The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

The Baden Ivy Leaf Brooch

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JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images
 

We’ve been discussing jewels worn in Europe’s parliaments all week here on TCJ, and today, I’ve got a brooch that pops up occasionally at Sweden’s parliamentary opening ceremony: the Baden Ivy Leaf Brooch.

JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images

This delicate and beautiful brooch features a diamond ivy leaf studded with a central white pearl. Three more pearls radiate from the side of the leaf in its brooch setting. The leaf can also be removed from the brooch setting and worn separately. Note the bale at the top of the leaf, which allows it to be strung on a necklace and worn as a pendant.
Wikimedia Commons

The brooch was first worn by Victoria of Baden, who was Queen of Sweden from 1907 until 1930. In the portrait above, taken around the time of her marriage to King Gustaf V in 1882, she wears the brooch pinned to the neckline of a light-colored gown. She’s also wearing an impressive five-stranded pearl necklace and a diamond star ornament in her hair.
Anefo/Nationaal Archief/Wikimedia Commons

After Victoria’s death, the brooch was worn by her daughter-in-law, Queen Louise of Sweden. She wore it prominently during a state visit to the Netherlands in April 1955.
JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images

Today, the brooch is worn by the current generation of the Swedish royal family. In September 2014, Queen Silvia of Sweden wore the brooch for the opening of the Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament. The brooch is a perfect ornament for the event, which has a black-and-white dress code. (That color scheme is a relic of the days when the Swedish royal women wore court dress for the occasion.) With her black-and-white outfits, Queen Silvia usually wears diamonds and pearls for the event.
Elisabeth Toll, The Royal Court of Sweden
In June 2020, Crown Princess Victoria wore the brooch with an elegant cream-colored dress for a portrait taken as part of her 10th wedding anniversary celebrations. The brooch neatly linked the future Queen Victoria with her great-great-grandmother, Sweden’s previous Queen Victoria.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Crown Princess Victoria has also innovated with the brooch. Here, she wears it in its pendant setting on a diamond necklace during the 2007 Nobel Prize banquet in Stockholm. She paired it with the family’s Six-Button Tiara and the grand Diamond Lozenge Brooch, as well as the diamond earrings from Queen Josefina’s Stomacher.
Elisabeth Toll, The Royal Court of Sweden

I expect we’ll see the Baden Ivy Leaf Brooch on Swedish royal ladies for generations to come. The piece has an important heirloom provenance, but it still looks modern and is very wearable. The size, design, versatility, and materials of the brooch make it the perfect bauble for a royal jewelry box.

The Royal Jewels of October

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BEN STANSALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
 

Can you believe it? Another month has flown by! It’s time for our overview of some of the interesting royal jewels worn in October.

ERIC LALMAND/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

On October 8, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians beamed like a proud parent in diamond earrings at the opening ceremony of the academic year 2020-2021 at the Royal Military Academy, where her daughter, the Duchess of Brabant, is a first-year student.
DIRK WAEM/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

Queen Mathilde wore a pair of green statement earrings on October 12 as she attended a virtual event related to climate objectives.
JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images

In Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria wore a pair of gold hoops for the inauguration of the Slussbron Bridge in Stockholm on October 25.
ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

It’s been a busy (and sometimes controversial) royal month in the Netherlands. Queen Maxima wore her diamond and garnet tassel earrings on October 1 for a meeting of the Dutch Breast Cancer Association in The Hague.
REMKO DE WAAL/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

On the same day, Queen Maxima wore earrings from her collection of citrine jewels for a conference in The Hague.
PATRICK VAN KATWIJK/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

On October 7, Queen Maxima wore red and black snake earrings at the TivoliVredenburg music complex in Utrecht.
PATRICK VAN KATWIJK/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

Queen Maxima wore diamond and pale lavender amethyst earrings during a video conversation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations at Huis ten Bosch Palace on October 8.
PATRICK VAN EMST/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

Queen Maxima wore black statement earrings with a classic diamond ring (a gift from her husband after the birth of Princess Ariane) for a working visit to Lister at the Enik Recovery College in Utrecht on October 14.
KOEN VAN WEEL/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

The Dutch royal family drew criticism this month when they planned a holiday to Greece during the partial lockdown in the Netherlands. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima addressed the nation on October 21 in a video message after they canceled the vacation. She wore pearl button earrings for the recording, with her wedding and engagement rings front and center.
PATRICK VAN EMST/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

On October 29, Queen Maxima wore her Amrapali earrings for a visit to the Health Center De Bosrand in Driebergen.
LISELOTTE SABROE/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

The Danish royal family was present on October 6 for the opening of the Danish parliament in Copenhagen. Queen Margrethe II wore disc-shaped earrings and an intriguing brooch set with cabochon sapphires for the occasion.
MARTIN SYLVEST/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

Crown Princess Mary wore pearl stud earrings and a floral brooch for the opening of parliament.
MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

With a rather jaunty purple hat, Princess Benedikte wore classic pearls for the opening of parliament.
EMIL HELMS/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

Queen Margrethe wore a brooch and earrings with a cherry theme to receive the Swiss Foreign Minister at Amalienborg Palace on October 16.
CLAUS FISKER/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

On October 28, Crown Princess Mary wore pearl drop earrings and gold necklaces for the inauguration of the new national visitor center in Odense.
BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images

Empress Masako of Japan wore classic pearl stud earrings with a single strand of pearls on October 28 to pay tribute during a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the Meiji shrine in Tokyo.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

Queen Letizia of Spain wore a favorite pair of earrings, her Chanel star studs, to visit a school in Santiago de Compostela on October 7.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

For the military parade on Spain’s National Day, October 12, Queen Letizia wore her diamond and ruby cabochon earrings.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

The Princess of Asturias wore simple gold hoops and the ribbon of the Order of the Golden Fleece for the military parade.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

Diamond butterfly studs were Queen Letizia’s earring of choice for a visit to FPAbrica in Oviedo on October 15.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

For the visit to FPAbrica in Oviedo, Princess Leonor wore a pair of her mother’s gold hoop earrings with a bamboo design.
MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images

Queen Letizia wore the butterfly earrings again on October 16 for an audience with the 2020 Princess of Asturias Awards honorees.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

For the audience on October 16, Princess Leonor wore a petite pair of silver dragonfly earrings.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

For the Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony in Oviedo on October 16, Queen Letizia again reached for her Chanel star stud earrings.
ANDRES BALLESTEROS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Princess Leonor wore gold hoop earrings as she delivered remarks during the awards ceremony.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

Queen Sofia of Spain was also in attendance for the ceremony, wearing pearls with an interesting golden enhancer and a floral brooch.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

Before leaving Asturias, Queen Letizia made one more outing in the Chanel star stud earrings, wearing them for a visit to Somao, the 2020 Best Asturian Village award winner.
LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images

On October 23, Queen Suthida of Thailand wore major pearl earrings, plus pearl hair clips, for a walkabout following a ceremony in honor of the late King Chulalongkorn in Bangkok.
LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images

During the walkabout, Princess Sirivannavari of Thailand wore sparkling diamonds as she took photos.
BEN STANSALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore the Grima Ruby Brooch for a rare public appearance on October 15, as she joined the Duke of Cambridge for a tour of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory near Salisbury.
ANDREW MATTHEWS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The Duchess of Cornwall wore an interesting gem-set necklace on October 8 for a visit to the Royal Voluntary Service Mill End lunch club in Rickmansworth.

On October 25, Camilla wore pieces from her amethyst collection for an appearance during the virtual Olivier Awards.
Justin Tallis – WPA Pool/Getty Images

A cheerful daisy brooch accompanied Camilla to Paddington Station, where she watched a demonstration by medical detection dogs on October 27.
EDDIE MULHOLLAND/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

For a visit to the Headquarters of the Bank of England in the City of London on October 28, Camilla wore her diamond and sapphire dragonfly brooches.
Arthur Edwards – WPA Pool/Getty Images

The Duchess of Cambridge wore a gold necklace and earrings from All the Falling Stars on October 6 for a visit to the University of Derby.
JONATHAN BRADY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

For an audience with the President of Ukraine at Buckingham Palace on October 7, Kate wore her sapphire cluster drop earrings with a coordinating pendant necklace. (Yes, I’ve heard the speculation that this necklace may be part of Diana’s sapphire collection; no, I don’t think we have enough evidence to decide if it is or isn’t.)

Kate wore a pair of pearl drop earrings on October 13 to announce the winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest at the Natural History Museum.
Kirsty Wigglesworth – WPA Pool/Getty Images

On October 14, Kate wore squared-off gold hoops from Spells of Love for a visit to the Institute of Reproductive and Development Biology in London.
Jeremy Selwyn – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Kate wore diamond and gold hoop earrings on October 20 for the launch of the Hold Still campaign at Waterloo Station in London.
Chris Jackson/- WPA Pool/Getty Images

On October 1, the Countess of Wessex wore hoop earrings and stacked bracelets for a visit to Vauxhall City Farm in London.
Which royal jewels were your favorites in October?