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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

This Week in Royal Jewels: March 3-9

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March 3-9, 2017
We’ve got some interesting pieces on tap this week, including a couple of glittering heirlooms. Don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
10. Infanta Elena of Spain wore a classic pair of hoop earrings to attend the traditional thanksgiving to Medinaceli’s Christ at the Jesus of Medinaceli Church in Madrid on Friday.

Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
9. In Madrid, Queen Letizia of Spain wore long gold earrings from Tous at a tribute concert at the Auditorio Nacional de Musica on Wednesday.
JERRY LAMPEN/AFP/Getty Images
8. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands piled on the jewels, including a startling insect brooch, to visit an award-winning sustainable development on Tuesday. (See a creepy-crawly close-up over here!)
BENOIT DOPPAGNE/AFP/Getty Images
7. On Tuesday, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians wore her classic diamond and pearl stud earrings for a meeting with women from different areas of the Province of Hainaut.
JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images
6. At Thursday’s unveiling of the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial, the Duchess of Cambridge wore her gorgeous Collins Tanzanite Suite. (Much more over here!)
Chris J Ratcliffe – WPA Pool/Getty Images
5. The Princess Royal wore a very interesting gold and diamond brooch at the memorial unveiling on Thursday. (See close-ups over here!)
HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images
4. During the imperial visit to Vietnam, Empress Michiko of Japan wore a mixed-metals floral brooch to meet with with volunteers from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency in Hue on Saturday. (See a brooch close-up over here!)
HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images
3. Also on Saturday, Empress Michiko wore delicate pearl jewelry for a visit to the memorial house of Phan Boi Chau in Hue.
John Stillwell – WPA Pool /Getty Images
2. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore the full cluster and pendant brooch from the Cambridge Emerald Suite for audiences at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. (More over here!)
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
1. My top vote of the week goes to Queen Mary’s Russian Sapphire Brooch, worn by Queen Elizabeth II at the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial Unveiling on Thursday. (Read much more over here!)

This Week in Royal Jewels: February 24-March 2

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February 24-March 2, 2017
After the jewel-a-palooza of last week, we’ve got some quieter pieces on display. Don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
10. Queen Letizia of Spain wore earrings from Coolook in Avila for a conference on women and disability on Wednesday.

Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

9. Letizia wore her freshwater pearl drop earrings from Tous on Thursday for the Rare Diseases official day event at El Prado Museum in Madrid.

Arthur Edwards-WPA Pool/Getty Images

8. The Duchess of Cornwall wore her diamond and pearl earrings with the cap badge of The Rifles on Monday for a visit to the 4th Battalion at Normandy Barracks.

Jonathan Brady – WPA Pool/Getty Images

7. For a UK-India culture reception on Monday at Buckingham Palace, the Duchess of Cambridge debuted a new pair of earrings from Anita Dongre. (Read more over here!)

Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images

6. The Duchess of Gloucester wore classic diamonds and pearls for Monday’s reception. (More over here!)

KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images

5. In Tokyo, Crown Princess Masako of Japan wore gold and pearl jewels to bid farewell to the Emperor and Empress, who embarked on a trip to Vietnam and Thailand.

LUONG THAI LINH/AFP/Getty Images

4. Empress Michiko of Japan wore multi-colored pearl jewels on her arrival at a hotel in Hanoi on Tuesday.

MINH HOANG/AFP/Getty Images

3. A large lily-of-the-valley brooch was the star of Empress Michiko’s ensemble during Thursday’s meeting with members of the Japanese community in Hanoi.

Jonathan Brady – WPA Pool/Getty Images

2. Queen Elizabeth II wore a brooch from the Kent Amethyst Suite at Monday’s Buck House reception. (More over here!)

VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images

1. Princess Charlene’s glittering diamonds at Friday’s AMREF gala get my top vote of the week! (See more photos of all the jewels over here!)

Letizia Debuts La Buena!

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FRANCISCO SECO/AFP/Getty Images

The long wait is over, magpies: at tonight’s gala dinner for the President and First Lady of Argentina, Letizia officially took the tiara of Spain’s queens out for its inaugural spin!

Borja Benito – Pool/Getty Images

Queen Letizia wore “La Buena” — the diamond fleur-de-lis tiara made a century ago for her husband’s great-grandmother, Queen Ena of Spain. The tiara was made by Ansorena; its design prominently includes the fleur-de-lis symbol of Spain’s reigning family, the House of Borbon. King Alfonso XIII gave the tiara to his new bride as a wedding present.

Borja Benito – Pool/Getty Images

The tiara is one of the joyas de pasar, a collection of jewels designated by Queen Ena in her will for the use of Spanish queens. Letizia wore three pieces from the collection at tonight’s dinner: the fleur-de-lis tiara, the diamond earrings, and the matching diamond bracelets. (Read more on the joyas de pasar in this post!)

Pool/Getty Images

Letizia received the joyas de pasar when her father-in-law abdicated in 2014. We last saw the jewels in public on Queen Sofia at a state banquet for the President of Mexico just before the abdication.

Borja Benito – Pool/Getty Images

Here’s a better view of the earrings. Letizia is also wearing the central element of her own pearl and diamond fleur-de-lis tiara as a brooch.

CHEMA MOYA/AFP/Getty Images

And here’s a closer look at one of the diamond bracelets.

Grand Ladies Site

La Buena is an absolutely humongous tiara, but its base is adjustable. Queen Ena, who wore the tiara at her disastrous royal wedding in 1906, often wore the piece in a more closed form. In the photos above, Ena wears the more compact version in 1906, and the more open version in 1922. (In the 1922 photo, Ena also wears the earrings that Letizia wore tonight.)

CHEMA MOYA/AFP/Getty Images

In photos from tonight’s gala, you can see that the base of the tiara does not quite meet at the front — probably a result of adjustments made so that it would better fit Letizia’s head.

Borja Benito – Pool/Getty Images

Such an exciting jewelry debut! What do you think of Letizia’s first attempt to wear Spain’s mightiest tiara?