We’ve been focusing in on heirloom royal rubies in this week’s Sparkling Spotlight posts so far, but today, I’ve got something newer to share: the modern diamond and ruby suite worn by the Duchess of Cambridge. Here’s a look at the way she styled the jewels for a gala evening almost ten years ago (!).
The newly-married Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived at the Imperial War Museum in London for the Sun Military Awards on December 19, 2011. The evening’s theme was “A Night of Heroes.”
William and Kate were joined by his younger brother, Prince Harry, for the gala. Harry was still serving on active duty in the military at this point, and he had recently returned to England to continue his helicopter flight training.
For the awards ceremony, which was one of the early gala appearances for Kate following her royal wedding, she chose a black velvet strapless gown by Alexander McQueen. The custom gown featured a ruffled neckline.
With the dramatic dress, Kate wore jewels that many believe were part of her wedding gift haul earlier that year.
Her modern diamond and ruby floral fringe necklace was made by Mouawad, a Lebanese jewelry firm with headquarters in Geneva and Dubai. She paired the necklace with diamond earrings from a different suite of jewelry.
The suite of diamond and ruby jewels also includes a coordinating bracelet, which continues the diamond and ruby floral theme. Almost ten years later, at the Commonwealth Day service in March 2020, Kate wore a pair of earrings that also come from the demi-parure.
So far, this remains the only public outing for this necklace, which is one of the more dramatic pieces from Kate’s jewelry box. I’d love to see her try it again with another outfit, though I wonder if its floral style might be a little jeune fille for her style these days.
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