Don’t Miss a Single Sparkling Moment! Sign up for The Court Jeweller Newsletter

The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Archives for September 2017

Marie-Chantal’s Gala Jewels

by // Leave a Comment

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Happy belated birthday to Marie-Chantal of Greece! To mark the stylish princess’s birthday, which she celebrated yesterday, we’ve got a major roundup of some of her most sparkling gala jewels!

ANDREW WINNING/AFP/Getty Images
July 1995: The Antique Corsage Tiara, on loan from her mother-in-law, on her wedding day
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
May 2004: Wearing a borrowed floral tiara with pearls for the Danish royal wedding
ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images
May 2004: Pearls and sparkling earrings for the pre-wedding gala in Spain
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
April 2006: Earrings from JAR and a diamond cuff bracelet to celebrate the 60th birthday of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
April 2006: The Miller Fringe Tiara and JAR earrings for the official Swedish gala birthday dinner
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
October 2007: Sparkling earrings for a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London
Milos Bicanski/Getty Images
August 2010: JAR earrings and the diamond cuff bracelet for Prince Nikolaos’s wedding
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
April 2011: JAR hoop earrings for the Cambridge pre-wedding dinner
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
June 2011: Sparkling earrings and a pair of diamond clips for Princess Nathalie’s wedding
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
January 2012: The Miller Fringe Tiara and JAR hoop earrings for a Danish Ruby Jubilee gala
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
January 2012: Queen Sophie’s Diamond Tiara with JAR hoops and a diamond clip for a second Danish Ruby Jubilee gala
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
October 2012: The Miller Fringe Tiara for the pre-wedding gala in Luxembourg
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
June 2013: The Miller Fringe Tiara and a blue cocktail ring for Princess Madeleine’s wedding
Milos Bicanski/Getty Images
September 2014: A statement cuff bracelet for King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie’s golden anniversary celebrations
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
February 2015: JAR hoops for the Vanity Fair Oscars Party in Beverly Hills
HAAKON MOSVOLD LARSEN/AFP/Getty Images
May 2017: The Miller Fringe Tiara for the Norweigan royal 80th birthday celebrations

Jewels in Motion: The Bohemian Crown Jewels

by // Leave a Comment

DAVID NEFF/AFP/Getty Images
Time for another look at the crown jewels of the world in glittering motion! Today, we’re marveling at the medieval crown jewels of Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic.

The Bohemian crown jewel set includes several objects, but today we’re focusing on three in particular: the Crown of St. Wenceslas, the royal orb, and the royal scepter.
All three objects date to the 14th century. They were first used in the coronation ceremony of King Charles IV of Bohemia, who reigned from 1346 until his death in 1378. Made of 18-carat gold, the orb features scenes from the Old Testament carved in relief on its surface. The orb is also set with numerous gems, including sapphires, spinels, and pearls.
The scepter is also made of 18-carat gold, and like the orb, it is also encrusted with sapphires, spinels, and pearls.
The intricate top of the scepter is set with an especially large spinel. The scepter, orb, and crown all reside in a special room in the St. Vitus Cathedral, part of the Prague Castle complex. The door to the chamber is secured with seven locks; the keys to the locks are distributed to seven different holders, so that no one person can access the jewel room alone.
Here’s a close-up view of the sides of the Crown of St. Wenceslaus, which is decorated with sapphires and spinels to match the orb and the scepter.
The view of the arches shows that emeralds and pearls are also set in the crown, along with rubies and a single aquamarine.
The crown features four distinctive fleur-de-lis elements and a central cross, which is said to contain a relic of Jesus’s crown of thorns. The crown jewels are not on permanent display; in fact, they’re only shown publicly on special occasions on the order of the President of the Czech Republic. They were displayed only nine times during the 20th century, but they have been brought out for public viewing four times since 2000.

Princess Takamado’s Tiaras

by // Leave a Comment

JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images

Our survey of the lovely tiaras worn by the women of Japan’s imperial family continues this weekend with a look at the jewels worn by Hisako, the widow of the Prince Takamado. Because she often represents the family abroad, the Princess Takamado has several glittering sparklers at her disposal.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

This pearl and diamond scroll tiara is the first one from Hisako’s jewel collection; she wore it in 1984 for her wedding to the Prince Takamado, who was a first cousin of Emperor Akihito. (Here’s a link to a wedding picture.) The tiara, which has a coordinating “mirrored” necklace, is still worn by Hisako today. Above, she wears the tiara and necklace at the wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden in June 2013.

Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Hisako wore her wedding necklace again in June 2015 for the wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, but on this occasion, she paired it with a small diamond and pearl drop tiara. This sparkler was previously worn by Princess Yasuko of Mikasa, one of Hisako’s sisters-in-law.

Embed from Getty Images

Like all Japanese princesses who marry commoners, Yasuko left her imperial jewelry behind when she married Tadateru Konoe in December 1966. The picture above was taken at a reception held on the day before Yasuko’s wedding, so it’s almost certainly the last time she was seen wearing the tiara in public.

HENRIK MONTGOMERY/AFP/Getty Images

Hisako also has a third tiara, a delicate diamond bandeau with a classical laurel leaf design. She often pairs it with a necklace made of diamond clusters. Above, she wears the tiara and the necklace at a birthday gala for King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in April 2016.

(screencap)

The laurel leaf bandeau has also been Hisako’s go-to tiara for the annual New Year’s reception at the imperial palace in recent years. Here, in January 2016, she pairs the tiara with the same bird brooch she wore at the Swedish royal wedding in 2015. Two of her daughters, Princess Tsuguko and Princess Ayako, are standing beside her here; their jewelry suites also feature leaf motifs. (Also of note: the brooch Hisako wore at the Swedish royal wedding in 2013 appears to coordinate with Tsuguko’s jewels.)