Princess Marie’s Colorful, Indian-Inspired Trifari Brooch

There’s another royal birthday in Denmark today: Princess Marie, sister-in-law of King Frederik X. We’re joining in the celebrations with a look at a fascinating, colorful brooch from her personal collection.

Princess Marie is married to Prince Joachim, the second son of Queen Margrethe and the late Prince Henrik of Denmark. Queen Margrethe has often gifted jewelry pieces to her daughters-in-law to mark the births and baptisms of her grandchildren. In May 2012, at the christening of Joachim and Marie’s daughter, Athena, Marie wore a colorful vintage brooch for the first time, and many have guessed that the piece was a gift from Margrethe to mark the occasion.

The brooch is a vintage piece of costume jewelry from the 1940s. It comes from an American brand, Trifari, that was founded in 1910 and continued to make interesting costume jewelry pieces for the next century. This particular brooch, which is set with rhinestones and colorful glass cabochons, was dreamed up by one of the company’s most prominent mid-century designers, Alfred Philippe.

The brooch is an example of the company’s “Tanjore” design, which was produced in various metallic finishes. An auction listing for a sterling silver Tanjore brooch describes the piece as “set with red and blue glass cabochons, green and blue glass stones and small rhinestones.” The brooch’s name comes from the former name of Thanjavur, a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The area is known for a distinctive style of classical painting that employs bright colors and gold accents, much like the Trifari brooch.

Princess Marie has worn the brooch a handful of times each year since her debut appearance in the piece in 2012. She often wears the bright, eye-catching piece on light-colored clothing, allowing the details of the brooch to stand out. It’s a lovely companion to her personal style, which often trends in a mid-century-inspired direction, especially styles and silhouettes popular in the 1940s and 1950s.

The piece is bold, but it’s also perfectly suitable for a range of public engagements. She’s worn it multiple times to receive foreign heads of state and diplomats. Above, she wears the brooch on an ivory coat for an official welcome ceremony during a state visit from the King and Queen of the Netherlands in 2015.

And here, a few months later, she wears the brooch on another light-colored jacket for a special celebration of the centenary of women’s voting rights in Denmark, held at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen in June 2015.

The details of the brooch pop nicely in this appearance, when Marie pinned it again to her ivory coat for the state opening of Denmark’s parliament in October 2016.

Marie has also occasionally worn the brooch as part of a gala ensemble. Most notably, we saw her use the brooch to secure the sash of the Order of the Virtues during a state banquet given in honor of the visiting President of Egypt in December 2024. The brooch coordinated beautifully with the dramatic evening gown, which was covered in emerald green sequins, that she chose for the dinner.