state visit – Page 12

Luxembourg State Dinner Glitter in France

03.20.2018 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

BENOIT TESSIER/AFP/Getty Images

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg are currently on a state visit to France, where they were the guests of honor at a state dinner on Monday evening.

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President Emanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, were hosted the grand ducal couple at the Elysee Palace in Paris for the dinner. Unfortunately, white-tie/black-tie state dinners largely went out of favor in France years ago, so there were no tiaras to spot on this occasion.

BENOIT TESSIER/AFP/Getty Images

But Grand Duchess Maria Teresa did delve into the family’s collection of diamond and emerald jewelry for the dinner, wearing the diamond and emerald choker necklace that belonged to Queen Astrid of Belgium. (I’ll direct you to our friends at Luxarazzi for more on the necklace.) She paired the necklace, which can also be worn as a bracelet or a bandeau, with elaborate diamond and emerald earrings.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

She also wore more diamonds and emeralds on her left wrist. From some angles, this bracelet looks like it might be a diamond and emerald evening watch.

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Brigitte Macron was especially chic for the dinner. Check out that cocktail ring on her left hand!

BENOIT TESSIER/AFP/Getty Images

Here’s a look at the four major players’ entire ensembles for the evening.

Jewels in Motion: Dutch-UK State Visit (1958)

01.17.2018 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

screencapture

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom’s 1958 state visit to the Netherlands has been in conversation lately because of a rare appearance from the Cullinan III and IV Brooch. (Read more about that over here!) Today, I’ve got a glittering survey of some of the grandest jewels worn at the gala events during that state visit — in motion!

One of the trio of tiara events during the visit was a dinner and reception at the palace

Queens Elizabeth and Juliana were seated next to each other at the table, and the candlelight made their diamonds sparkle brilliantly

Queen Elizabeth wore jewels with sleek, simple designs: Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik, the Greville Chandelier Earrings, and her own diamond festoon necklace

She pinned the sash of the Order of the Netherlands Lion with Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Brooch

The Duke of Edinburgh was seated between Juliana and Princess Beatrix, who wore the family’s diamond laurel bandeau and the sash of the Royal Victorian Order

Queen Juliana was resplendent in diamonds, including the Dutch Diamond Bandeau, the Diamond Festoon Necklace that belonged to Queen Wilhelmina, large diamond drop earrings, and one of the family’s large devant de corsage ornaments. She’s wearing the sash of the Order of the Garter here, but it’s strangely arranged around and under the strap of her gown, which is adorned with diamond star ornaments from the family vaults

Behind Juliana, you also get a peek at Mary, Duchess of Devonshire, who was the Mistress of the Robes in 1958. She’s wearing the family’s grand diamond diadem; I recently published an article on the piece, which you can learn more about over here

Princesses Beatrix and Irene are also visible in this footage. Irene wears the family’s ears of wheat ornaments on a tiara frame; I believe she’s also wearing the magnificent diamond trellis necklace and the sash of the Order of the Netherlands Lion

Jewels are always at their most sparkly under the lights of a theater, and the concert event from this state visit provided an astounding amount of royal glitter

Queen Juliana wore the most glorious of the Dutch royal jewels: the Stuart Parure, which includes a diamond that belonged to King William III and Queen Mary II of England. (Read more about that over here!)

Queen Elizabeth II wore major diamonds and pearls, including the Vladimir Tiara with its pearl drops, the Gloucester Pendant Earrings, Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace, and the Kensington Bow Brooch

Princess Beatrix again wore the Laurel Bandeau, pairing it this time with pearls

We get one more excellent view of the jewels of Mary Devonshire here; she’s wearing the family’s diamond diadem, plus her own diamond and sapphire necklace

The third tiara event of the visit was a return dinner aboard the Britannia. We’ve only got a distant view of Queen Elizabeth’s jewels, but I believe she’s wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara with the original setting of the Brazilian Aquamarine Parure Necklace

We also got a brief hint of the glitter worn by Beatrix and Irene, but neither view allows me a sufficient look to identify their jewelry

State Visit Jewels: Luxembourg’s Visit to Japan

11.28.2017 by The Court Jeweller // Leave a Comment

TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg arrived in Tokyo on Monday for a state visit, and we’ve got all of the royal and imperial jewels from day one for your viewing pleasure! (Please note: some of the GIFs in this post feature flash photography.)

The day’s events began with official ceremonies at the Imperial Palace, hosted by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.

KIMIMASA MAYAMA/AFP/Getty Images

Empress Michiko was her usual elegant self for the welcome ceremonies. She wore pear-shaped pearl earrings with a pearl necklace and a modern silver and pearl brooch.

KIMIMASA MAYAMA/AFP/Getty Images

Here’s a closer look at the brooch, which features a pair of pearls on a leafy silver setting.

KIMIMASA MAYAMA/AFP/Getty Images

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, who has an intense fear of flying, stayed back in Luxembourg, and Princess Alexandra accompanied her father on the visit instead. She followed in her host nation’s footsteps by wearing pearls for the welcome ceremonies, including a pearl bracelet and necklace. Her earrings appeared to feature pale pink pearl drops.

Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako also attended the welcome ceremonies, as did representatives of Japan’s government, including the prime minister. Masako also followed her mother-in-law’s examples and wore elegant pearls for the event.

ISSEI KATO/AFP/Getty Images

On Monday evening, the Japanese imperial family hosted a state banquet for their royal guests.

ISSEI KATO/AFP/Getty Images

Empress Michiko wore rather elaborate earrings and an embellished, multi-stranded pearl necklace.

Cour Grand-Ducale

Here’s another view of her jewels from the banquet.

ISSEI KATO/AFP/Getty Images

Again, Princess Alexandra accompanied her father to the banquet.

ISSEI KATO/AFP/Getty Images

Sadly, photos of Alexandra from the banquet are a bit blurred, but we can see here that she wore the family’s convertible tiara/necklace from Chaumet. (More on that one over here!)

Cour Grand-Ducale

Here’s a slightly better view, especially of the necklace. Crown Princess Masako also attended the banquet; you can view a photo of her jewels here. (She wore the magnificent Pearl Sunburst Tiara, which you can learn about over here.) Princess Kiko was in attendance, too, wearing her wedding tiara.