royal wedding – Page 62

Jewels in Motion: Diana’s Wedding Jewels

07.09.2017 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

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Our month-long series on the jewels of Diana, Princess of Wales continues today with one of her most famous jewelry outings of all: her wedding day. Here’s a look at the jewels that Diana wore to her royal wedding. Enjoy, and remember — we’re celebrating Diana’s life here, so we’re not going to argue about long-past events in the comments. Thanks in advance!

Diana arrived with her father, Earl Spencer, at St Paul’s Cathedral in the Glass Coach, one of the royal family’s state carriages

Many were shocked at the creased state of her wedding gown, which was designed by the Emanuels, when she stepped out of the coach…

…but the fabric of the dress quickly settled into a smoother state as she walked down the lengthy aisle of St Paul’s

Diana wore one of her family’s diadems, the Spencer Tiara, as her bridal tiara. The tiara is a family possession, and today, it belongs to Diana’s brother

The glittering diamond tiara was assembled in the 1930s using a set of diamond elements given to Diana’s grandmother, Cynthia, Countess Spencer

The tiara was worn by several other family brides in Diana’s generation, including both of Diana’s sisters and her brother’s first wife, Victoria Lockwood

The tiara was especially sparkly because it was positioned atop Diana’s veil, which was also scattered with crystals

During the wedding ceremony, we got a glimpse of another famous jewels: Diana’s diamond and sapphire engagement ring, which is now worn by her daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge. (Read more about the ring over here!)

The Queen was radiant on her son’s wedding day, wearing heirloom family pearls and the astonishing Williamson Diamond Brooch

The Queen Mother also wore pearls and Queen Victoria’s Diamond Fringe Brooch. (Read more about that brooch over here!)

After the wedding (and the removal of the blusher veil), Diana’s diamond wedding earrings were more visible. These were another “something borrowed” — they belonged to her mother, Frances Shand-Kydd

Television cameras juxtaposed images of the newlyweds with the throngs of well-wishers gathered on the Mall

Diana’s wedding ensemble was, without a doubt, one of the most influential of the decade, and she borrowed her wedding tiara from her father numerous times during her tenure as Princess of Wales

Where does the Spencer Tiara fall in your all-time best wedding tiara rankings?

Royal Wedding Jewels in Hanover

07.08.2017 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

JULIAN STRATENSCHULTE/AFP/Getty Images

Against the wishes of his father, the younger Ernst August, Prince of Hanover married his fiancee, Ekaterina Malysheva, in Hanover on Saturday, and there were some major royal jewels on display.

JULIAN STRATENSCHULTE/AFP/Getty Images

The bride, a fashion designer with Russian roots, wore one of the Hanoverian family’s tiaras with her Sandra Mansour. The Hanoverian Floral Tiara has been in the family for years, but we don’t know much about its provenance.

RONNY HARTMANN/AFP/Getty Images

We also got a good look at Ekaterina’s gorgeous engagement ring, which is set with diamonds and a blue sapphire.

RONNY HARTMANN/AFP/Getty Images

Profile views of the bride showed the unusual height of the central part of the family’s floral diadem.

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The floral tiara was last worn in public in 2004, when Ernst August’s stepmother, Princess Caroline of Monaco, wore it for a pre-wedding gala for Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark in Copenhagen.

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The tiara was also previously worn by the groom’s mother, Chantal Hochuli. Today, she wore a colorful blue and gold brooch for her son’s wedding. She and the elder Ernst August (who is the pretender to the throne of Hanover) divorced in 1997, and he married Princess Caroline in 1999. The elder EA and Caroline have been separated for almost a decade, and she did not attend her stepson’s wedding. (Neither did the groom’s father; the two are in the middle of a complicated dispute. I’ll direct you to Marlene Koenig’s blog for more.)

RONNY HARTMANN/AFP/Getty Images

But although Caroline did not attend, the wedding very clearly had her family seal of approval. All of her children attended, along with their spouses. Above, Ernst August’s half-sister (and Caroline’s younger daughter), Alexandra, Princess of Hanover, served as a bridesmaid. She wore round pearl stud earrings and a beaded necklace.

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His elder stepbrother, Andrea Casiraghi, was in attendance with his wife, Tatiana. Their two children, Sasha and India, served as a page boy and a flower girl.

Photograph © Svenja from Confessions of a Castleholic. Do not reproduce.

Pierre Casiraghi, the groom’s younger stepbrother, also attended with his wife, Beatrice.

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Beatrice wore her pale pink drop earrings, plus a necklace with a floral pendant and a rather, er, unusual hat.

JULIAN STRATENSCHULTE/AFP/Getty Images

Charlotte Casiraghi, the groom’s stepsister, opted to leave her jewelry at home for the day.

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The groom’s younger brother, Christian, Prince of Hanover, attended the wedding with his fiancee, Alessandra de Osma. Her engagement ring glittered on her left hand.

Photograph © Svenja from Confessions of a Castleholic. Do not reproduce.

There were numerous other royal and noble guests at the wedding. George Friedrich and Sophie of Prussia, pretenders to the throne of Germany, were there.

Photograph © Svenja from Confessions of a Castleholic. Do not reproduce.

Sophie wore a pair of dramatic diamond and pearl earrings.

RONNY HARTMANN/AFP/Getty Images

Alexander of Schaumberg-Lippe attended with his partner, Mahkameh Navabi, who wore a glittering lariat-style necklace.

Photograph © Svenja from Confessions of a Castleholic. Do not reproduce.

From the Greek royal family, Crown Prince Pavlos attended with his wife, Marie-Chantal, and several of their children. Pavlos’s grandmother, Queen Friederike of the Hellenes, was born a princess of Hanover.

Photograph © Svenja from Confessions of a Castleholic. Do not reproduce.

Marie-Chantal wore a long pearl necklace with an evil eye pendant, a pearl bracelet, and sparkling hoop earrings.

Photograph © Svenja from Confessions of a Castleholic. Do not reproduce.

Andres and Lauren Santo Domingo, brother and sister-in-law of Tatiana Casiraghi, were there, too.

Photograph © Svenja from Confessions of a Castleholic. Do not reproduce.

Lauren wore an interesting pair of pearly drop earrings.

Note: some of the photos from this post were generously provided to us by a longtime friend of the blog, Sydney, who writes for both Luxarazzi and Confessions of a Castleholic. Read her posts on the wedding over here!

Princess Charlene’s Bejeweled Wedding Gifts

07.03.2017 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

When Charlene Wittstock married Prince Albert II of Monaco in July 2011, she accrued a small but significant haul of jewelry. After all, the wife of a sovereign prince definitely needs some bling, right? Here’s a look at three of her most important bejeweled wedding gifts, all presents from her new husband.

Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Van Cleef & Arpels

The Ocean Tiara and Earrings

Van Cleef and Arpels has been supplying the princely family of Monaco with jewels for decades, so it’s no surprise that Albert turned to the firm to make a suite of jewelry for his wife-to-be. The jewelry firm created a convertible necklace/tiara and coordinating earrings for Charlene. Fittingly, the suite was inspired by the sea that surrounds Monaco.

As Charlene was an Olympic swimmer before she met Albert, jewels with watery themes are perfect for her. This set is made of diamonds and sapphires, and each circle element includes design elements that resemble cresting waves. (Read more about the tiara over here!)

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Only days after the princely wedding, the Ocean Tiara went on display with Charlene’s wedding gown at the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco. Press photos of the tiara mistakenly identified it as the tiara worn by Charlene on her wedding day. (She wore no tiara during her wedding, and the Baumer Aigrette during her reception.) The tiara has also been included in other museum exhibitions, including the Van Cleef and Arpels “A Quest for Beauty” touring exhibit.

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Charlene has posed in the tiara for portrait photographs, but for her public debut in the piece, she wore it in its necklace form. Her first outing in the piece came at the Red Cross Ball in 2011, shortly after her wedding.

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She’s also worn the earrings from the suite on a few occasions. Above, she wears them at the Rose Ball in Monaco in 2014.

The Baumer Aigrette

Albert commissioned a second tiara for his wife as well: an all-diamond aigrette made by Lorenz Baumer. Like Van Cleef and Arpels, Baumer took his inspiration from Charlene’s aquatic prowess and the principality’s maritime location, creating an aigrette that resembles the spray rising off of a cresting wave. (Read more about the aigrette over here!)

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Charlene has worn the aigrette only once so far in public: at her wedding reception, held after her religious wedding ceremony.

When you compare the piece’s wedding reception outing with the videos of Charlene trying it on during the creation process, you can see that she wore it “backwards” during her wedding. In this moving image, you can see that the bottom of the “spray” is placed behind her right ear, so that the piece rises over her head, with the largest diamonds suspended in mid-air. When she reversed the piece on her wedding, the aigrette hugged her head more closely, with the diamonds nestled into her hairstyle instead of forming a rising spray effect. as Baumer intended.

Which way do you like the aigrette better?

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

The Infinite Cascade Necklace

Water elements also inspired Albert’s third bejeweled gift for his bride: a diamond and pearl necklace made by Nagib Tabbah of Tabbah Jewellery. The necklace was a collaboration between Princess Charlene and Tabbah. The rose gold necklace is set with 1237 diamonds and 6 large pearls.

GERARD JULIEN/AFP/Getty Images

Charlene wore the necklace at a concert held in Port Hercule just after her civil marriage ceremony, on the evening before her religious wedding. Tabbah explains that the necklace “is imbued with fluid structure: ripples that at once wrap, as if to protect, the neck, while simultaneously cascading over the collar bone where the large pearls drop, their individual settings ensuring delicate sparkle and warm glow as they catch the light.”

Which of Charlene’s wedding presents would you like to see her wear again?