Archives for 2016

The Best Royal Jewels of 2016: #8 (Astrid’s Art Deco Debut)

12.27.2016 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

(DOMINIC LIPINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

We’re up to number eight in our year-end countdown! Catch up on numbers 9-10 over here!

#8: Astrid’s Art Deco Debut

(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Until this March, Princess Astrid of Belgium had really only worn one major tiara in public: the Savoy-Aosta Tiara that comes from the collection of her mother-in-law. (More on that one here!) But for a state banquet for the President of Germany in March, Astrid wore a new tiara in public for the first time: her mother’s Art Deco Bandeau.

The diamond tiara has a lengthy history in the Belgian royal family, dating back to Queen Elisabeth. (You can read its full history over here!) Astrid’s mother, Queen Paola, was given the tiara by her father-in-law, King Leopold III. Since then, it’s been worn by two Belgian royal brides: Queen Mathilde and Astrid’s daughter-in-law, Elisabetta. But we’d not seen it on Astrid until this year. I love a good historical tiara debut!

British Royal Christmas Jewels 2016

12.26.2016 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

The Windsors walk to church on Christmas (Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

The Queen’s under the weather and the Cambridges are in Berkshire, but that didn’t stop the Windsors from bringing us a bit of Christmas sparkle this weekend. Here’s a look at the jewels that the royal ladies wore for Christmas 2016.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The Duchess of Cornwall was the senior royal lady on the traditional walk to church at Sandringham. She wore diamond and pearl earrings with her sapphire and diamond butterfly brooch.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The Princess Royal, pictured here with Peter and Isla Phillips, wore her diamond-studded gold ribbon brooch. (You can see a better picture of it in this post.) It’s the same brooch that Anne wore on Easter Sunday this year.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Anne’s daughter-in-law, Autumn Phillips, is always one of the best-dressed Windsors at Christmas, and this year was no exception. She paired classic pearl and diamond earrings with a gorgeous hat.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The Countess of Wessex also looked gorgeous for Christmas; here she’s exiting the church with several other members of the family, including the Duke of Edinburgh. (Perhaps the flowers are for the Queen?)

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Sophie wore her Amrapali pave-set diamond earrings with her Christmas ensemble.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Sophie’s daughter, Lady Louise, isn’t in jewelry-wearing mode yet, but she did wear a little fascinator to church this year. Jewelry can’t be too far off!

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

No visible jewelry for Princess Beatrice, unfortunately…

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

…and only the hint of a necklace from Princess Eugenie.

Photo: YUI MOK/AFP/Getty Images

The Queen’s annual Christmas Message was recorded in the Regency Room at Buckingham Palace before she came down with a cold, so we did still get a little bit of jewelry from her on Christmas Day. For this year’s message, she wore a diamond brooch set with eight pearls and three pearl pendants. It’s from the collection of Queen Victoria.

Photo: Andrew Matthews – WPA Pool/Getty Images

William and Kate spent Christmas with the Middleton family this year, and they were photographed attending church on Christmas Day in Bucklebury.

Photo: Andrew Matthews – WPA Pool/Getty Images

They may not have been spending the day with the Queen, but Kate wore a bejeweled reminder of her grandmother-in-law. Her earrings are the diamond and pearl pair that the Queen loaned her earlier this year.

The Best Royal Jewels of 2016: #9 (Sofia’s New Tiaras)

12.26.2016 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

(DOMINIC LIPINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Our countdown of the best royal jewels of 2016 continues…

#9: Sofia’s New Tiaras

(Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

During her first year as a member of Sweden’s royal family, Princess Sofia only wore one tiara in public: the Emerald Palmette Tiara that she received as a wedding gift from her new parents-in-law. (More on the background of that tiara here!) But this December, she brought out not one but two new tiaras!

(SOREN ANDERSSON/AFP/Getty Images)

For the Nobel Prize ceremony and banquet on December 10, Sofia wore the smaller cut-steel tiara, giving us an excellent look at the piece. Previously, this tiara had only been worn in public by her sister-in-law, Crown Princess Victoria. (You can see many more images of this tiara appearance in our post here!)

(Kungahuset.se)

The next night, she made another tiara debut for the King’s Dinner, given to honor the Nobel winners. She wore the Diamond Four-Button Tiara, which was made using antique diamond buttons from the family collection, for the reception. (More on this tiara appearance over here!)