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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Royal Ascot Jewels (Day 1)

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It’s that time of year again, magpies — the most ridiculous, rollicking royal good time of the season, Royal Ascot! The Windsor women always let a little bit loose in the fashion department for the races. Let’s have a look at the sparkling jewels (and, of course, the marvelous millinery) that made appearances in the royal box on the first race day. And be sure to head back here in about twelve hours for more from Day 2!

The big cheese chose a perfectly proportioned blue chapeau for the first race day. She also debuted a new brooch! This one features a pair of diamond and pearl swans, made by G. Collins and Sons. (Also, apologies to HM for picking the one photo where she clearly blinked and looked like she was ready for a nap — sometimes the jewels are most photogenic in the snaps that are less-flattering to the wearer, sadly!)


Camilla recovered from the cold that plagued her during Garter Day enough to enjoy a spot o’ racing on Day 1, thankfully! She went with her pearl earrings, her pearl choker with diamond clasp, and a pair of dragonfly brooches. The brooches are from Van Cleef & Arpels, and one is set with diamonds, while the other is set with sapphires. The hat, however, appears to be dragging her sideways.

Well, hello to you, too, Lady Wessex! Not only am I a fan of your hat, which is a delightful combination of caviar and tamales, you’ve also worn an absolutely gorgeous aquamarine brooch. According to the internet’s resident Countess of Wessex expert, Anna, Sophie first wore this one in 2011 at the princely wedding in Monaco.

It’s not really Hat Christmas until the Yorkies appear, is it? We were treated to a double dose on Day 1, where Beatrice wore a rather demure hat and a GIANT gold and blue cuff bracelet.

Eugenie went light on the jewels, sticking with rings and a delicate bracelet. Unfortunately, her hat made her head look peculiarly flat, and judging by her expression here, she may have lost some £££.

Princess Anne added a seahorse brooch and pearls to her ensemble, which is rather frilly for Anne. The hat looks like a toddler’s ponytail with a birdcage glued to it. (Also, doesn’t Harry look precious/hilarious in his little top hat? Love the flower in the lapel, Hazza!)

The royal family’s resident Olympic equestrian, Zara Phillips, wore a lovely pair of sparkling earrings with her monochrome outfit, plus a forehead monster hat that may have obscured her view of the races. Her husband, Mike Tindall, accessorized with an imitation of the royal wave that would have sent him straight to the tower 500 years ago.

Birgitte Gloucester wore a lovely set of pearls and a brooch that I want to see in a clearer photograph, but her hat is verging a bit to close to beachwear territory for my comfort.

Princess Michael went with pearls, too, and a hat that I don’t think is supposed to be worn flat like that. This hat needs some jaunt, M-C.

Viscountess Linley went with pretty standard pearls, but I WANT THIS COAT. The hat, on the other hand, looks to have been sloppily embellished with a hot glue gun and a strand of the cheapest fake flowers from the clearance bin at Michaels. Ten points from Gryffindor, Serena.

Seriously, though, the coat.

And, as usual, Royal Ascot has brought us an extra bonus royal: Princess Haya! She’s the sister of the King of Jordan and a wife of the Sheikh of Dubai, and she’s wearing good earrings. I can forgive the hatsplosion because it’s a nice color, but really, isn’t this outfit fairly bellowing for a necklace?

That’s it for our first day of Royal Ascot, everybody! Stay tuned later today for a rundown of the royal jewels and hats that appeared on Day Two!

Saturday Sparkler: Queen Rania’s Boucheron Bracelet Tiara

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We talk about lots of tiaras on this blog that can be converted into other pieces of jewelry. Generally, tiaras are transformable into necklaces or brooches. But today’s small tiara is one of the few sparklers that can be worn as either a tiara or a bracelet.

The piece, which was made in 2008 by Boucheron, belongs to one of the most stunning queens in the world: Queen Rania of Jordan. Rania has more substantial tiaras in her collection (most notably, an unusual and gorgeous tiara that incorporates Arabic script into its design), but this smaller, convertible diadem has been brought out for some big occasions. In 2008, she made her first appearance in the piece at a banquet during a state visit to Brunei. Two years later, she chose it for the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in Stockholm.

In 2009, Rania wore the tiara for an even more important event for Jordan: the tenth anniversary celebrations of her husband’s accession to the throne. The public got a chance to see the tiara when she and Abdullah rode in an open-topped car through the streets of Amman. But while she wore a different tiara at the coronation — the tiara made by Cartier for Queen Alia, which was borrowed then from Princess Haya — Rania wore the same Elie Saab gown in 2009 as she had ten years earlier.

Simple and sleek, the bracelet tiara may be tiny, but in a way it complements Rania’s elegant, classic style better than more elaborate pieces would. Some have suggested that teeny tiaras like this don’t pack a major style punch, and that may be true, but I’d certainly rather see a small tiara than no tiara at all! I do, however, wish that this piece were a bit longer on the sides, as it stops a bit short on Rania’s head. Maybe a few extra diamonds would do the trick?