The Colombo Floral Brooch

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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.