A Regal Ruby Tiara for Queen Maxima of the Netherlands in Amsterdam

At the Royal Palace in Amsterdam on Monday, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima hosted a state banquet for President Yoo Suk Yeo of South Korea and his wife, First Lady Kim Keon-hee. The visit comes just a few weeks after the presidential couple’s state visit to the United Kingdom.

For the white-tie banquet, gala attire was worn with orders and decorations. Queen Maxima wore a red velvet and lace evening gown from Costarellos. She previously wore the same dress at a state dinner in Greece in 2022. (Queen Mathilde of the Belgians also owns the dress in a different colorway.)

Here’s a look at Maxima wearing the same dress (with the same tiara) at a dinner at the Presidential Palace in Athens back in October 2022.

The Dutch royals wore newly-bestowed Korean decorations with their gala ensembles. King Willem-Alexander wore the insignia of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, plus the star of the Dutch Military William Order and his usual range of medals, while Queen Maxima wore the sash and star of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit.

Queen Maxima echoed the deep red color of her gown by wearing diamonds and rubies from the Dutch royal jewelry collection: tiara, earrings, corsage ornament, and bracelets. She also wore her rare orange diamond engagement ring on her left hand.

Her tiara, also worn with the same dress in Greece in 2022, is the Mellerio Ruby Parure Tiara. It’s an appropriate choice for a December outing, because it was a Christmas gift from King Willem III to Queen Emma in 1888. One hundred thirty-five years later, it’s still sparkling mightily. Maxima also added the earrings from the same parure to her gala outfit for the Korean state banquet.

She also wore a combination of two brooches from the set. She suspended the large pendant section from the suite’s corsage ornament from another brooch from the parure and pinned the combination to her order sash near her waist.

She also wore the bracelet from the Mellerio set on her right wrist. (Note the “three diamond strings” design motif that matches the tiara.) She also added another gorgeous diamond and ruby bangle, also a Dutch royal heirloom, to her left wrist. She’s often worn both these bracelets with the Mellerio parure in the past. Gorgeous!

I’m planning to be back here with more sparkle as usual on Thursday morning. See you all then!