Queen Noor’s Pearl Button Earrings

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In nearly every major royal jewelry collection, you’ll find a pair of classic pearl button earrings. Today, we’ve got a look at two similar pairs worn by our Magpie of the Month, Queen Noor of Jordan.

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Queen Noor’s most-worn pair of pearl button earrings feature a large round pearl surrounded by a gold and pave-set diamond cluster element. They’ve been part of her collection for several decades.

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Classic earrings like this prove especially versatile for royal women, as they’re appropriate for a range of occasions. Noor wore them for an especially solemn moment in Jerusalem in 1995: the funeral of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

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But the earrings are perfectly suited for happier events, too. In July 1999, Noor wore the earrings for the wedding of Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark in London. She was still in mourning for her husband, King Hussein, who had died of cancer that February.

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That December, Noor wore the earrings in Britain again for the Sovereign’s Parade at Sandhurst, where her son, Prince Hamzah, received the Overseas Sword for being the best overseas cadet on the course.

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She has also often chosen the earrings for situations when professional or business attire is appropriate. In June 2000, she wore them for a conference on children’s healthcare in Arlington, Virginia.

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She paired the earrings with simple diamond pendant necklace in March 2001 to testify on Capitol Hill, speaking before the House Human Rights Caucus to appeal for humanitarian assistance for landmine survivors.

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Later the same year, she wore the earrings with a silver necklace in Islamabad, where she embarked on a mission to assess the plight and needs of Afghan refugees.

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In more recent years, Noor has been seen wearing a second pair of pearl button earrings. This pair, worn above at the Paley Center for Media in June 2007, features a cluster element that resembles sunrays or floral petals. She’s largely kept her pearl button earrings in her jewelry box in the years since, but as they’re making something of a comeback, perhaps she’ll find an opportunity to wear them in public again soon.