Tomorrow, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians celebrates her 51st birthday, and to join in the celebrations, we’ve got a closer look today at one of her fabulous antique jewelry acquisitions: her diamond and kunzite suite.
In November 2018, Queen Mathilde joined the King and other members of the Belgian royal family for a concert to celebrate the centenary of the armistice that ended World War I. She sparkled in a new pair of diamond earrings with large pink gemstone drops and a matching ring, worn on her right hand.
The jewels weren’t really new, though—they were just new-to-her. On June 6, 2018, the earrings and ring were auctioned by Sotheby’s in London as part of one of their Fine Jewels sales. The jewels were lot number 324 in the auction. The lot notes explained that each earring was “set with a pear-shaped kunzite framed by brilliant-cut and tapered baguette diamonds, suspended from a line of brilliant-cut and baguette diamonds,” while the ring featured “an oval kunzite, framed by brilliant-cut and tapered baguette diamonds.”
The hallmarks stamped on the jewels indicated that the pieces were made in Britain. The estimate for the combined suite was set at between 3,000-4,000 pounds, and when the hammer fell, they sold for 5,250 pounds. Queen Mathilde has added numerous pieces of jewelry to her collection via auction purchases in recent years, and given the quick turnaround between the auction and Mathilde’s debut in the set, it feels safe to say that the purchaser was either the Queen herself or one of her representatives.
Queen Mathilde wore the ring and earrings again for an official reception in Seoul during the Belgian state visit to South Korea in March 2019. The set coordinated with one of the soft purple accent colors on her dress.
She also made a high-profile appearance in the earrings and ring in March 2022, wearing them for a gala dinner at the Palace of Laeken during the President of Austria’s state visit to Belgium.
Here’s a good look at the ring, again worn on Mathilde’s right hand, from the gala dinner.
She’s also worn the earrings alone for more elevated daytime occasions, including a New Year reception at Laeken in January 2023.
Delightfully, Queen Mathilde now has an adult daughter who can share in the joy of her gorgeous gala jewel acquisitions. The Duchess of Brabant borrowed the kunzite ring from her mother to wear for the gala dinner in Oslo celebrating the 18th birthday of Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway in June 2022. The tiara that Elisabeth wore for the banquet is another antique jewel that was acquired for her by her parents.
Princess Elisabeth also wore the earrings and ring together recently for the royal wedding of Crown Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa of Jordan in Amman.
The earrings and ring, which was again worn on Elisabeth’s left hand, were a beautiful accent to the vibrant pink ensemble that the princess wore for the wedding of a fellow future head of state.
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