Crown Princess Victoria Gleams in Nobel Emeralds

Victoria brought us an emerald fantasy with her gown and jewels for the Nobel Prize ceremony and banquet in Stockholm on December 10, 2012. The annual event is one of the highlights for royal jewelry watchers every year, and 2012 was no exception.

Victoria wore head to toe gems and sequins, from her royal jewelry to her dazzling emerald column gown, which featured an elegant, understated train.

Here’s a view of the back of the dress, including unexpected cut-outs.

Victoria accentuated the green gown with white diamonds and grassy green emeralds from the Bernadotte vaults.

The Swedish royal family does not have an emerald tiara (with, of course, the exception of Princess Sofia’s personal tiara, which has an emerald setting). Instead, Crown Princess Victoria wore one of the all-diamond pieces from the family collection: the Diamond Four-Button Tiara. The tiara features four elaborate diamond rosette buttons on a very simple base. On this occasion, Victoria supplemented the base with an additional diamond riviere.

Victoria kept her earrings simple, wearing the small diamond drops that reportedly were originally part of Queen Josefina’s Diamond Stomacher. The showstopper, though, was the grand Bernadotte Emerald Necklace. This diamond and emerald necklace was originally worn as a belt (!). It dates to the early nineteenth century, from the collection of King Carl XIV Johan, the first Bernadotte king of Sweden.

Victoria also used the smaller diamond and emerald brooch from the suite to secure the sash of the Order of the Seraphim, the highest-ranking order of Swedish chivalry. Another small diamond rosette brooch secured the back of the sash. (She’s also wearing the Seraphim star, plus her father’s Royal Family Order.)

Victoria rounded out the look with more diamonds, including the family’s diamond zig-zag bracelet.

But there was one more emerald surprise! In the back of Victoria’s hair, she nestled the large brooch from the Bernadotte Emerald Suite. This brooch was originally used as a belt buckle, but it’s quite lovely as a hair ornament, too.