Archives for 2017

The Best Royal Jewels of 2017: #1 (Letizia and the Joyas de Pasar)

12.31.2017 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

MATT DUNHAM/AFP/Getty Images

Take one of Europe’s most stylish royal women, and add a serious collection of heirloom diamonds, and you know you’ve got our top royal jewel moment of the year!

#1: Letizia and the Joyas de Pasar

Borja Benito – Pool/Getty Images

Three years after her husband became King of Spain, Queen Letizia finally began wearing the Joyas de Pasar, a collection of jewels designated for the use of the nation’s queens.

Borja Benito – Pool/Getty Images

In February, Letizia made her public debut in La Buena, Queen Ena’s grand wedding tiara, during a state visit from Argentina. She also wore the earrings and bracelets from the joyas collection.

MATT DUNHAM/AFP/Getty Images

Letizia also wore the grand jewels during the state visit to the United Kingdom in July.

Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

The bracelets from the suite have become particular favorites of Letizia, who sometimes wears both stacked on one wrist. She’s been wearing more fabulous jewels from her mother-in-law, Queen Sofia, as well, and jewels that belonged to her husband’s grandmother, the Countess of Barcelona. Here’s to more jewels from Letizia in 2018!

The Best Royal Jewels of 2017: #2 (Victorian Tiaras on Display)

12.31.2017 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

Victoria and Albert Museum

Is there anything better than a surprise reappearance from a tiara feared lost? Soon, you’ll be able to visit two of them in London — and maybe a third, too…

#2: Victorian Tiaras on Display

After it was nearly sold to a foreign buyer, we learned in August that Queen Victoria’s Sapphire Coronet has been gifted to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, where it will go on display in their newly-refurbished jewelry galleries in 2019.

Arts Council England/Sotheby’s

An even bigger surprise came recently, with the news that the Fife Tiara has been acquired by the British government. As part of the condition of the acquisition, the tiara will go on display to the public at Kensington Palace.

And on Christmas Day, Historic Royal Palaces teased that yet another important piece, Queen Victoria’s Emerald and Diamond Tiara, will also perhaps go on display at Kensington Palace! They tweeted a photo from ITV’s Victoria showing Jenna Coleman wearing a replica of the tiara, adding, “Queen Victoria’s beautiful emerald and diamond tiara was designed by Albert in 1845 – the only consort in the history of jewels to have designed a piece for his Queen. See this stunning tiara on display at #KensingtonPalace in Spring 2018.” (The Albert design bit isn’t really accurate, of course, but watch this space for more news…)

The Best Royal Jewels of 2017: #3 (German Wedding Tiaras)

12.30.2017 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

JULIAN STRATENSCHULTE/AFP/Getty Images

In Germany this year, three weddings of couples with royal and noble lineage brought out some important royal jewels. A trio of rarely-seen royal tiaras definitely makes our list…

#3: German Wedding Tiaras

In June, Sophie of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg brought out an heirloom emerald and diamond tiara for her wedding in Wertheim.

JULIAN STRATENSCHULTE/AFP/Getty Images

In July, Ekaterina Malysheva wore the Hanoverian Floral Tiara to marry Ernst August of Hanover, stepson of Princess Caroline of Monaco and heir to the headship of the House of Hanover. The tiara hadn’t been worn in public for more than a decade.

Photo kindly provided by Svenja; do not reproduce.

And in September, two descendants of Queen Victoria, Ferdinand of Leiningen and Viktoria Luise of Prussia, were married in Amorbach. The bride wore a classic tiara from the former Prussian royal family: the Prussian Meander Kokoshnik.