Sunday, April 29, 2012

Sunday Brooch: The True Lover's Knot

You aren't too tired of Queen Mary's taste in diamonds coming off a week of Cullinans, are you? I hope you have room for one more, as it only seemed fitting to showcase this brooch on April 29th.
Queen Mary's True Lover's Knot Brooch
Of all the bow brooches in the queen's collection, this is the biggest and fanciest. Naturally, she has Queen Mary to thank for that; Mary acquired the brooch from Garrard in the early 1930s.
Queen Mary
The brooch features brilliant cut diamonds set in silver and gold tied in a "lover's knot". The scalloped ribbon has joints on each of the "tails" to allow the ends to move. It was among multiple bow brooches (the Royal Collection reports 5, Hugh Roberts reports 6) in Queen Mary's collection, and was left to the current queen on Mary's death in 1953.
Queen Elizabeth
Being so large and so sparkly, we usually see this one in the evening. It does its duty anchoring sashes and so forth. And when we see it in the daytime, it feels like a special treat.
Queen Elizabeth
Notable day showings include a stint anchoring poppies on Remembrance Day (left, above) Princess Margaret's wedding (center) and its most famous appearance to date at Prince William's wedding (right), one year ago today.


Photos: Leslie Field/Daylife