The Multi-Color Pendant Brooch

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The Queen wears the Multi-Color Pendant Brooch, 1984

The main portion of this brooch features stones in three light colors: blue, pink, and yellow, plus white stones in a surrounding design. (I wonder if all three colored stones are sapphires. Sapphires come in white as well, though my default guess for those is always diamonds given whose collection we're talking about.) The brooch has a blue stone pendant. It's an unusual brooch, thanks to those multi-colored stones, and it's an unusual piece to see The Queen wear.

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2018

It's possible that the brooch had just one public outing, in 1984, prior to its surprise appearance at The Queen's 2018 visit to her local Sandringham Woman's Institute meeting. Its history is, thus far, not publicly known. The pink and blue combination is reminiscent of the Sapphire and Ruby Flower Spray Brooch, which is also not often worn. There are several brooches with multi-colored stones in The Queen's jewel vault, for that matter, most of which are not worn with any regularity. (The major exception, of course: her beloved Flower Basket Brooch.)

Appearances:
15 May 2018: Audiences at Buckingham Palace
18 January 2018: Sandringham Women's Institute Meeting

The Sapphire and Ruby Flower Spray Brooch and Earrings

The Sapphire and Ruby Flower Spray Brooch

This brooch was a birthday gift to then-Princess Elizabeth from her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, in 1945. Made by Cartier, it's a rather adorable spray of two flowers: one pink, made of pink sapphires with a row of rubies surrounding the diamond in the center, and one blue, made of blue sapphires and a diamond center. The stems and leaves are gold, with one leaf of pavé-set diamonds.

Princess Elizabeth and baby Prince Charles

According to Leslie Field's The Queen's Jewels, the gift also included a matching pair of earrings "in the shape of miniature flowers on tiny stems", which are likely the ones seen above. The earrings, to my knowledge, haven't been seen in many years. The brooch, however, is still in use, though its outings are rather rare.

In current news...on Sunday, the Queen was pictured with the Duke of Edinburgh (for the first time in quite a while!) heading to church at Balmoral. She was wearing the Frosted Sunflower Brooch. For church the previous weekend, she opted for the Round Cambridge Emerald Brooch without the pendant (thanks Jelena for the heads up).

Appearances:
2011: Visit to Australia
1990: Christmas Broadcast 

Photos: Leslie Field/Royal Collection/Queen Elizabeth II/Baron

The Small Pink and Diamond Brooch

The Small Pink and Diamond Brooch

This small brooch in the Queen's collection includes a central pink stone framed by diamonds and surrounded by larger round diamonds. On the outer edge, small diamonds are tucked between the largest stones. The pink stone itself is a pink sapphire of a vibrant shade; the identification of the type of pink stone remained unknown for years, but it was reported as a pink sapphire brooch when The Queen wore it in a portrait issued to mark her becoming the longest-reigning British monarch, so this is probably palace-confirmed.

It's a small gem, but quite classic and pretty I think - and a great occasional accompaniment to the Queen's pink outfits, which is a particularly lovely color on her.

Appearances:
20 November 2019: Chatham House Prizegiving
11 August 2019: Church at Balmoral
11 July 2019: Audiences at Buckingham Palace
19 March 2019: Bush House Opening
13 February 2019: Audiences at Buckingham Palace
25 December 2018: Christmas Service
18 October 2018: Audiences at Buckingham Palace
21 May 2018: Chelsea Flower Show
7 January 2018: Church at Sandringham
1 November 2017: Audiences at Buckingham Palace 
21 October 2017: British Champions Day at Royal Ascot
22 June 2017: Royal Ascot, Day 3
25 April 2017: Motability 40th Anniversary Ceremony
21 February 2017: Audiences at Buckingham Palace
20 October 2016: Audiences at Buckingham Palace
13 July 2016: East Anglian Air Ambulance Base Opening
9 June 2016: Commonwealth Hub Launch
6 May 2016: Berkhamsted School Visit
3 March 2016: Lister Community School Visit
9 September 2015: Mary McCartney Portrait (release)
25 January 2015: Church at Sandringham
11 March 2014: Audiences at Buckingham Palace
22 December 2013: Church at Sandringham
6 December 2013: Westminster Hall Visit
31 October 2013: Visit to East Sussex
22 October 2013: National Theatre Anniversary
22 September 2013: Church at Balmoral
5 April 2013: Visit to Slough
12 March 2013: Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry
5 November 2012: Cover of Dressing the Queen
2010: State Visit to the UAE and Oman 


Photos: Stella/Getty Images/PA