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State Visit Jewels: Willem-Alexander and Maxima in Indonesia

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BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty Images

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands are currently on a state visit to Indonesia. Here’s a look at some of the jewels worn by Maxima as the couple arrived for the start of the diplomatic visit.

ACHMAD IBRAHIM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The royals were welcomed to the presidential palace in Bogor by President Joko Widodo and his wife, Iriana. The state visit has historical significance, as Indonesia was once a Dutch colony. During a speech on the first day of the visit, King Willem-Alexander acknowledged and apologized for violence carried out by the Dutch during the colonial era. (You can read his remarks in full in English here.) The royal visit is the first made to Indonesia by Willem-Alexander and Maxima. Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard visited the country in 1971, and then-Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus visited in 1995.

BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty Images

The royals also made a stop at the Heroes Cemetery in Jakarta, where they laid a ceremonial wreath.

ADEK BERRY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Maxima wore a summery outfit for the first events of the visit. Her hairstyle echoed the Marcel Wave trend of the 1920s.

ADI WEDA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Her jewels were vintage, too: diamond and aquamarine pieces from the collection of the late Queen Juliana, her husband’s grandmother. She wore the diamond pendant earrings with the aquamarine briolette drops…

ACHMAD IBRAHIM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

…as well as Juliana’s beloved aquamarine and diamond pendant. Maxima wore it the same way Juliana usually did: as a sautoir, with its original white gold chain. The chain and pendant were wedding gifts to Juliana from Prince Bernhard in 1937.

ACHMAD IBRAHIM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

She wore even more aquamarines on her right wrist (Juliana’s bracelet with the distinctive rectangular aquamarine) and right hand (a large aquamarine cocktail ring). She also wore the diamond bracelet with her family’s initials on her right wrist, plus her diamond wedding bracelet stacked with her watch on her left wrist. Her wedding and engagement rings can be spotted on her left hand.

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Later on Tuesday, the couple attended a meeting of the Dutch Society and the opening of a new photo exhibition.

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Maxima wore another floral dress for these engagements, but this time with a dark background.

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She also accessorized with some intriguing jewels. These fringe earrings have been worn numerous times previously, including appearances at Prinsjesdag in 2018 and at Willem-Alexander’s 50th birthday party in 2017. (There’s a great close-up in the birthday post, BTW!) You’ll also spot a few bracelets, including her diamond wedding bracelet, plus a fabulous diamond and emerald cluster ring. It’s part of the family’s grand emerald parure, which dates to the turn of the twentieth century.

Queen Wilhelmina’s Wedding Gift Parure

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Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands wears the parure, ca. 1930s (Grand Ladies Site)

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 tiara from the parure, ca. 1930s (Wikimedia Commons)

The enormous, elaborate diamond and sapphire tiara was made around 1900 by a Dutch firm, Vita Israel and Hoeting. 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.

Wilhelmina wears the tiara and necklace, ca. 1901 (Grand Ladies Site)

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 Golconda 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.

Wilhelmina wears the tiara, necklace, and bracelets, ca. 1930s (Wikimedia Commons)

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.

Queen Maxima wears earrings made using stones from the parure, April 2013 (Robin Utrecht-Pool/Getty Images)

Several new pieces were made using the stones from the tiara, including multiple pairs of earrings. Queen Maxima wore one of these pairs, the sapphire and diamond pendant earrings, for her husband’s inauguration in 2013.

Maxima wears the Sapphire Necklace Tiara in Denmark, April 2010 (Jens Nørgaard Larsen/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

Princess Beatrix wears the necklace tiara and the bracelets from the parure, June 2014 (FRANK VAN BEEK/AFP via Getty Images)

The bracelets still exist in the Dutch collection, though they have been modified. In recent years, they’ve had prominent appearances on Princess Beatrix.

Princess Beatrix wears the bracelets, April 2013 (Robin Utrecht-Pool/Getty Images)

Here, she wears them for the inauguration of her son, King Willem-Alexander, in 2013.

Wilhelmina wears the tiara and necklace, ca. 1901 (Grand Ladies Site)

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?

Note: This is an updated version of an earlier post, with new text/images.

This Week in Royal Jewels: February 14-20

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February 14-20, 2020
Classic jewels were all the rage with the royals this week! Don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
15. Queen Letizia of Spain wore sleek gold hoops on Friday for a visit to Doñana National Park in Andalusia. (More here!)

Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
14. For a UNICEF meeting in Madrid on Wednesday, Queen Letizia reached for her gold bamboo hoop earrings.
Buckingham Palace
13. The Princess Royal wore pearls and gold jewelry to present the Queen Elizabeth Award for British Design to jewelry designer Rosh Mahtani in London on Tuesday.
JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE/Belga/AFP via Getty Images
12. Major gold leaf statement earrings accompanied Queen Mathilde of the Belgians to the GO! Tuinbouwschool in Flanders on Wednesday.
NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images
11. Queen Mathilde wore interesting blue and white earrings for Thursday’s royal visit to the Antwerp Management School.
BENOIT DOPPAGNE/BELGA/AFP via Getty Images
10. Queen Paola of Belgium wore classic pearl and diamond earrings on Monday for a special mass to commemorate the deceased members of the Belgian royal family.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
9. Diamond and pearl drop earrings dazzled on Queen Letizia during Friday’s trip to Almonte. (More here!)
Chris Jackson-WPA Pool/Getty Images
8. On Thursday, the Duchess of Cornwall reached for her pearl choker necklace with the diamond and amethyst floral clasp for the presentation of the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes at Buckingham Palace.
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7. Princess Takamado wore blue, silver, and pearl jewelry, including a modern brooch and earrings, for the opening ceremony of the Japan Grand Prix International Orchid and Flower Show in Tokyo on Friday.
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6. For Friday’s flower show opening in Tokyo, Empress Masako of Japan wore simple pearl button earrings with a modern silver and pearl brooch.
Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images
5. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wore her citrine drop earrings with a major gem-set ring as she attended a seminar on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming Indonesian state visit. (More close-ups here!)
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
4. For the presentation of the National Research Awards in Madrid on Monday, Queen Letizia sparkled diamond and aquamarine hoops from Bulgari (More here!)
BENOIT DOPPAGNE/BELGA/AFP via Getty Images
3. Queen Mathilde chose her classic, stunning diamond drop earrings for the Belgian royal memorial mass on Monday.
DOMINIC LIPINSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
2. It’s tough to see, but it looks like Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore the fantastic Russian Sapphire Cluster Brooch for audiences at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. (More on the brooch here!)
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
1. Queen Elizabeth II wore February’s gorgeous birthstone on Wednesday, wearing one of her Amethyst Floral Brooches to open the new premises of the Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospital. (Much more here!)