The Court Jeweller

Sunday Jewels at Crathie Kirk

08.12.2019 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

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The royals have been out of the spotlight during their August holidays, but on Sunday, we got a glimpse of two Windsor women as they headed out to worship.

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Photographers snapped the Queen as she headed out for a Sunday service at Crathie Kirk, a church near the Balmoral Estate. She was accompanied in the car by her second son, the Duke of York.

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For the service, the Queen wore her usual daytime pearls with her pink gemstone cluster brooch. You can see the distinctive color of the pink gem fairly well in this image.

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The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall also headed to church at Crathie Kirk on Sunday. The royals have been worshipping at the church since Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought Balmoral in the nineteenth century.

Duncan McGlynn/Getty Images

Camilla wore her favorite pearl drop earrings with her ensemble for the church service.

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August can feel awfully long without daily royal jewelry sightings, so it’s good to get a little glimpse of bling from HM!

The Daily Diadem: Princess Fatimeh’s Sunburst Tiara

08.11.2019 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

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This sunburst tiara, which features cabochon emeralds and a large pink spinel, was worn by Princess Fatimeh Pahlavi at the last Iranian imperial coronation in 1967; the tiara is part of the nation’s crown jewels, which are housed in the Central Bank in Tehran

The Colombo Floral Brooch

08.11.2019 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

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Today’s royal brooch post was inspired by a question emailed by a reader, Jill. She was curious to know more information about this multicolored jewel, which I have dubbed in my notes as the Colombo Floral Brooch.

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Our provenance information on the brooch comes straight from the Royal Collection, which included the piece in its “Queen and Commonwealth: The Royal Tour” exhibition in 2009. The Queen received the brooch in October 1981 during her state visit to Sri Lanka. The piece was a gift from the Mayor of Colombo.

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According to the Royal Collection, the gold bouquet brooch is set with “pink, blue and yellow sapphires, garnets, rubies and aquamarine.” You’ll note that some of the gems are faceted and some are cabochons.

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The bright, colorful brooch has proven to be a good fit for some of the Queen’s vivid outfits over the past several decades. In November 2007, she pinned it to a hot pink jacket for a visit to the Kitante Primary School in Kampala on the last day of her state visit to Uganda.

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In October 2011, she wore the brooch with a serene blue ensemble as she inspected the guard at the Royal Military College Duntroon in Canberra.

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And, very appropriately, one of the brooch’s most recent appearances came in March 2015, when she received the President of Sri Lanka for an audience at Buckingham Palace.

P.S.: Curious about a royal jewel that you’d like to see featured on The Court Jeweller? Feel free to email me at ella@thecourtjeweller.com with suggestions!