Princess Margriet’s Exquisite Antique Emerald Tiara

In November 2016, Princess Margriet and her husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven, traveled to the United States to attend the annual Peter Stuyvesant Ball in New York City. The event (now called the NAF Ball) is the signature annual fundraiser for the Netherlands-America Foundation, for which Princess Margriet and Pieter van Vollenhoven serve as patrons. The foundation supports bilateral exchange between the two nations, especially in the categories of the arts and sciences, education, business, and public policy.

For the ball, both of the van Vollenhovens wore elegant ensembles in shades of green. Princess Margriet’s sparkling evening gown coordinated with her husband’s velvet evening jacket, and his gold pocket square matched her evening bag.

Margriet added even more green sparkle to her outfit with a set of diamond and emerald jewels. She reached for pieces from the Dutch Emerald Parure, a set ordered by Queen Emma from Schürmann in 1899 as a gift for her daughter, Queen Wilhelmina. The tiara can be worn in multiple settings: with these emeralds, with a set of pearls, or in an all-diamond version. The jewels from the parure were placed in the family’s jewel foundation by Margriet’s mother, Queen Juliana.

Princess Margriet has worn the emeralds for years. Here, she wears the tiara with other diamond and emerald pieces in the spring of 1963 during a state visit from the President of Mexico. (Beside her, her sister Irene wears a butterfly brooch as a hair ornament, plus diamond, pearl, and sapphire jewels.)

And here, Princess Margriet wears the tiara for one of the gala events held before her royal wedding in January 1967.

For the Stuyvesant Ball in 2016, she also wore the necklace from the emerald parure, which features a large central cluster element.

She also added diamond and emerald earrings, featuring a diamond floral stud and a pear-shaped emerald drop set in a halo of diamonds.

Princess Margriet finished off the look with rings on both hands. Here, as she dances with her husband during the ball, you get a good glimpse of the diamond and sapphire ring on her left hand.