Get all about information and news worlds. Royal-Hollywood Fashion, Belgium British Danish Denmark Dutch Monaco Netherlands Norway Spain Sweden Royal Fashion, fashion dresses.
Queen Máxima, wearing Natan, accompanied King Willem-Alexander to host an annual New Year's reception. Princess Beatrix, Princess Margriet, and Pieter van Vollenhoven were also in attendance.
When Máxima arrived for this event (click here for that), I had a hunch that her coat and pose were giving us the best of a potentially questionable outfit. This event is normally private, but as though they were reading my mind, the royal house allowed a video inside (embedded below). And sure enough...my original thought that her hair and copious use of aquamarine jewels is indeed the best thing here. Unless she was going for a cone-shaped upper body from the start, in which case, well done.
The Windsors were out and about in force last night, shall we check in?
Let us first spend a moment with Charles and Camilla at the premiere of the new James Bond movie, and let us spend that moment gazing at Camilla's necklace. A new-to-Camilla piece, and it's amethysts to boot! Now, I'm never really sure whether I like heart-shaped stones (heaven help us if she starts to reenact her favorite scene from Titanic), but I am sure that I like pieces unearthed from the vaults, and I believe that's just what we have on our hands here.
The heart-shaped amethyst necklace immediately reminded me of a piece discussed in Leslie Field's The Queen's Jewels which was a wedding gift from Queen Alexandra to the Queen Mother in 1923. It's described as "three rows of small pearls interspersed with eight large oval amethysts, each surrounded by brilliant-cut diamonds. Hanging from the front largest cluster is a heart-shaped amethyst pendant surrounded by brilliants, and from the four side clusters hang oval amethyst drops surrounded by brilliants." According to Field, it was given to the Queen sometime after her own wedding. Allowing for inevitable redesign and variance in description, it seems a good match to me.
And also, Windsors, if you're going to start spreading your jewels around (see: Camilla there, plus Sophie in Luxembourg), hows about we get some new diamonds for our friend Kate, hmm? The Duchess of Cambridge tagged along with the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, Prince Edward, Princess Eugenie, and who knows who else for a reception honoring Team GB Olympic and Paralympic medalists. The Queen was in refreshing ice blue, Anne in sharp red, and Kate in a customized version of an ALICE by Temperley dress (below). I think I'd rather have the original, myself, but oh well.
Kate was sporting the same diamond bracelet (and earrings too, I believe) we've seen her in multiple times since her wedding. I love that she's finding as many reasons as she can to wear the diamonds she has, and I think some variety is in order. C'mon Lilibet, make it happen. (And speaking of QEII, the low-down on her diamond selections for the evening can be found at the Queen's Jewel Vault, as always.)
This is the smallest item on our countdown...but it’s also probably the diamond that Her Majesty wears most frequently, and you have to have some recognition for that.
Queen Elizabeth's engagement ring
Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, proposed to Princess Elizabeth with a simple and elegant diamond ring: a 3 carat diamond solitaire flanked on each side by 5 smaller diamonds, all set in platinum. The diamonds were taken from a tiara owned by Philip’s mother, Princess Alice (this is the tiara), and the ring was created by London jeweler Philip Antrobus Ltd. Prince Philip was heavily involved in the design, and had definite ideas about what he wanted.
Announcing their engagement, July 1947
The ring was a little too big for the princess, but the jeweler had it fixed up in time to wear it for the official engagement announcement, and forever thereafter. It is easily spotted whenever you can catch her without her trademark gloves on. Amusingly, the ring is supposed to be one of the signs her staff watches out for: when she starts twisting it around her finger, The Boss has had enough.
Wearing the ring
While coming up with my own list of the queen's top 10 diamonds, I wondered what might the lady herself pick. I have to think this one would make – top, maybe – such a list. And for that, it claims a spot on mine.
Since we’re talking Philip's gifts, I’ll throw in a tip of the hat to his wedding gift bracelet.
Prince Philip's wedding gift bracelet
The Duke of Edinburgh's wedding present for Princess Elizabeth used more of the diamonds from his mother's dismantled tiara. The brilliants are again set in platinum by Philip Antrobus, and again the groom had a heavy hand in the design.
Wearing the bracelet, in 1948 (left) and for her 2012 Diamond Jubilee portrait (right)
Queen Elizabeth still wears her wedding gift. Recently, it got a rather prestigious outing when she chose to wear it for her official jubilee photographs. A lovely gesture to the guy that’s stood by her side for all this time, don’t you think?
Knowing as we do the tremendous size of Queen Elizabeth's jewel collection today, it's a little hard to imagine a time when she didn't have many jewels to pick from...but the next entry on our countdown dates from just such an era. Number nine belongs to some of the first major diamonds to join the queen's collection.
The South African Necklace and Bracelet
In 1947, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth took their daughters Elizabeth and Margaret on a tour to Africa. Elizabeth celebrated her 21st birthday while abroad, and her presents included some of her first large pieces of jewelry. In Rhodesia, she received a wonderful diamond flame lily brooch; in South Africa, a large and impressive diamond necklace.
The original long necklace, with all 21 large diamonds
The gift from the South African government included 21 sizeable diamonds, the largest of which was 10 carats. The larger diamonds were separated by groups of a baguette diamond with a small brilliant on either side to form a long necklace. Princess Elizabeth was presented with the gift at a Young People's Ball, where a nearby microphone picked up her gasp of delight as she opened her new treasure. From then on, she has referred to the South African set as "my best diamonds".
Wearing the set in her younger years
In 1952, she shortened the necklace from 21 to 15 large diamonds and created a bracelet with the remainders. To the bracelet, she added another treasure from the 1947 tour: a 6 carat diamond given to her by De Beers.
Little Mary Oppenheimer presented the De Beers diamond to Princess Elizabeth (Princess Margaret got one too)
This set is still in use today, and even plays the diplomatic jewelry role from time to time, as when she wore it during the most recent state visit from South Africa. She is said, even today, to still refer to these as her best diamonds. For owning that title, and for being one of the first major additions to her jewelry collection - before wedding presents, before becoming queen, and before inheriting Queen Mary's jewels - this set owns a place on my countdown.
At the South African state banquet, 2010
(And P.S.: this is also part of this summer's diamond exhibition at Buckingham Palace.)
