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

The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

This Week in Royal Jewels: July 18-24

by // Leave a Comment

July 18-24, 2014
This week’s jewelry recap sees our favorite royals in full summertime mode: gathering with their families, opening athletic competitions, and making trips to Paris. Ooh-la-la!



10. A match made in heaven: elegant Queen Letizia of Spain and the City of Light. Felipe and Letizia made an introductory visit to France this week, and Letizia accessorized her dress with a pair of gorgeous earrings. (See more pictures of the visit at The Royal Roundup!)

9. In a new family portrait released to mark the first birthday of her son, the Duchess of Cambridge wears a pair of familiar earrings: pearl drops by Annoushka, suspended from a pair of diamond hoop earrings by Kiki McDonough.

8. The tragic crash of a commercial airplane carrying nearly 200 Dutch citizens led to a week of mournful remembrance in the Netherlands. Queen Maxima wore white, a traditional color of mourning for the Dutch royals, to sign a book of condolence on Friday. Although her jewelry was still to a normal Maxima-esque scale, its dark colors also reflected the nation’s somber mood.

7. In Denmark, the royals posed on Thursday during their annual summer photosession at Grasten Palace. Queen Margrethe’s jewelry included a large floral brooch.

6. Crown Princess Mary went a bit simpler with her summer jewels for the photocall, wearing a delicate gold necklace. (Also appearing in front of the photographers were the other senior Danish royal ladies, Princess Marie and Princess Benedikte. More photographs at The Royal Roundup!)

5. Queen Letizia was also out and about in Spain this week, donning her headband with small sparkling stars and coordinating stud earrings for a reception at El Pardo Palace on Monday.

4. Wednesday was the opening ceremonies for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and the British royals were out in force. The Countess of Wessex wore a necklace and earrings from one of her favorite jewelry companies, Heavenly Necklaces.

3. The Duchess of Cornwall — who is the Duchess of Rothesay when she’s in Scotland — chose the earrings from her turquoise and diamond set for the opening of the Games. The earrings have an elaborate matching necklace, and the set is said to be one of her family heirlooms.

2. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Games wearing a floral brooch that we’ve seen her wear recently, during her state visit to France in June. (More photos of the royals at the opening ceremonies here!)

1. The Queen’s time at the Games didn’t end with the opening ceremonies. She made several appearances on Thursday, watching a swimming competition, meeting athletes, and even photobombing a Australian selfie! All the while, she was wearing very Scottish brooch: a diamond and yellow gold piece that features thistle flowers in its design.

This Week in Royal Jewels: July 11-17

by // Leave a Comment

July 11-17, 2014
Time for another week’s worth of royal glitter! This week, we feature a first meeting between two royal spouses, plus a first official engagement for a princess-to-be. Enjoy!



10. Crown Princess Victoria celebrated her birthday on Monday at the Swedish family’s summer residence in Oland. For the family’s traditional morning appearance outside their Solliden home, Victoria wore pearl earrings. She also donned necklaces given to her by local children as she greeted Swedes in the gathered crowd.

9. Victoria wasn’t the only member of the family who picked up some jewelry on Monday morning. Could her daughter, Princess Estelle, be any cuter in her bracelets?

8. The Swedish royal matriarch, Queen Silvia, went for more traditional elegance with her jewelry on Monday, wearing a pearl necklace and earrings. But even she added a whimsical touch with her hair ornament. Anyone else suspect that Estelle may have had a role in the placement of that little bauble?

7. Another member of the Swedish royal family, Sofia Hellqvist, attended her first official event at Monday evening’s concert. Rain caused the royal ladies to seek the safety of ponchos for much of the event, but she still managed to keep her bracelet visible. Sofia often wears a bracelet in support of her charity, Project Playground, but this looks to be a different piece.

6. King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain embarked on another of their introductory visits this week, this time to Morocco. Letizia kept her jewelry minimal while visiting a cancer research center on Tuesday, but Lalla Salma, the wife of the Moroccan king, wore an eye-catching brooch.

5. Lalla Salma also stole the show at a dinner held for the Spanish royals, wearing a gorgeous set of emeralds. But Letizia didn’t wholly forego the bling, wearing her wedding earrings and her Cartier diamond bracelet on her left wrist.

4. One of the unsung workers of the Windsor clan, Princess Alexandra, opened a hospice center in Lichfield on Friday. She wore a pair of stunning sapphire earrings, plus a golden tortoise brooch. It makes sense that Alexandra knows her bling; after all, she’s descended from the Romanovs and the Greek royal family as well as the Brits!

3. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have been busy in Devon and Cornwall this week. In Axminster on Tuesday, Camilla donned a delicate floral brooch with some serious history: it’s a Faberge piece that was given to the Queen Mum by Nikita Khrushchev.

2. The dress code was rather relaxed for the christening of Princess Amalia of Nassau on Saturday, but the baby’s grandmother, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, still managed to add a bit of sparkle with earrings and a pendant necklace.

1. Does it get much better than this? Queen Elizabeth II held a reception at Buckingham Palace on Monday for the winners of the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, and she wore one of her rarely-seen treasures: the brooch made of the Cullinan VI and Cullinan VIII stones. (Need a refresher on the Cullinan? Here you go!)

This Week in Royal Jewels: July 4-10

by // Leave a Comment

July 4-10, 2014
Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy a week’s worth of bling from Europe’s sparkliest royals!


10. During the men’s final at Wimbledon on Sunday, the exciting play between Federer and Djokovic provided the Duchess of Cambridge with lots of opportunities to show off her engagement ring and her Cartier watch.

9. The day before, Kate joined Princes William and Harry at Harewood House in Yorkshire to help kick off this year’s Tour de France. With her green coat, she wore a pair of diamond and emerald earrings that she has worn on various occasions. The glint of gold beneath her hair appears to be a badge associated with the Tour; the princes and other officials wore them on their jackets as well.

8. Following a visit to Geneva to see her beleaguered daughter, Queen Sofia of Spain was back on duty this week, wearing layered necklaces to an awards ceremony in Valencia on Sunday.

7. The always-lovely Countess of Wessex wore a pair of geometric earrings during a visit to the Riverhill Regeneration Project in Cobham on Wednesday.

6. Queen Mathilde of the Belgians brought out a pair of dangling earrings with green stones for the christening of a ship on Thursday at the naval base in Zeebrugge.

5. Princess Eugenie of York has a new bejeweled role: she’s collaborating with jewelry designer Daisy London on a line of bracelets. The sale of each bracelet will help benefit the redevelopment appeal of the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital. Princess Eugenie, who underwent surgery to correct scoliosis at the RNOH in 2002, is the patron of the appeal. She’s wearing one of the bracelets in the photo above.

4. On Monday, King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain made their first official visit to their Portuguese neighbors. For an event in Lisbon, Letizia chose a lovely pair of hoop earrings.

3. Crown Princess Victoria wore simple stud earrings and a silver watch for a three-generation visit to the zoo with her father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, and her daughter, Princess Estelle.

2. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands made a visit to Turkey on Thursday, wearing pearl earrings and a pearl bracelet while meeting with government officials in Ankara.

1. While on a visit to Derbyshire on Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II continued her recent trend of exciting jewel watchers by wearing unfamiliar pieces. This time it was a turquoise and diamond brooch, which many are speculating may be an antique piece.