The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

The Best Royal Jewels of 2019: #2 (The Queen’s Emeralds)

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We’ve almost reached the top of our countdown of the best royal jewels of the year!
#2: The Queen’s Emeralds

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When the Queen stepped in front of the cameras at this year’s Diplomatic Reception, you could almost hear the collective gasp from royal jewelry lovers around the world!

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Along with the Vladimir Tiara, Cartier Art Deco Bracelets, and Greville Emerald Earrings, the Queen wore a magnificent emerald and diamond necklace that she’s never worn in public before.

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We still don’t have confirmed provenance information on the piece, but many are speculating that it may be a second major emerald necklace from the Greville Bequest (!). The Queen Mother wore the other major Greville Emerald Necklace during her lifetime, but she was never seen in this one.

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Whatever the source of the piece, I think we can all agree that it’s downright amazing that a monarch who has reigned for nearly seven decades can still surprise us with major new jewelry!

The Best Royal Jewels of 2019: #3 (Charlotte’s Wedding Necklace)

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Our countdown of the best royal jewels of the year makes a glittering stop in Monaco…
#3: Charlotte’s Wedding Necklace

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Charlotte Casiraghi, daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco, sparkled in a major Grimaldi family heirloom for the reception following her wedding to Dimitri Rassam in June.

Charlotte wore the necklace with a strapless white gown for a reception following the couple’s June 1 civil wedding ceremony at the Palais Princier. The party was held at the Villa La Vigie, a Monegasque hotel.

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The diamond necklace, made by Cartier, was one of the wedding gifts given to Charlotte’s grandmother, Princess Grace of Monaco, in 1956.

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Princess Grace wore the necklace for the first time at the opera gala held the night before her religious wedding to Prince Rainier III. On that occasion, she paired the necklace with another wedding gift, the Bains de Mer Tiara.

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Since Grace’s death, the necklace has been worn by Charlotte’s mother, Princess Caroline. Above, she wears the jewel for the opera gala on National Day in 2006.

Charlotte became the third generation of the family to wear the necklace, linking Princess Grace’s bejeweled legacy to her grandchildren.

The Best Royal Jewels of 2019: #4 (Sophie’s Tiara Redesigned)

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Our countdown of the best royal jewels of the year rolls on with a major royal tiara overhaul…
#4: Sophie’s Tiara Redesigned

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Sophie Rhys-Jones debuted this unusual diamond tiara on the day that she married the Queen’s youngest son, the Earl of Wessex, in Windsor in 1999.

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The tiara was a gift to the new Countess of Wessex from the Queen, and press reports from the wedding noted that it came from HM’s jewelry collection. The generally accepted theory about the tiara’s provenance is that the piece is composed of four anthemion elements that were originally alternative pieces of Queen Victoria’s Regal Circlet.

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Sophie wore the tiara regularly in the decade that followed her royal wedding, often wearing it abroad at other royal nuptials. Above, she wears the tiara with other diamond jewels for the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden in 2010.

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Even though its elements were likely sourced from a major royal jewel, the tiara’s unusual design was often panned by jewelry lovers. In June 2019, Sophie gave royal watchers a welcome surprise by debuting a brand-new, rearranged version of her wedding tiara. She wore the new setting of the tiara for the first time at the American state banquet. In her latest book, Angela Kelly confirms that the tiara was redesigned ahead of the event by Harry Collins. The timing makes sense, as the banquet took place only a few days before Sophie and Edward’s twentieth wedding anniversary.