Queen Fabiola’s Diamond and Pearl Drop Earrings

On February 24, Queen Mathilde arrived at the Concertgebouw in Bruges for a concert given by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. She wore a pair of diamond and pearl drop earrings with a midnight blue velvet jacket for the occasion.

The earrings have been in Mathilde’s collection for several years. They feature multiple cuts of diamonds, including pear-shaped, baguette, and triangular stones. The cross-shaped section of the earring makes it easy to distinguish from other similar pairs. Pearl drops with a slight pear shape are suspended from the diamond pendant. Here, in October 2015, Mathilde wears the earrings for a dinner in Warsaw, pairing them with the Wolfers Tiara and the necklace setting of the Brabant Laurel Wreath Tiara.

The earrings originally belonged to Queen Fabiola of Belgium, aunt of King Philippe. She was the Spanish-born wife of King Baudouin of Belgium, who reigned from 1951 until his death in 1993. Baudouin and Fabiola were married in a glittering ceremony in Brussels in December 1960.

Fabiola often wore the earrings with tiaras for gala occasions. Here, she wears them with the Nine Provinces Tiara and a pearl necklace for an audience with Pope John XXIII at the Vatican in June 1961.

And here, she wears them for a gala dinner with the Wolfers Tiara, which was given to her as a wedding present in 1960 on behalf of the brokers and jewelers of the diamond industry in Antwerp.

She’s wearing the earrings, plus one of the leaves from the Spanish Wedding Gift Tiara as a pendant on a necklace, for a reception in Brussels in May 1978.

Here’s a color photo of Queen Fabiola wearing the earrings and the Wolfers Tiara in Brussels during a state visit from Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands in March 1981.

Queen Fabiola passed away in December 2014, and since then, Mathilde has been the exclusive wearer of the earrings, as well as two tiaras that belonged to Fabiola. Here, she wears the earrings with the Wolfers Tiara for a banquet at the Palace of Laeken during the Australian state visit in June 2018.

And here, during a state visit from the King and Queen of Jordan in May 2016, Mathilde wears the earrings with the bandeau base of the Nine Provinces Tiara. She also wore a ruby and diamond bracelet that belonged to Fabiola on this occasion.