Queen Elizabeth II’s Commonwealth Banquet Aquamarines in Perth

Today, King Charles III and Queen Camilla begin the first royal visit to Australia of his reign. We’ll be covering any interesting jewelry moments from the trip, as well as the subsequent state visit to Samoa and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, here at The Court Jeweller. But this morning, we’re continuing our look back at some iconic jewelry moments from the last Queen of Australia with a CHOGM appearance in Perth in 2011.

On October 28, 2011, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attended the black-tie Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting dinner at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Perth, Australia. The monarch was approaching her 60th year as Head of the Commonwealth, and she was wrapping up a stellar royal year that also included the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and a landmark state visit to the Republic of Ireland.

For the 2011 CHOGM dinner, the Queen wore a white gown with light blue and silver crystal embellishments on the bodice, paired with a matching handbag and silver shoes. She also wore the blue and gold ribbon and badge of the Order of Australia pinned to her dress.

With the dress, the Queen wore a special suite of jewelry that first arrived in her jewelry box just as she was taking over the reins as Head of the Commonwealth: the Brazilian Aquamarines. The parure was assembled in stages over two decades, starting in 1953, when the President of Brazil offered her a diamond and aquamarine necklace and matching earrings as a coronation present on behalf of the people of the nation. Four years later, Elizabeth asked Garrard to make her a bandeau-style diamond and aquamarine tiara to match the necklace and earrings.

Over the course of the next few years, the set of jewelry expanded even further. The people of Brazil gave her a brooch and bracelet to match the rest of the suite in 1958. Ten years later, when she made a state visit to Brazil, the Governor of Sao Paolo presented her with a diamond and aquamarine hair ornament, too. Per Leslie Field, some of the gems may have been used when Garrard super-sized the aquamarine tiara in 1971, finalizing the setting of the largest part of the parure as we know it today.

The CHOGM dinner in Perth in October 2011 provided us with excellent views of the aquamarine parure, with its solid, midcentury-inspired design elements. This angle, which shows the tiara, necklace, and earrings, offers a good look at the fan-shaped elements that sit atop the tiara. The little round aquamarines that sit atop each element of the tiara were echoed beautifully by the light blue crystals on the Queen’s gown.

And here, you get a glimpse of the bracelet, which echoes the design of the necklace and the earrings from the set. The Brazilian Aquamarine Parure has always been a love-it or hate-it kind of jewelry suite, but with the right styling, I think it can really sing. Queen Camilla probably won’t be wearing a tiara for this year’s CHOGM dinner, but I can’t wait to see her take this set of jewelry out for a spin sometime soon. Perhaps when the Emir of Qatar drops in at Buckingham Palace for a state visit in December?

Some quick scheduling notes: I won’t be covering every event of the royal tour of Australia or state visit to Samoa, but when Camilla appears in any interesting or significant jewelry, I’ll try to get a post up here ASAP. Be sure to check back often! There will be an article published on Substack tomorrow as usual for Hidden Gems subscribers (but no Saturday Bonus Reading post here), and a free newsletter in your inboxes on Sunday. Cross your fingers for some fascinating royal sparkle during the British royal trip!