Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World
9. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands is currently visiting Pakistan, and on Wednesday, we got a good glimpse of a pair of intriguing statement earrings and her engagement and wedding rings.
8. On Thursday, the Duchess of Cornwall wore one of her insect brooches as she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Southampton.
New Pictures of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa https://t.co/ysGERnKfr8 pic.twitter.com/7ZafPwhqs6— Sydney Luxarazzi (@SydneyLux) February 11, 2016
7. I believe Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg chose pearl drop earrings for a lovely set of new portraits in honor of her upcoming wedding anniversary.
6. Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway wore an interesting silver-toned bracelet as she attended a conference on girls and technology in Oslo on Wednesday. (I’m not exactly sure, but I think it may have been related to the conference itself?)
5. The Duchess of Cornwall selected her pearl necklace with the diamond and sapphire art deco clasp for a visit to a hospice on Wednesday.
4. Queen Maxima wore an impressive pair of turquoise earrings for the first day of her visit to Pakistan on Tuesday.
3. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore her gold and ruby floral brooch for a church service in Norfolk on Sunday.
2. The biggest royal brooch of the week was certainly the one donned by the Duchess of Cambridge, who wore the Dacre Brooch on Sunday. Read more about the piece over here!
1. My top spot of the week has to go to Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who went major with her earrings at the Global Change Awards in Stockholm on Wednesday.
For years, the standard line on the provenance of the Vifte Tiara, the tiny convertible diamond sparkler from the collection of Queen Maud of Norway, was that it had been a birthday gift from Maud’s grandmother, Queen Victoria. Chatter this week over at the Royal Jewels of the World Message Board, however, has raised new possibilities about its origins.
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An illustrated list of Maud’s wedding gifts includes a drawing of a diamond tiara given by Alfred, Leopold, and Marie de Rothschild. During a discussion of the piece, jewelry writer Vincent Meylan pointed out the similarities between the Rothschild Tiara and the Vifte Tiara.
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| Maud wears the Vifte Tiara |
I’m not sure of the precise origins of the provenance story about the Vifte Tiara. The name “vifte” is a reference to the fact that the tiara looks like a fan. One of the few photos of Queen Maud wearing the tiara may show her around the time that the family was mourning Queen Victoria in 1901. I always assumed she had worn the piece on that occasion to remember the grandmother who gave it to her; it may be, however, that it was simply the smallest tiara from her collection, and therefore it was well-suited for mourning.
Today, the tiara is still with the Norwegian royals, and it has been most recently worn in public as a necklace by Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
