The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Royal Jewel Rewind: Felipe and Letizia’s Pre-Wedding Gala, Part 2 (2004)

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Here’s the second half of our flashback to the jewels worn at King Felipe and Queen Letizia’s pre-wedding gala, held fourteen years ago today at the Royal Palace of El Pardo! (Head over here to catch up if you missed part one!)

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Queen (now Princess) Beatrix of the Netherlands wore diamond earrings and both of the East Indies Bracelets for the gala.

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Princess (now Queen) Maxima of the Netherlands accessorized her deep purple gown with diamond and sapphire jewels, including drop earrings, a large brooch, and a bangle bracelet.

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Here’s another view that shows some of the bracelet’s details.

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The Duchess of Brabant (now Queen Mathilde of the Belgians) wore her own diamond and pearl wedding earrings for the gala, as well as two diamond bracelets.

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Diamonds and emeralds were Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg’s gemstones of choice, including her diamond and emerald earrings and a pair of diamond and emerald bracelets (including the one that I think may be an emerald watch!).

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Princess Caroline of Monaco wore a dramatic ensemble, accessorizing it with a pair of major statement earrings set with multi-colored gems. The diamond floral brooch pinned to her bodice is, I believe, one of the brooches worn by Princess Charlene in her hair on her wedding day.

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Queen Rania of Jordan was elegant in diamonds, including a pair of statement earrings and a modern bracelet.

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Rania’s predecessor, Queen Noor, also accessorized with diamond pieces.

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Gabriele of Leiningen, who was the Begum Aga Khan in 2004, wore some of her magnificent diamonds and emeralds for the gala. The suite of jewels, made by Cartier, was part of the auction of her jewels in 2016.

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Also in emeralds: Marina of Savoy, wife of one of the pretenders to the Italian throne. She wore large emerald earrings and a pearl choker necklace with an emerald clasp. (Also: check out the size of her diamond ring!)

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Marina’s daughter-in-law, the French actress Clotilde Courau, wore dangling earrings in shades of red and gold for the gala.

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Members of one of the former royal families of France also attended the gala. On the right is Beatrice of Orleans the (now ex-) wife of Michel of Orleans, youngest son of the late Count of Paris. (Trivia fact: Michel’s girlfriend before he married Beatrice was Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, sister of Queen Sofia of Spain.) Beatrice wore a sparkling pair of earrings, but her daughter, Clotilde Crépy, wore an even more striking pair of earrings.

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Farah Pahlavi attended the gala with her elder son, Reza, and his wife, Yasmine. Farah’s jewels are golden in color, while Yasmine chose jewels set with diamonds and pearls.

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The former Bulgarian royal family is close to their Spanish counterparts, because the last King of Bulgaria, Simeon II, married a Spanish aristocrat, Margarita Gomez-Acebo. Their children have also all married Spaniards. Above, their fourth son, Konstantin-Assen, is pictured at the gala with his wife, Maria Garcia de la Rasilla y Gortazar, who also has Spanish noble heritage. (Konstantin and Felipe are close; each has served as godfather to one of the other’s children.) Maria wore a pair of dramatic beaded earrings for the gala.

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Konstantin-Assen’s younger sister, Kalina, also attended the gala, wearing a suite of jewels set with blue and yellow stones. She is pictured with her husband, Kitin Muñoz, a Spanish sailor and scientist.

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And last, but of course not least, we’ve got Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, one of the claimants to the headship of the House of Romanov. She was born in Madrid and has spent much of her life in Spain. For this gala, she appears to have decided on earrings with a pearl drop.

The Luxembourg Chaumet Choker Tiara

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Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg attends a pre-wedding reception for her son, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, October 2012 (Guy Wolff/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images)

If you ask me, one of the best things a tiara can be is versatile. A piece that can be worn in multiple configurations automatically increases its value to the wearer significantly, allowing it to be used in different ways for different occasions. Today’s tiara is just such a piece: the convertible pearl and diamond necklace/tiara, is worn by Maria Teresa, the current Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano attend a gala performance ahead of the wedding of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, May 2004 (CLAUS FISKER/AFP/Getty Images)

The sparkler, which is easily recognizable for its intricate and unique latticework pattern of diamonds, was made by Chaumet during the reign of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg. A model of the tiara is on display at Chaumet in Paris; it’s clearly visible in the photo of the Chaumet models featured in Diana Scarisbrick’s Tiara. The main wearer of the piece is Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, although the tiara has also been worn (years ago) by one of her sisters-in-law, Princess Margaretha.

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg and Queen Sonja of Norway attend the 60th birthday celebrations for King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, April 2006 (AFP/Getty Images)

Maria Teresa wears a double row of gems atop the diamond choker when she dons the piece in tiara form — a row of round diamonds situated atop the choker, and a row of larger pearls mounted a level higher. (The ladies over at Luxarazzi note that the piece was originally made to be topped with sapphires, not pearls.) It can also be worn without any of the topper stones at all.

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden arrive at a state banquet in Stockholm, April 2008 (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The grand duchess also sometimes wears the choker version of the piece stacked with other necklaces, including a diamond collet necklace, as she did during the 2008 state visit to Sweden. Though the piece is worn quite close to the neck when it is used as a necklace (as most chokers are), the piece is opened when it is placed on a tiara frame, making it seem much more substantial than it would if it were worn as a closed circlet.

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg arrive at a pre-wedding reception for their son, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, October 2012 (Guy Wolff/Grand-Ducal Court of Luxembourg via Getty Images)

In recent years, Maria Teresa has reserved the choker tiara for her personal use. She’s worn it at state visits, birthday galas, and even the dinner held the night before the wedding of her eldest son, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume. But with the new hereditary grand duchess slowly making a tiara tour of the family vaults, surely it’s only a matter of time before we see it atop another Nassau noggin!

Note: This is an updated version of an earlier post, with new text and images.

The Daily Diadem: The Chaumet Choker Tiara and Queen Josefina’s Diamond Tiara

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Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg wears the family’s Chaumet Choker Tiara and Queen Sonja of Norway wears Queen Josefina’s Diamond Tiara at a pre-wedding gala for Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, May 2004; read more about Maria Teresa’s tiara here and Sonja’s tiara over here!