95 Years, 95 Jewels: Part 14 (1970s-1980s)

At some point in the late 1960s or early 1970s, the Queen acquired one of her very favorite brooches— this diamond and gold floral bauble. The piece was made for the Queen by Garrard, and tallying up the number of times it’s been worn over her reign would be a mammoth undertaking. It’s still one of her most frequently-worn brooches today.

At the beginning of her third decade on the throne, the Queen had acquired a few tiaras with colored gemstones, but none set with rubies. (The Oriental Circlet, an heirloom of the crown, had remained with her mother.) She remedied this by ordering a new tiara from Garrard. The rubies that went into the piece’s construction had been a wedding gift from the Burmese people in 1947; the diamonds were harvested from another wedding present, the Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara. The new tiara, which is still worn occasionally today, features Tudor roses in its design.

During an official visit in February 1979, King Khalid of Saudi Arabia presented this classic Harry Winston diamond and platinum necklace to the Queen. It’s easy to see why she’s worn it often at gala events throughout the years; its design is balanced and beautiful. The Queen also lent the necklace to Diana, Princess of Wales during the 1980s.

This diamond and pearl brooch has been in the Queen’s collection since the 1980s, but nothing is known about its background. The trefoil shape of the brooch and the five pearls in its setting make it easy to spot among the Queen’s roster of daytime brooches.