The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

This Week in Royal Jewels: April 25-May 2

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April 25-May 2, 2019
It’s been a major week for royal jewels — so major that the tiaras and gala jewels are going to be in their own separate review, posted later today! In the meantime, we’ve got the best of the rest here. Don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll!
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25. Queen Letizia of Spain wore black and white earrings last Thursday for a literature awards ceremony in Madrid.

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24. For this year’s King’s Day celebrations in Amersfoort on Saturday, Princess Alexia of the Netherlands wore delicate necklaces and a stack of bracelets. (More here!)

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23. The Duchess of Brabant wore classic gold hoop earrings on Friday as she and her father participated in firefighter training exercises in Brussels.
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22. On Tuesday, Princess Margriet of the Netherlands wore gold and black statement jewelry to the theater in Zeist for a celebration of the 80th birthday of her husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven.
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21. To celebrate King Carl XVI Gustaf’s birthday on Tuesday, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden chose Marianne Dulong hoop earrings with pendants.
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20. The Duchess of Cambridge wore pieces from her collection of Kiki McDonough green amethyst jewels to open the new Centre of Excellence at the Anna Freud Centre in London on Wednesday.
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19. Queen Mathilde of the Belgians wore her trademark gold earrings last Thursday for the presentation of the Baillet Latour Awards in Brussels.
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18. At the Chateau d’Amboise on Thursday, the Countess of Paris wore classic pearl earrings to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci.
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17. Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands made a statement with her earrings on King’s Day. (More King’s Day jewels here!)
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16. Bright pink earrings were Princess Marilene of Orange-Nassau’s accessory of choice for King’s Day this year. (More from King’s Day here!)
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15. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wore dramatic pearl drop earrings to greet members of the crowd on King’s Day. (More views here!)
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14. Pearl drop earrings were Princess Sofia of Sweden’s accessory of choice for her father-in-law’s birthday celebrations in Stockholm on Tuesday.
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13. Queen Silvia of Sweden wore pearl button earrings on Tuesday to celebrate her husband’s 73rd birthday at the Royal Palace in Stockholm.
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12. The Countess of Wessex wore delicate earrings and a negligee-style necklace for a visit to Sir Elly Kadoorie School in Mumbai on Wednesday.
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11. On Monday, Queen Letizia wore her diamond and aquamarine hoop earrings as she visited the Spanish Technical Office of Cooperation in Maputo during her trip to Mozambique.
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10. For a visit to The National Stud in Newmarket on Thursday, the Duchess of Cornwall appropriately wore the Minoru Brooch. (More on the brooch’s interesting history here!)
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9. Crown Princess Kiko of Japan wore luminous pearls as she left the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Wednesday.
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8. On Tuesday, Princess Mako of Akishino wore pearls and a floral brooch to attend her grandfather’s abdication ceremonies at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
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7. The newly-minted Queen Suthida of Thailand wore sparkling jewels on Thursday as she and her new husband, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, paid their respects at the King Rama V monument in Bangkok ahead of their upcoming coronation.
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6. For her wedding ceremony — which was a surprise to the world — in Bangkok on Wednesday, Queen Suthida (the long-time partner, and now wife, of King Maha Vajiralongkorn) wore traditional golden jewelry.
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5. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore her lens-shaped pearl and diamond brooch for audiences at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.
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4. For her husband’s abdication ceremony on Tuesday, Empress Michiko of Japan wore simple pearls, including a necklace with a lovely pearl pendant.
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3. Empress Michiko wore pearls and a lovely ears of wheat brooch for the awarding of the Midori Academic Prize in Tokyo on Friday.
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2. Crown Princess Masako of Japan wore pearls, including the brooch from the Pearl Sunburst Parure, as she arrived at the palace ahead of her father-in-law’s abdication on Tuesday. (More on the brooch here!)
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1. Empress Masako of Japan wore gorgeous pearls and a glittering bow brooch at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo for her husband’s enthronement on Wednesday. 

Tiaras for a New Imperial Era

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Handout/Imperial Household Agency of Japan via Getty Images

On Wednesday, a new imperial era dawned in Japan — tiaras and all!

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Following the abdication of Emperor Emeritus Akihito, Emperor Naruhito ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne, beginning the new Reiwa era. He wore the collar and star of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, as well as the sash and star of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers.

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Naruhito’s enthronement ceremonies included an audience in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, where he made his first official speech as emperor. The ladies of the imperial family all wore tiaras and court dress for the occasion.

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During her husband’s first day on the throne, Empress Masako was regal in the tiara reserved for Japanese empresses, the Meiji Tiara. She wore it with its round diamond toppers. (More on the tiara here!)

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Unlike many of the tiaras in the Japanese imperial vaults, the Meiji does not have a coordinating mirrored necklace. Empresses usually pair the tiara with single, double, or even triple diamond rivieres. Masako chose a double riviere necklace for the imperial audience.

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She secured the sash of the Order of the Precious Crown with a grand diamond brooch.

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The all-diamond brooch is very similar in design to the pearl and diamond brooch from the Pearl Sunburst Parure. Either this is a separate, but nearly identical, all-diamond brooch, or the brooch from the parure is able to be worn without its usual pearls. (More on the Pearl Sunburst suite here!)

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Prince and Princess Akishino — now Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko — appeared with the rest of the imperial family alongside the new emperor and empress.

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For the first time, Kiko wore the diamond scroll tiara and necklace worn by the nation’s crown princesses. (More on the suite here!) This is only the second parure she’s worn in public, after her own wedding parure. (See that suite here.) She paired the suite with a diamond and pearl ribbon brooch, rather than the scroll brooch that coordinates with the tiara and necklace. (More on that piece here!)

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Both of the Akishino daughters also attended the audience, each wearing the tiaras and coordinating jewels they received on their twentieth birthday. Above, Princess Mako wears her tiara and jewels. (More on the suite here!)

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And you’ll spot Princess Kako wearing her suite above. (More on the jewels here!)

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Also standing alongside the Akishinos are Princess Takamado (wearing her wedding tiara) and her daughter, Princess Tsuguko (wearing her twentieth birthday tiara).

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And there were even more imperial ladies in attendance!

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Princess Hitachi wore her wedding tiara, and Princess Mikasa (who just turned 95!) wore a diamond kokoshnik, which I believe is also her wedding tiara. Princess Tomohito of Mikasa wore her wedding tiara, while her daughters, Princess Akiko and Princess Yoko (who are just out of frame in this image) wore their twentieth birthday tiaras.

The short audience is currently available for viewing on YouTube — I’ve embedded it for you above!