An Antique Opal Brooch Debut for Queen Maxima in Antwerp

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands headed to Antwerp with King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians on Thursday. They were received at Antwerp’s City Hall by the city’s mayor, Bart De Wever, and provincial governor Cathy Berx.

The royals signed a guest book during their stop at city hall.

They also made a stop at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where they were photographed with one of the most famous paintings on display at the museum: Jean Fouquet’s Madonna and Child Surrounded by Angels, part of the Melun Diptych that dates to 1452.

For the final day of this Belgian state visit, Queen Máxima wore patriotic Belgian red.

Her eye-catching earrings, diamond floral designs with ruby centers, come from her personal jewelry collection. They can also be worn with a third pendant section.

The earrings are frequently-seen pieces, but the brooch—that was a surprise! On her dress, Máxima pinned a special heirloom brooch that hasn’t been seen in public in more than a decade. The brooch, a floral piece set with diamonds, opals, and a single ruby, dates to the end of the nineteenth century.

The brooch was made by Schurmann for King Willem-Alexander’s great-great-grandmother, Queen Emma of the Netherlands. The person who particularly loved wearing the brooch was his grandmother, Queen Juliana. She especially favored the brooch near the end of her reign, wearing it often in the 1970s. Above, she wears it with pearls on Prinsjesdag in 1975.

Princess Beatrix has worn the opal brooch precisely once. She brought it with her on a state visit to Brunei in January 2013, just before she announced her upcoming abdication.

Now, more than ten years later, Queen Máxima has also made her debut in the opal flower brooch. Like the royal ladies before her, she chose to wear the brooch with red clothing, emphasizing that little ruby in the center of the piece.

Máxima finished off her look with bracelets on both arms (her ruby and diamond tennis bracelet and her diamond wedding bracelet on her right arm, and her geometric diamond bracelet on her left) and rings on both hands (her ruby and diamond ring on her right hand and her engagement and wedding rings on her left). The small round purple pin on her dress is the miniature ribbon of the Order of Leopold.

Queen Mathilde, also ended the visit with a sartorial nod to her Dutch counterparts, wearing shades of orange.

With the orange, red, gold, and blue outfit, Mathilde wore earrings set with honey-colored gemstones.

She also wore her usual bracelets on her left wrist and her blue gemstone cluster ring on her left hand.

And then, the couples said their farewells. That’s a wrap on this royal-royal state visit! Which jewels from the program were your favorites?