The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

This Week in Royal Jewels: February 7-13

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February 7-13, 2014
From the oldest crown in the world to a glittering surprise in Britain, here are the top ten news stories about royal jewels this week!
10. If you’re in the New York area, get ready: the oldest crown in the world will be on display in your city starting today. It’s from Israel, is six thousand years old, is made of iron, and includes vultures in its design — not sure at all why that royal jewel trend didn’t last.
9. They may not be vultures, but the Duchess of Cornwall wore a pair of turquoise, diamond, and gold bird brooches to visit a radio station on Tuesday.
8. After spending her accession day at Sandringham (an annual tradition), Queen Elizabeth II returned to London. For the train journey from King’s Lynn, she paired her usual pearls with the Grima Ruby Brooch.
7. After several days spent cheering on the Dutch speed skaters in Sochi, Queen Maxima wore sentimental jewelry at the Centre for Healthy Weight in Rotterdam, including two bracelets that incorporate the names and initials of her husband and her three daughters.
6. At an engagement in Amsterdam on Thursday, Maxima chose slightly more theatrical jewels: a pair of large, dangling blue earrings.
5. Following their series on the auctioned jewelry from the collection of the late Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg, the bloggers at Luxarazzi highlight one of the pieces that was kept by the family: Queen Astrid’s diamond and emerald choker.
4. The Countess of Wessex wore a delicate pendant necklace and drop earrings for a visit to Dorchester Abbey on Thursday.
3. Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway honored sustainable fashion designers this week in Oslo; she chose an appropriately fashionable cocktail ring for the event.
2. Queen Silvia of Sweden chose a pearl necklace and bracelet for the annual SemperOpernball at the Opera House in Dresden on Friday. The necklace incorporates a dusky orange stone in its clasp, possibly a topaz — there’s speculation that the set is new.
1. And finally, the top spot this week is reserved for a big jewel surprise: the Duchess of Cambridge borrowing the Queen’s Nizam of Hyderabad necklace for a gala at the National Portrait Gallery. Way to break out the serious bling, Kate!
NOTES, PHOTO CREDITS, AND LINKS

1. Banner image: detail of The Marriage of George, Duke of York to Princess Mary of Teck (1894) by Laurits Tuxen. Image in the public domain; source here.

This Week in Royal Jewels: January 31-February 6

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January 31-February 6, 2014
As the royals begin to start amping up their engagements following the holidays, here are ten of the sparkliest royal stories of the week!
10. Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, who celebrated her birthday this week, wore a distinctive gold and pale pink pendant necklace to present awards to Danish scientists on Thursday in Copenhagen.
9. Queen Mathilde of the Belgians chose pearls and diamonds for the first day of an official visit to President Hollande in Paris.
8. At a concert held to give thanks for the years of service of Princess Beatrix to the Dutch people, Princess Carolina of Bourbon-Parma wore an impressive statement necklace; the event also served as an announcement of her pregnancy. (There’s a mini baby boom happening in the Dutch branch of the Bourbon-Parma family; Princess Viktoria, the wife of Prince Jaime, is also expecting.)
7. Shortly after stories circulated that Queen Elizabeth II had ordered the Duchess of Cambridge to wear more heirloom jewelry, the palace announced that the two will attend a reception for the dramatic arts at Buckingham Palace on February 17. Other members of the royal family (not yet announced) will also be in attendance.
6. There’s been some serious jewel detective work happening over at Luxarazzi. They’ve determined that nearly all of the pieces from the controversial cancelled auction of Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte’s jewels were sold anonymously in later auctions — some for only a few euros a piece. See their discussion of auctions from 2007, 2008, and 2009 for more.
5. Tiara lovers in New York City recently had the rare opportunity to see one of the diadems designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria in person. Her sapphire and diamond tiara was displayed at the annual Winter Antiques Show as a part of a special exhibit.
4. Queen Sofia chose a piece from her family’s archives — a pearl necklace with a diamond and cabochon ruby pendant — for a diplomatic reception in Madrid. She inherited the pendant from her mother, Queen Friederike of the Hellenes.
3. At a church service in King’s Lynn, Queen Elizabeth II debuted the diamond and tourmaline brooch presented to her last year by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.
2. For the concert celebrating her mother-in-law, Queen Maxima wore for the first time the large sapphire and diamond bow brooch made for Queen Wilhelmina. See John’s excellent site about the Dutch royal jewels for much more information about the piece.
1. Shocking royal watchers all over the world, Tatiana Santo Domingo wore a diamond fringe tiara to marry Andrea Casiraghi, the elder son of Princess Caroline of Monaco, in a Catholic ceremony in Gstaad. You can read more about the diamond fringes worn by Grimaldi princesses here.

This Week in Royal Jewels: January 23-30

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January 23-30, 2014
It’s time again for our top ten royal jewel stories of the week!
10. Queen Sofia of Spain brought out her workhorse strand of multicolored pearls again this week, this time donning them to attend a performance of Tristan and Isolde at the Royal Theatre in Madrid.
9. Pearls were also the bauble of choice for the Duchess of Cornwall, who wore a pair of large pearl earrings for a visit to an Essex pub with Prince Charles.
8. The most fabulously bejeweled woman in the principality of Monaco, Princess Caroline, celebrated her 57th birthday on January 23. Here’s to many sparkling years to come!
7. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden (still on crutches following a minor skiing accident) wore a statement necklace during a visit to Dusseldorf with her husband, Prince Daniel; the two traveled to Germany to promote trade relations.
6. Delicate gold jewelry and a whopper of a cake hat were on the menu for Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands during a visit to the University of Utrecht.
5. A series of rare photographic prints that belonged to Queen Victoria will go on display at the Getty Center in Los Angeles on February 4th. If you’re in southern California, be sure to stop in and see some of the portraits that include Victorian-era royal jewels!
4. Another day of her official visit to Germany, another statement necklace for Crown Princess Victoria. This one, which features enormous dark stones, was worn in Hamburg.
3. Here’s hoping for some jewelry surprises coming up from the Duchess of Cambridge; it was announced this week that she’ll be attending a gala event for the National Portrait Gallery on February 11.
2. This weekend might provide us with one of the best opportunities for Grimaldi jewel-spotting for some time. It’s been widely reported that Andrea Casiraghi, elder son of Princess Caroline, will marry Tatiana Santo Domingo in a Catholic ceremony in Switzerland over the weekend. It’s been announced that Valentino designed Tatiana’s wedding gown — here’s hoping that she pairs it with bridal jewelry, too!

1. While many of the Windsors are on vacation, Princess Eugenie wore a silver Fabergé Treillage egg pendant while attending the jeweler’s Big Egg Hunt Cocktail Countdown party in New York. Let’s hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship between princess and jewelry house!

NOTES, PHOTO CREDITS, AND LINKS
1. Banner image: detail of The Marriage of George, Duke of York to Princess Mary of Teck (1894) by Laurits Tuxen. Image in the public domain; source here.