Japanese imperial tiara to share before we switch our focus for the month to other imperial diadems. Today we’re looking at one of the sleekest sparklers in the Japanese vaults: the Pearl Sunburst Tiara.

The tiara’s deco-esque style suggests that it’s a twentieth-century creation, and its first wearer appears to have been the country’s current empress, the then-Crown Princess Michiko. She began wearing the tiara and its accompanying necklace and brooch almost immediately after her 1959 marriage to Crown Prince Akihito.

Michiko wore the tiara during the 1960 Japanese visit to the United States; the moving images in this post show her wearing the sparkler while visiting President and Mrs. Eisenhower at the White House. She also wore the tiara and matching brooch when another American head of state, President Reagan, made a state visit to Japan in the 1980s.

Casa de S.M. el Rey

When Michiko became empress, this tiara was set aside in favor of important family pieces like the Meiji and Chrysanthemum Tiaras. Its next wearer was Michiko’s daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Masako, who has embraced it as her primary tiara in recent years. Above, she wears it during the recent Spanish state visit. (More jewels from that banquet over here!)

Image licensed to The Court Jeweller; DO NOT REPRODUCE.

Masako tends to wear the Pearl Sunburst suite of jewels for all white-tie occasions now, including state visits and the annual New Year’s reception (which she regularly attends, although she does not participate in the public ceremonial portion). Above, you can see the way that the design of the tiara is echoed in both its coordinating necklace and its coordinating brooch.

This is one of my favorite pieces from the Japanese imperial vaults — unlike so many of their tiaras, which tend toward the frilly and romantic, this tiara is basically the Chrysler Building in jewelry form. It nicely echoes the innovative, technological side of Japanese culture, and I’m glad we get to see Masako wear it more and more these days.

This Week in Royal Jewels: September 29-October 5

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September 29-October 5, 2017
Welcome to a supersized version of our weekly royal jewel roundup! Don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!

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20. Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia chose a trendy diamond ear climber for the Elie Saab show in Paris on Saturday.

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19. Princess Stephanie of Monaco wore sparkling stud earrings as she visited Romania on Wednesday to dedicate a monument to her late father, Prince Rainier III, at Circus Park in Bucharest.
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18. On Friday, the Countess of Wessex wore blue topaz drop earrings and a necklace from Hermes at the Headley Court Farewell Parade in Dorking.
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17. The Akishino visit to Chile continued this week; on Saturday, Princess Kiko wore oversized (yet understated) stud earrings for a visit to an adult rehabilitation center in Puerto Montt.
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16. On Monday, Princess Alexandra of Hanover (daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco) wore a silver necklace with a heart charm — perhaps Tiffany? — for the Giambattista Valli show in Paris.
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15. Gold earrings and a statement necklace accompanied Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands to an awards ceremony in The Hague on Tuesday.
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14. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands made a major statement with yellow earrings on Thursday for a conference on gender and women’s health in Amersfoort.
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13. Queen Maxima chose her earrings from Amrapali for a visit to the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague on Wednesday. (See an earlier wearing of the earrings over here!)
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12. Earrings from Ole Lynggaard, plus a floral brooch and glittering bracelets and rings, were Maxima’s choice for a lecture at Koppert Cross in Westland on Tuesday.
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11. Modern diamond and gold earrings were the jewel of choice for Sarah, Duchess of York at the BFI Luminous Fundraising Gala in London on Tuesday.
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10. Princess Sirivannavari, the fashion-mad daughter of the King of Thailand, was still in Paris this week; on Saturday she wore trendy earrings and a stack of bracelets (including two Cartier Love Bracelets) at the Elie Saab show.
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9. On Monday, Princess Sirivannavari wore glittering diamond earrings (and a sparkly beauty mark) at the Giambattista Valli show in Paris.
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8. Princess Sirivannavari’s tour of the Paris fashion shows continued on Tuesday at Chanel, where she wore diamond earrings. (The ornament on her sweater, which I love, is made by Chanel and is attached to the garment.)
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7. Catching up on an event from late last Thursday, Princess Charlene of Monaco wore major diamond stud earrings for the Monte-Carlo Gala for the Global Ocean.
Andrew Toth/Getty Images for World Childhood Foundation USA
6. For this week’s World Childhood Foundation Thank You Gala in New York, Princess Madeleine wore statement earrings with blue gemstone drops. (More images over here!)
Andrew Toth/Getty Images for World Childhood Foundation USA
5. Queen Silvia chose her new pearl choker necklace, oversized stud earrings, and a pearl bracelet for the Thank You Gala. (More images over here!)
4. At the opening of parliament in Denmark this week, Queen Margrethe II, Crown Princess Mary, and Princess Marie all accessorized with brooches.
3. My favorite jewels from the opening of parliament belonged to Princess Benedikte, who wore a necklace with red and green cabochons.
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2. On Friday, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore her Sapphire Chrysanthemum Brooch for a visit to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. (She’s had the brooch since she was a princess; learn more about it over here!)
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1. The Sultan of Brunei and Queen Saleha get my joint top vote this week — I mean, look at the diamonds they were both draped in for Thursday’s Golden Jubilee procession!