Don’t Miss a Single Sparkling Moment! Sign up for The Court Jeweller Newsletter

The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Royal Jewels of 2015: The Top Ten Jewel Moments

by // Leave a Comment

We’ve had a fair bit of royal sparkle to enjoy this year, magpies! Here’s my list of the top ten royal jewel moments of the year. There were so many to choose from — settle in with a glass of celebratory champagne, and then tell us about your favorite bejeweled moments of 2015 in the comments below!

10. Queen Maxima at the Danish State Banquet

When Maxima arrived at Christiansborg Palace for a state banquet this March, I know I wasn’t the only one who gasped. She paired her gown from the 2013 inauguration ceremonies with the full version of the grand Dutch Sapphire Tiara, plus other diamond and sapphire pieces, including the stunning sapphire wing brooch.

9. Queen Letizia in the Ansorena Tiara

Denmark was also the site of Queen Letizia’s big jewelry moment of 2015. At Queen Margrethe’s 75th birthday gala, she wore the diamond and pearl tiara made for her by Ansorena for the very first time. As a bit of icing on the cake, she also donned a wedding ring at the event for the first time in years.

8. Princess Madeleine at the Nobel Prize Ceremony

The Nobel ceremonies in Stockholm almost always offer us an important jewelry moment for the year, and this time around the superstar was Princess Madeleine. She borrowed the amazing aquamarine kokoshnik tiara that had belonged to her grandmother, Princess Sibylla, for the December 10th banquet. The incredible blue aquamarines were a great complement to Madeleine’s blue eyes.

7. Princess Caroline at the Rose Ball

Monaco has never been the most glittering principality in Europe, but Princess Caroline stepped up her game at this year’s Rose Ball, wearing her diamond fringe necklace with a lovely pair of diamond earrings that had belonged to her grandmother, Princess Charlotte.

6. The Duchess of Cornwall at a Royal Film Premiere

Camilla is one of the very best at carrying off major pieces of royal jewelry, and the new ruby demi-parure that she debuted in February at the premiere of The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was no exception.

5. The Duchess of Cambridge at the Chinese State Banquet

When Kate arrived at her very first state banquet in October, she did so wearing pieces of jewelry that linked her to generations of queens past: the Lotus Flower Tiara from the collection of the Queen Mother, a diamond bracelet made from a choker that had belonged to Queen Mary, and diamond earrings borrowed from the present Queen. But it was the diamond bracelet that she borrowed from the Queen — a wedding gift from Prince Philip made with Romanov diamonds — that really spoke to her place in the family’s affections.

4. Queen Elizabeth II in the Crown Rubies

At Royal Ascot this year, the Queen wore an incredibly important British royal heirloom for the first time in public: the brooch from the crown ruby demi-parure, which dates to the reign of Queen Victoria. Even better, at a state banquet in Germany, she wore the brooch with its coordinating necklace and earrings. The crown rubies are traditionally paired with the Oriental Circlet; maybe we’ll eventually see her wear that combo in the future?



3. The Duchess of Cambridge in the Lover’s Knot Tiara

For years, many of us assumed that we wouldn’t see Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara again in public until Prince William’s daughter came of age. Too many associations with Diana, we all assumed. Turns out we were seriously wrong — a lesson we all learned when Kate arrived at the December diplomatic reception confidently balancing the historic tiara on her own crown.

2. Queen Mathilde in the Wolfers Tiara

After Queen Fabiola’s death in 2014, it was announced that all of her belongings were being given to charity. While that gesture was typical of her generosity, it was frightening for those of us who hoped that her major jewels had remained with the Belgian royal family. When her niece-in-law, Queen Mathilde, showed up at a state banquet in October wearing one of Fabiola’s pieces, the Wolfers Tiara, I think we all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

1. Queen Maxima at the Swedish Royal Wedding

The jewels weren’t new to us, and she wasn’t the star of the show, but really, did any royal lady wear jewels better in 2015 than Maxima did at Prince Carl Philip’s wedding in June? She wore the century-old Mellerio Ruby Parure as if it had been made just for her. Absolutely stunning!

Royal Jewels of 2015: The Tiara Debuts

by // Leave a Comment

Is there anything more exciting than a royal lady showing up at an event in a tiara she’s never worn before? (Really, is there???) This year, we were treated to several tiara debuts, both of brand-new pieces and major heirlooms.

Queen Mathilde in the Nine Provinces Tiara



Queen Mathilde of the Belgians had worn the meander bandeau base of the Nine Provinces Tiara before, but in April she stepped out in the full, majestic version of the tiara of Belgium’s queens for the first time. She wore the complete ’20s-era tiara, with its topper diamonds and arches, at the gala held at Christiansborg Palace for Queen Margrethe II of Denmark’s 75th birthday.

Queen Letizia in the Asturias Ansorena Tiara



The Christiansborg gala was also the place where Queen Letizia of Spain brought out a new tiara for the first time: the diamond and pearl tiara made for her by Ansorena. The piece was somewhat controversial, with questions about who commissioned it and who paid for it, and I speculated that an event outside of Spain may have been an excellent opportunity to premiere it!

Princess Sofia in her wedding tiara



In June, Sofia Hellqvist arrived at her wedding to Prince Carl Philip of Sweden wearing a previously-unseen diamond and emerald tiara. The piece has become her go-to tiara; she wore it at two separate appearances during the recent Nobel festivities in Stockholm.

Crown Princess Victoria in the Connaught Diamond Tiara

Sofia wasn’t the only one wearing a new tiara at her wedding: her sister-in-law, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, wore the delicate Connaught Diamond Tiara for the first time in public. She also chose the tiara later in the year for the annual Nobel banquet.

Princess Tatiana in a Bulgari tiara

One more tiara debut at the Swedish royal wedding: Tatiana, the wife of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, wore a small diamond tiara by Bulgari for the first time.

Queen Mathilde in the Wolfers Tiara



Mathilde had another tiara surprise up her sleeve this year. At a state banquet in October, she shocked royal watchers by wearing the Wolfers Tiara, a jewel from the collection of the late Queen Fabiola. After Fabiola’s death, the fate of some of her grandest jewels was left uncertain, but this tiara appearance revealed that at least some of her pieces are still with the Belgian royals — good news for a royal collection that is relatively small!

The Duchess of Cambridge in Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara



How stunned were we all in December when Kate arrived at the annual Buckingham Palace diplomatic reception wearing the Lover’s Knot Tiara? Unseen in public for more than two decades, many thought the tiara’s strong associations with the late Princess Diana would keep it in the vaults for years to come. But Kate is proving to be braver about her mother-in-law’s legacy than many of us predicted…

Princess Madeleine in the Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik



The Nobel Prize Ceremony in Sweden is always a jeweled delight, and this year it came with a tiara debut, as Princess Madeleine wore the aquamarine kokoshnik that belongs to her aunt, Princess Margaretha. Although Margaretha apparently still owns the tiara, it’s clearly been made available for other Bernadotte women to wear, which is good news for those of us who love seeing this piece sparkle in public!

Royal Jewels of 2015: Kate’s Top Ten

by // Leave a Comment

This week, we’ll ring in a new year by looking back at some of the most glittering moments of 2015. We’re starting off with my ranking of the best of the Duchess of Cambridge’s 2015 jewels. Be sure to provide your own top ten list in the comments below!

10. Mappin and Webb’s Empress Earrings

At Princess Charlotte’s christening in July, Kate debuted a new pair of earrings: the white gold and diamond earrings from the Empress collection by Mappin and Webb. The earrings are a part of a set; Kate first wore the matching pendant necklace during an August 2014 visit to the poppy installation at the Tower of London. The earrings retail at Mappin and Webb for £3,450.

9. Kiki McDonough’s Morganite and Diamond Cushion Drop Earrings

Kate debuted a new pair of earrings from one of her favorite companies, Kiki McDonough, at a Westminster Abbey service to mark Commonwealth Day in March. The earrings, which are from the brand’s KIKI Classics line, feature cushion-cut morganite drops suspended from white gold and diamond hoops. (The hoops and the drops are separate pieces; Kate often wears the hoops with other drops, including pearls from Annoushka.) The earrings retail at Kiki McDonough for £3,400.

8. Robinson Pelham’s Pagoda Earrings

At the premiere of the latest James Bond film, Spectre, in October, Kate donned a pair of earrings that had previously been worn by her mother, Carole Middleton. The firm’s girandole-style Pagoda earrings are made of white gold and set with diamonds and blue topazes. The earrings retail at Robinson Pelham for £14,300.

7. G. Collins and Sons’s Tanzanite Set

Kate wore a set of vivid blue jewels at this March’s service commemorating the British troops who served in Afghanistan. The earrings and necklace were made by the current crown jeweler, G. Collins and Sons. Both pieces are made of diamonds and tanzanites set in platinum. The set is not currently available for purchase, but here’s a look at the necklace from the firm’s archives.

6. The Diamond and Pearl Oak Leaf Brooch

On Christmas Day, Kate brought out a brooch that she’d previously worn in May 2012: a diamond and pearl brooch set in various gold finishes that features oak leaf and acorn designs. The brooch seems to deliberately echo symbols from the Middleton family’s coat of arms.

5. The Queen Mother’s Sapphire and Diamond Fringe Earrings

Kate wore a number of pieces of royal heirloom jewelry for the first time in 2015, including these gorgeous sapphire and diamond earrings, worn at an October visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The earrings are from the collection of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Cambridge’s great-grandmother.

4. Queen Mary’s Diamond Choker Bracelet

At the Chinese state banquet in October, Kate wore a number of significant jewels, including a diamond bracelet made from a choker necklace that belonged to Queen Mary, the current Queen’s grandmother. The necklace appears to have been converted into a bracelet by the Queen Mother, who wore it on a number of occasions. Kate wore the piece at the banquet on her right wrist.

3. The Lotus Flower Tiara

Kate wore the gorgeous diamond and pearl Lotus Flower Tiara for the first time at the annual diplomatic reception in 2013, but this year, we got a much better view of it during the Chinese state banquet. The tiara was made by Garrard for the Queen Mother in 1923; they remodeled one of her wedding presents, a necklace given to her by her husband, King George VI, to create the new sparkler. The piece was also worn by Princess Margaret, who loaned it to her daughter-in-law, Viscountess Linley, as a wedding tiara in 1993.

2. The Queen’s Wedding Gift Bracelet

The most significant royal jewel loaned to Kate for the Chinese state banquet was, in my mind, the Queen’s own Wedding Gift Bracelet. The bracelet, worn by Kate on her left wrist, was made for the Queen by Philip Antrobus Ltd. in 1947; it was a wedding gift from her husband, Prince Philip. But the bracelet’s diamonds are much older and more important even than that: they were part of a diamond and aquamarine tiara given to Philip’s mother, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, as a wedding gift from her uncle and aunt, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra of Russia, in 1903. Alice had the tiara broken up to provide Philip with diamonds for his wife’s engagement ring and wedding present.

1. Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara

Kate’s biggest jewelry surprise of the year was undoubtedly the debut of the Lover’s Knot Tiara, a piece strongly associated with the memory of her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana. Kate wore the century-old diamond and pearl tiara from Queen Mary’s collection to the annual diplomatic reception in December, proving that she’s not shy about Diana’s bejeweled legacy and that her access to important royal jewels is getting more and more extensive.