A New Golden Ballerina Brooch for Queen Camilla

Representatives from the Royal Academy of Dance joined Queen Camilla for a special reception at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to honor the legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. Those in attendance included Dame Darcey Bussell (famed British ballerina who is now president of the RAD), Tim Arthur (RAD’s chief executive), and Carlos Acosta (famed dancer and now director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet). Baryshnikov’s wife, the dancer and writer Lisa Rinehart, was present as well.

Queen Camilla, who has been Vice Patron of the RAD since 2020, presented Baryshnikov with the organization’s highest honor, the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award.

The award honors Baryshnikov’s immense contributions to ballet and the wider world of dance.

Appropriately, Queen Camilla wore a brand-new jewel with a ballet theme for the presentation of the award.

She wore the Bouton d’Or Ballerina Clip from one of her favorite jewelers, Van Cleef & Arpels. The brooch is a new piece produced by the firm, but it’s reportedly inspired by vintage jewels. The company writes that the collection “is inspired by the curved lines of the paillette motif, a jewelry design created by Van Cleef & Arpels in the late 1930s. Reinterpreted today, it lends itself to plays of association and color to create feminine necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings.”

The clip brooch features a ballerina made of gold and studded with diamonds, turquoises, and lapis lazuli. The jewel retails on the Van Cleef & Arpels website for $81,000.

This is the second Van Cleef & Arpels brooch with a dancer motif that we’ve seen Camilla wear. She also owns a gold, diamond, ruby, and sapphire ballerina brooch from the company. (More about her extensive VC&A collection here!)

Here’s one more look at Queen Camilla wearing the brooch during Wednesday’s award presentation. She also wore gold and diamond earrings, as well as a stack of bracelets (including her VC&A Magic Alhambra Bracelet) and her engagement and wedding rings.