The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

This Week in Royal Jewels: July 21-27

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July 21-27, 2017
The summer season is winding down for the royals, but we’ve still got some lovely jewels to enjoy. Don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!
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10. Queen Letizia of Spain inaugurated the annual meeting of the Cervantes Institutes on Monday in Malaga wearing her long golden Tous earrings.

9. During a visit to meet families at the Glasgow Children’s Hospital on Monday, Princess Eugenie of York (a supporter of the Teenage Cancer Trust) added a pair of delicate earrings to her usual rings-and-bracelets jewelry uniform.
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8. In Monaco, Princess Charlene wore diamond stud earrings and a fantastic beaded collar (not sure if it’s part of the dress or a separate piece) for the IAAF Diamond League athletics meeting on Friday.
NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/AFP/Getty Images
7. During Friday’s Belgian National Day festivities, Queen Mathilde wore a pair of pink drop earrings in Brussels. (Much more over here!)
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6. Amethyst and green jade earrings from Bounkit were Queen Letizia’s choice for the opening of the International Music School Summer Courses in Oviedo on Friday.
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5. The Duchess of Cornwall selected her favorite diamond floral and pearl drop earrings, plus a single-stranded pearl necklace, for the Sandringham Flower Show on Wednesday.
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4. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden were in Munich this week, where Silvia wore pearls and a golden brooch to accept the Bavarian Order of Merit on Monday.
TOBIAS HASE/AFP/Getty Images
3. Silvia chose mixed-metal jewels, plus the small ribbon of her new Bavarian order, for a visit to the Residenz in Munich on Monday.
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2. For Tuesday’s Bayreuth Festival State Reception at the Neues Schloss, Silvia chose multi-colored pearl and diamond jewels, plus her new Bavarian order ribbon.
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1. I think this might be a controversial choice on my part, but my favorite royal jewel moment of the week came on Friday, when the Duchess of Cambridge wore her pale lavender amethyst drop earrings from Kiki McDonough for the final engagements of her German tour. (Close-up over here!)

Royal Rubies from Van Cleef & Arpels

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July babies were blessed with a particularly vibrant birthstone: the bright red ruby. Today, we’re looking at a selection of royal ruby pieces created by one of the world’s most famous jewelry firms, Van Cleef and Arpels.

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The Niarchos Rubies

Queen Sofia of Spain received this suite of VCA diamond and ruby jewels as a wedding gift in 1962. As the name suggests, the jewels were a present from Stavros Niarchos, the famous Greek shipping magnate. A similar ruby set is also owned by Marina Karella, wife of Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark. (Learn more about the set over here!)

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Princess Grace’s Versailles Rubies

For a 1973 gala at the Palace of Versailles, which was a benefit to raise funds for restoration of the magnificent building, Princess Grace of Monaco borrowed a VCA ruby and diamond suite. The set bears some resemblance to Queen Sofia’s rubies. (See another angle on the pieces over here!)

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The Duchess of Cornwall’s Ballerina Brooch

The Duchess of Cornwall has an extensive collection of VCA jewelry, including this lovely ballerina brooch. The golden brooch, which dates to the 1940s, is set with diamonds, sapphires, and rubies. It’s an heirloom from Camilla’s own family.

Sotheby’s
Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte’s Ruby Bracelet

Made by VCA in 1952, this bracelet features diamonds and rubies set in platinum. It was an engagement gift to Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte of Luxembourg from her father, King Leopold III of Belgium. Thanks to some expert jewelry detective work by the bloggers at Luxarazzi, we know that the bracelet was sold at Sotheby’s in Geneva in 2009, fetching around $78,000.

Christie’s
Princess Gabriele’s Mystery-Set Rubies

Gabriele, Princess zu Leiningen (the former wife of the Aga Khan IV) once owned this suite of diamond and ruby jewels from VCA, which are made using the firm’s famous mystery setting. Along with numerous other pieces of her jewelry, the brooch, earrings, and ring were sold at Christie’s in 2016. The three pieces combined fetched more than $1.1 million. (Read more about the sale over here!)

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The Duchess of Windsor’s Rubies

One of the most famous royal ruby suites of all time belonged to a woman who was almost royal: the Duchess of Windsor. The cascading ruby tassel necklace, worn by Wallis above in Paris in 1966, was a birthday gift from her husband; it’s inscribed “My Wallis from her David, 19.VI.1936.” Wallis also had other VCA ruby pieces, including a bracelet and a pair of brooches. All were auctioned after her death.