The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

This Week in Royal Jewels: June 7-13

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June 7-13, 2019
Royal summer is in full swing, and we’ve got lots of jewels to enjoy! Don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!
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25. Queen Letizia of Spain wore her Double Dagger Earrings from Gold and Roses on Wednesday for a journalism seminar in Burgo de Osma.

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24. On Tuesday, Queen Letizia chose golden stud earrings to attend the UNICEF Spanish Committee Awards in Madrid.
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23. Leafy gold and diamond earrings from Kiki McDonough were the Duchess of Cambridge’s accessory of choice for a trip to Keswick Market during Tuesday’s visit to Cumbria.
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22. Infanta Elena of Spain wore an eclectic mix of jewelry pieces for the XXV Children and Youth Painting Contest in Madrid on Tuesday. (More here!)
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21. In Amman, Princess Rym Ali of Jordan wore stacked bracelets and layered necklaces for the world premiere of the Netflix series Jinn on Wednesday.
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20. Sarah, Duchess of York wore teeny hoop earrings and a necklace with a disc-shaped pendant for the Butterfly Ball in London on Thursday.
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19. On Thursday, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians wore a golden cuff bracelet and luminous drop earrings for a visit to the Limburg province, where she highlighted the work of female farmers.
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18. A petite bee brooch was the perfect accessory for the Duchess of Cornwall as she attended the Bees for Development biennial Bee Garden Party at Marlborough House on Wednesday.
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17. Infanta Margarita of Spain, an aunt of King Felipe, wore button-style earrings and a coordinating cluster brooch for Tuesday’s UNICEF Spanish Committee Awards.
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16. The Countess of Wessex was lovely in statement earrings and a delicate necklace for the Queen’s Birthday Party at the National Library in Beirut on Thursday.
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15. Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner wore pearls on Wednesday as she helped welcome South Korea’s presidential couple for their state visit to Norway.
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14. For Trooping the Colour on Saturday, Sophie Wessex wore a pair of statement earrings with orange center stones. (More here!)
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13. Camilla chose gorgeous golden earrings for Thursday’s Elephant Family Animal Ball at Clarence House.
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12. At Trooping the Colour, Camilla wore familiar jewelry pieces: pearl drop earrings and a pearl necklace with a diamond clasp. (More here!)
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11. The Duchess of Sussex delighted the crowds in emerald-cut stud earrings at Trooping the Colour. (More here!)
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10. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden wore fascinating pink earrings for the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm on Tuesday.
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9. For the Polar Music Prize, Princess Sofia of Sweden wore eye-catching golden statement earrings and a bright crown of flowers.
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8. Queen Paola of Belgium wore pearls and an intriguing mixed-media brooch on Wednesday to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Queen Elisabeth Chapel in Waterloo.
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7. As expected, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore the trusty Guards’ Brooch for Trooping the Colour on Saturday. (More here!)
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6. On Wednesday, Kate wore blue topaz hoop earrings by Kiki McDonough for the first annual gala dinner in recognition of Addiction Awareness Week in London.
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5. At the start of this week’s Dutch state visit to Ireland, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wore jewels set with diamonds and vibrant orange stones in Dublin. (More here!)
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4. Kate dazzled in the Bahrain Pearl Drop Earrings and a diamond-set cross pendant for Trooping the Colour on Saturday. (More here!)
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3. Queen Silvia of Sweden was elegant in classic pearls for Tuesday’s Polar Music Prize in Stockholm.
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2. For audiences at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, Queen Elizabeth II chose an important heirloom jewel: Empress Marie Feodorovna’s Sapphire Brooch. (More on its history here!)
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1. Queen Maxima was radiant in diamonds and emeralds for the state banquet in Dublin on Wednesday evening. (Much more here!)

The Edinburgh Wedding Bracelet

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In honor of the Duke of Edinburgh’s 98th birthday, which he celebrated privately yesterday, we’ve got a look at one of the jewels he introduced into the royal vaults: the Edinburgh Wedding Bracelet.

Elizabeth and Philip pose for their engagement photos, 1947

When Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten — or, as he was formerly known, His Royal Highness Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark — proposed to Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom in the 1940s, he had to find a way to present his bride with jewels appropriate for a future queen while earning a sailor’s paycheck.

Princess Alice wears the now-dismantled tiara

Help came in the form of a diamond tiara owned by his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg. She offered him a grand diamond and aquamarine tiara that had been one of her own wedding presents, a gift from her uncle and aunt, the late Emperor Nicholas II and Emperor Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. Alice had kept the Romanov tiara for years, long after she regularly wore gala jewels, and she handed it over to her son to have it dismantled. Some of the stones were used to create Princess Elizabeth’s engagement ring, while others were used to make the piece we’re discussing today: the diamond bracelet he offered his new wife as a wedding present.

The Queen wears the bracelet to the Royal Film Performance in Leicester Square, 1952 (Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Philip went to a London-based jewelry firm, Philip Antrobus Ltd., to create the new diamond pieces in 1947. The engagement ring claimed a three-carat brilliant, plus several smaller stones; the new bracelet also includes three large brilliant-cut diamonds. The bracelet’s design is geometric, almost Art Deco-inspired. It features three large, square links connected by vertical sections. Like the engagement ring, the bracelet is set in platinum.

The Queen wears the bracelet as she opens parliament in Ottawa, October 1957 (ARNOLD SACHS/AFP/Getty Images)

From the start, Elizabeth chose the new bracelet for significant white-tie events. She has also worn it for numerous portraits throughout her reign, from the earliest images to photographs taken to mark her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. It can sometimes be a little challenging to spot the bracelet in photographs, as the Queen’s collection includes a number of diamond bracelets of a similar shape and size to this one, including Queen Mary’s chain link bracelets and the diamond and gold bracelet that belonged to Queen Victoria.

The Queen wears the bracelet during the American state visit in 2003 (JOHN STILLWELL/AFP/Getty Images)

But while those other pieces have major historical and family importance, the sentimental value of the Edinburgh Wedding Bracelet is pretty hard to deny. It’s no wonder that it has remained a staple in the Queen’s jewelry box for nearly seventy years.

Kate wears the bracelet for the Chinese state banquet, October 2015 (Dominic Lipinski – WPA Pool /Getty Images)

In 2015, the Queen loaned the bracelet to another member of the family: the Duchess of Cambridge. She debuted it on her left wrist at a state banquet given in honor of the President of China. The loan was a significant one — the sentimental bracelet had never been worn in public by anyone but the Queen. For the banquet, Kate paired it with another diamond bracelet made from a choker necklace that had belonged to Queen Mary.

Kate wears the bracelet to the BAFTAs in London, February 2017 (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)

Kate has continued to wear the wedding bracelet regularly since that initial loan. I can’t blame her: if my husband’s grandmother offered me the chance to wear a bracelet set with Romanov diamonds that had been a wedding gift from her husband, I’d wear it literally everywhere.

Note: this is an updated version of an earlier post.

Jewels of Trooping the Colour 2019

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Thought I’d offer all of you a little Saturday treat and bring you tomorrow’s post a few hours early! Here’s our overview of the jewels of this year’s birthday celebrations for the Queen.

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The Queen rode in a closed carriage during this year’s parade, reportedly because of changeable weather conditions.

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As per usual, she wore the Guards’ Brooch for the festivities. (More on the brooch here!) She also seemed to struggle a bit with the sun — it’s worth noting that she has consistently begun wearing sunglasses for outdoor events, probably to help with increased sensitivity to light.

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At Horseguards Parade, HM stood on the dais to watch more than 1400 soldiers, 400 musicians, and 300 horses take part in this year’s Trooping the Colour presentation.

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The senior members of the royal family were out in force for this year’s parade, riding in carriages or on horseback down the Mall.

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The Duchess of Cornwall wore what has increasingly become her daytime jewelry uniform: one of her pearl choker necklaces (this time, the one with the larger diamond clasp) and her favorite pearl drop earrings.

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The Duchess of Cambridge wore the Bahrain Pearl Drop Earrings, which are on loan to her from the Queen.

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She also wore a diamond-set cross pendant on a thin chain.

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The Duchess of Sussex took a brief break from her maternity leave to join her Duke for the birthday festivities.

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She wore a simple pair of sparkling stud earrings for the occasion. Eagle-eyed royal watchers also noted that a new diamond eternity band has joined her engagement and wedding rings — perhaps either an anniversary or new baby present.

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As usual, the York princesses kept their jewelry minimal, but you’ll spot golden bracelets on both of them in this image from the carriage procession.

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The Countess of Wessex chose modern earrings to pair with her striking black hat and green outfit.

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Lady Louise was definitely wearing some sort of pendant necklace today, but the angle didn’t give us a good view of the piece. Isn’t her little fascinator lovely?

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The Princess Royal was in uniform to ride on horseback in the procession. She joined her brothers and nephew: from left to right, that’s Prince Charles, Prince William, and Prince Andrew.

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Anne’s daughter-in-law, Autumn, made an appearance on the balcony this year. She wore small pearl drop earrings with her bright pink ensemble. (You’ll spot her husband, Peter Phillips, behind her, and her daughters, Isla and Savannah, standing in front of her. The boy standing behind Isla is Viscount Severn.)

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As ever, the royal kids were the stars of the show on the palace balcony. Little Prince Louis made his first Trooping appearance, clapping and waving happily at the planes flying over head.

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The balcony was absolutely jam-packed with Windsors this year. Here, from left to right, we have Camilla, Sir Tim Laurence, Charles, Beatrice, Anne, the Queen, Eugenie, Louise, Jack Brooksbank’s right ear, Andrew, Harry, and Meghan.

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The Kents occupied the right side (well, our left side) of the balcony: Zenouska Mowatt, Lady Gabriella Kingston, Lord Frederick Windsor, Thomas Kingston, Lady Frederick, Princess Michael, and Prince Michael.

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Lord Nicholas Windsor and his son, Albert (with his arm in a sling) scored a prime position beside the Cambridges.

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Meghan and Harry stood with Viscount Severn and the Phillipses; beside them were little Lyla Gilman (daughter of Lady Rose and George Gilman), Eloise Taylor (who has gotten so tall!), and Eloise’s mother, Lady Helen Taylor.

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And we got even more Kents and Gloucesters on the other end of the balcony, too: Flora Ogilvy, George and Lady Rose Gilman, James Ogilvy, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, part of Timothy Taylor’s face, Alexander Ogilvy, and the Countess and Earl of St. Andrews.

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Quite a good showing for this year’s un-birthday celebrations!