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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Queen Mary II’s Jewels: The Stuart Diamond

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On this date in 1677, a totally unique royal marriage took place in England: the wedding of future co-monarchs. Mary, the daughter of King James II, married her cousin William, who was the Prince of Orange. (The date also happened to be the groom’s birthday). Twelve years later, they ascended to the throne as King William III and Queen Mary II of England, and a special new crown had to be made for Mary so they could be crowned jointly.

William and Mary have many legacies, but for my money, one of their most important achievements was the purchase of a particular jewel: the Stuart Diamond. Today, the gemstone is owned by the Dutch royal family and is mounted in an elaborate nineteenth-century tiara (worn above by Queen Juliana). But it has had a varied and intriguing history, which you can explore below.

Do you like the current setting of the Stuart Diamond, or would you like to see it reset in a new piece of jewelry?

Saturday Sparkler: Queen Wilhelmina’s Wedding Gift Tiara

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Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands [source]

The Dutch royal collection includes a number of large tiaras, but perhaps the biggest of all was a now-lost sparkler: the tiara from Queen Wilhelmina’s wedding gift parure. The enormous, elaborate diamond and sapphire tiara was made around 1900 by Vita Israel & Hoeting, a Dutch jeweler. The parure, which consisted of this tiara, a necklace (which is designed to mirror the tiara), and two bracelets, was a gift to the young Dutch queen from her people on the occasion of her wedding to Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Queen Wilhelmina [source]

The entire set included more than 800 diamonds and sapphires, all set in white gold. The tiara featured an especially large square diamond set in the center; this was said to have come from the Golkonda mine in India. The same mine has yielded several other immensely famous diamonds, including the Hope Diamond, the Koh-i-Noor Diamond, and the Noor-ol-Ain Diamond.

Queen Wilhelmina [source]

Easily one of the biggest tiaras to have graced any royal head, the wedding gift tiara was worn by Wilhelmina throughout her reign, and it was generally paired with the other pieces from the parure. But she was the only Dutch queen who would ever wear the tiara in public. In 1962, her daughter, Queen Juliana, had the tiara dismantled. Whether because the piece was difficult to wear or simply not in line with the current fashion, she chose the piece specifically to be broken up to make new jewels for her daughters.

Several new pieces were made using the stones from the tiara, including three pairs of earrings. Queen Maxima wore one of these pairs, the sapphire and diamond pendant earrings, for her husband’s inauguration in 2013. However, not all parts of the parure were completely dismantled. The necklace has been at least partly broken up, as five diamond and sapphire lozenges from that piece now sit atop the family’s sapphire necklace tiara. The bracelets still exist in the Dutch collection, though they have been modified.

Queen Wilhelmina [source]

Although it’s always a bit sad to see heirloom jewels dismantled, most seem to agree that this tiara, as large as it was, wouldn’t have been able to be easily worn today. What do all of you think — was it a good choice on Juliana’s part, or is it a shame that this piece no longer exists?

This Week in Royal Jewels: October 2-8

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October 2-8, 2015
We’ve got royal earrings and necklaces galore this week — be sure to vote for your favorites in the poll below!
10. On Monday, Princess Sofia of Sweden wore small diamond earrings, her engagement and wedding rings, and a Project Playground bracelet at the start of a two-day trip to her hometown, Dalarna. The pin she has affixed to her lapel is a small gold Dala horse, an icon of Dalarna and of Sweden in general. (Trivia: I put one on my Christmas tree every year!)

9. Queen Letizia of Spain wore her Tous pearl drop earrings at a journalism awards ceremony on Tuesday.

8. At Ascot Racecourse on Friday, the Countess of Wessex wore pearl cluster earrings by Dior.

7. Infanta Elena of Spain wore a brightly colored necklace and matching earrings in shades of blue and green in Seville on Monday.

6. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands also chose blue-toned beads on Monday, this time for a meeting with President Kagame of Rwanda.

5. For a luncheon on Tuesday with President Erdogan of Turkey, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians wore diamond earrings.

4. On Friday, Queen Sofia of Spain wore a black and white statement necklace and a glittering sunflower pin for the annual Red Cross fundraiser in Madrid.

3. Princess Anne of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Dowager Duchess of Calabria (born Princess Anne of Orleans) was the picture of elegance in pearls as she greeted well-wishers on Wednesday following the death of her husband, Infante Carlos. He was a cousin of the reigning Spanish royals; his father, Infante Alfonso, was a grandson of King Alfonso XII of Spain. Carlos and his family follow the descendants of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in the line of succession to the Spanish throne. (Both of Juan Carlos’s sisters renounced their succession rights when they married.)

2. At the start of a state visit to Lithuania on Wednesday, Queen Silvia of Sweden wore pearls (including Princess Sibylla’s pearl necklace) to sign a guest book.

1. My top spot of the week goes to Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands. She glittered in diamonds — including the family’s floral bracelet, which some have speculated was a gift from the Sultan of Brunei — during a visit to Boston, where she attended an exhibit of paintings by Rembrandt and Vermeer.