Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World
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| Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images |
Katherine of Serbia, the wife of Crown Prince Alexander, may not have a throne, but her husband’s royal family ties mean that she often attends tiara events. To celebrate her birthday, we’re taking a look at one of the small tiaras that she has worn on these occasions.
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The tiara, which appears to be set with diamonds and small pearls, features scroll elements in its design. A cluster of small pearls is set inside each scroll element, and rows of pearls are set at the base. The tiara is very low in profile — so much so that it often disappears almost completely into Katherine’s hair. She generally pairs the tiara with the same chain necklace and earrings.
I’ve seen speculation in the past that the tiara was borrowed from a jewelry firm. (Borrowing jewels isn’t an uncommon thing in royal circles, especially when the family in question is no longer reigning.) But Katherine has been wearing the tiara for over a decade, so I think it’s fairly certain that she owns it. Above (although it’s difficult to see), she wears it during one of the pre-wedding events in Denmark in 2004. Six years later, she wore it for the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
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And here, she wears it at the pre-wedding gala in Luxembourg in 2012. (Again, it disappears almost completely in her hair.) She’s made at least one more public appearance in the tiara recently, donning it for the wedding reception for Prince Leka of Albania in 2016.
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Our celebration of the royal wedding of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg, which was held five years ago tomorrow, continues with more royal jewels! If you missed part one, you can catch up over here!
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Queen Silvia of Sweden was elegant in diamonds and pearls for the wedding day, including a double-stranded pearl bracelet and an intriguing diamond and pearl brooch. Both the earrings and brooch are heirloom Bernadotte pieces.
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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden followed in her mother’s jewelry footsteps for the day, wearing pearl and diamond earrings and a brooch with a diamond and pearl cluster and a pearl drop. She wears the brooch often; in fact, she wore the same brooch without its pearl pendant for the Cambridge royal wedding in 2011.
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Queen Sonja of Norway went for a bit of whimsy in an, uh, interesting hat and striped suit. She accessorized with a suite of jewelry in mixed metals, including a necklace, bracelet, and earrings.
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Taking her minimalist aesthetic almost to its limit was Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, who wore teeny gold pyramid stud earrings and a delicate golden bracelet.
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Her sister-in-law, Princess Martha Louise, went for a heavier jewelry look, including pearl pieces and earrings set with blue gemstones, perhaps blue topaz or aquamarine.
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Here’s a better look at the earrings and her unusual pearl brooch.
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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark wore one of her most treasured jewels, her Diamond Daisy Brooch, for the wedding. (More on this sentimental piece over here!) She paired it with a four-stranded pearl necklace and modern pearl earrings.
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Crown Princess Mary of Denmark wore one of the newer earring settings from the Danish Ruby Parure: the cluster studs with pearl drops. (More on this historic parure over here!)
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Representing the Monegasque princely family, Princess Caroline was elegant in neutrals with sparkling embellishments.
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| Sean Gallup/Getty Images |
She wore a large pair of stud earrings with an imposing gold bracelet.
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| Sean Gallup/Getty Images |
A closer look reveals that the bracelet features Caroline’s monogram, a pair of interlocked Cs (similar to the logo of her favorite fashion house) topped by a crown.
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They missed the gala the night before, but King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain (who were then Prince and Princess of Asturias) made it for the wedding itself. Note that Letizia is wearing rings — an unusual sight these days — more specifically, her wedding ring and her Parentesi ring from Bulgari.
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Here’s a closer view of Letizia’s simple round stud earrings.
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Bring a bit more bling was Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco, who coordinated her diamond and sapphire jewels with her vibrant blue caftan.
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Princess Sarvath of Jordan chose gold jewelry for the wedding, including bright earrings and a torque-style cuff bracelet.
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The Countess of Wessex made her diamond and pearl earrings the star of her jewelry show. These are the earrings, on loan from Queen Elizabeth II, now worn by the Duchess of Cambridge. (More over here!) Sophie also wore them at the gala the night before.
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A large pearl necklace and a matched suite of gem-set pieces, including earrings and a brooch, adorned Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.
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Her daughter-in-law, Marie-Chantal, wore diamond earrings by JAR.
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Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, daughter of Princess Benedikte of Denmark, wore pearls with elaborate earrings featuring blue gemstone briolettes. I’m more interested, though, in her outfit — isn’t she basically wearing a slightly different version of the Natan ensemble worn by the mother of the groom? Fascinating.
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Margarita of Romania wore luminous pearls, but look closer — there’s also a set of diamond clips pinned to her jacket. They almost completely disappear against the pattern!
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A big sigh: no visible jewels for Clotilde Courau, wife of Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy.
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A bit more French glitter came courtesy of Philomena d’Orleans, daughter-in-law of the Count of Paris (one of the pretenders to the French throne). I’m digging these vivid diamond and sapphire earrings!
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Margarita of Bulgaria, wife of the country’s last tsar, wore numerous pieces of jewelry, but I’m most interested in her pendant, which features both ribbon and cluster details and has an amber-colored central stone.
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Big sigh #2: no jewelry here for Miriam of Bulgaria, Margarita’s daughter-in-law.
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Wearing traditional pearls, the Duchess of Braganza (wife of the pretender to the Portuguese throne) looked every inch the elegant almost-royal lady.
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And last but not least, Katherine of Serbia wore an interesting diamond bird brooch on her lapel, plus gem-set earrings and a lovely ring.