05 November 2013

The Diamond Chandelier Drop Demi-Parure

The Diamond Chandelier Drop Demi-Parure (Necklace and Earrings, inset)

A matched set of a necklace and a pair of earrings, this demi-parure is made of diamonds in multiple intricate pendants, each tipped with a pear-shaped diamond drop. Its provenance has not been officially confirmed, but it certainly has the look of a gift from one of the Middle Eastern rulers, and The Queen did wear it during a 1987 state visit from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. (I am using a name that refers to its complicated pendant structure, since the gift is not confirmed.)

The Queen

The Queen has used this set fairly often, even for some official portraits. It is a slightly more grand option than pieces such as the King Khalid Diamond Necklace (very similar, and a confirmed Saudi gift), the Diamond Pear-Shaped Pendant Fringe Necklace, or the King Faisal Diamond Necklace (another confirmed Saudi gift).

The Countess of Wessex

During the 2019 state visit from the United States, it appeared that the necklace and earrings had been loaned to The Countess of Wessex for use.

Appearances (both Necklace and Earrings, unless otherwise noted):
11 December 2019: Diplomatic Reception (earrings on The Duchess of Cambridge)
3 June 2019: State Visit from the United States, State Banquet (on The Countess of Wessex)
5 November 2013: State Visit from South Korea, State Banquet 
1992: State Visit to Germany 

Photos: Getty Images/Lichfield/Royal Household
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The Diamond Cockade Brooch

The Diamond Cockade Brooch
The Diamond Cockade Brooch has been worn to three coronations and used in its present form by four queens. This is a brooch with a rich history – and at this time, we don’t even know its whole story. It is said to have belonged to Queen Victoria, but it was Queen Alexandra that had it altered to the form we’re familiar with today. It’s a large clasp for a cloak, which is used as a stomacher or very large brooch, all made in diamonds. It comes in three pieces, a central star with eight points and large diamond elements between each, and two side pieces with an intricate knotted design. Before Alexandra, the piece was in five sections and was originally used as a cockade – normally a hat ornament, possibly part of a military uniform. The exact provenance and age is not currently known.
Queen Alexandra using the full clasp at her coronation (with close up of her heavily jeweled bodice) and using only the center section
Queen Alexandra wore the full three pieces to her coronation alongside her husband, Edward VII, in 1902 underneath her swags of pearls. It was also used at the coronation of George V in 1911 by Queen Mary, who wore it with the two side pieces at an angle. Mary was also known to use the side pieces with different brooches in the center.
Queen Mary (with the full clasp, and using the two side sections around other pieces), Queen Elizabeth (using the center section on her bodice), and Queen Elizabeth II (using the center section as a shoulder brooch)
Queen Elizabeth wore just the center section to her 1937 coronation with her husband, George VI – and it’s entirely possible it wasn’t seen in public again until Queen Elizabeth II wore it in 2008, to a state banquet for the President of France. (That 71-year delay makes it seem likely it stayed with the Queen Mother after 1952, not being unearthed until the Queen inherited her jewelry in 2002 and began to debut different pieces.) We haven’t seen the side pieces since Queen Mary’s time, and I suppose they suffer the same fate as most stomachers, becoming harder to wear as fashions change. Regardless of the difficulties of wearing it, it is a staggering piece, and it would be such a treat to see the whole thing once again some day.

Appearances (of the Center Section only, unless otherwise noted):
5 November 2013: State Visit from South Korea, State Banquet 
2008: State Visit from France, State Banquet

Photos: Lord Twining/Royal Collection/Getty Images
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State Visit from South Korea, State Banquet

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, together with other members of the Royal Family, gave a State Banquet in honor of the President of the Republic of Korea at Buckingham Palace.

Unless you count the State Opening of Parliament, this is the first tiara event of the year for Her Maj, and more than likely the only one we'll see. So you have to love that she's busted out one of her biggest brooches (and a rare sight, at that), plus a hefty necklace and earring set - none of which we've covered on the blog before. She's done her best to tide us over, because she's a gem. She upped the sparkle factor but kept it all in white, which allowed the red of her Korean order to really stand out.
I'm not sure just yet which bracelet she's worn, so if you have any thoughts, chime in!

There wasn't much in the way of other British tiaras on display, only a mere glimpse of the Princess Royal. Once again, bonus points are awarded to the President, who shined in her traditional dress. Click here for a gallery.

Diamond Bracelet (Unidentified)
Diamond Watch (same as here)


UPDATE: Video of the banquet! Loooook at the sparkle...
You can also see the Duchess of Gloucester, also in attendance, but alas we still can't really see the tiaras for her or for the Princess Royal.  

There is also a traditional banquet for the visiting head of state at the Guildhall, which was attended by the Gloucesters.
And here we actually can see the Duchess well enough to tell that she's worn her favorite Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara, in its all-diamond format.

Photos:PA
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State Visit from South Korea, Welcome Ceremony

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh welcomed the President of the Republic of Korea, Her Excellency Park Geun-hye, at the beginning of her State Visit to the United Kingdom.
Video: The welcome ceremony. Click here for an article and pictures from the Daily Mail.
Glad to see the Centenary Rose Brooch out and about again - by my count this is the second outing this year - but...all these pink outfits and no debut of the new tourmaline brooch is just a tease, no?
(Bonus mention to the lovely President, though, for bringing her own elegant brooch bling!)

Photo: Getty Images
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04 November 2013

The Richmond Brooch

The Richmond Brooch (sketch with pearl pendant; as worn, without)
A present from the town of Richmond for her 1893 wedding to the future King George V, Queen Mary's Richmond Brooch is a large piece made from diamonds set in silver and gold in a scrolling design surrounding a central pearl, with a pearl and diamond pendant hanging below. It's a flexible jewel - the central pearl and pearl pendant are detachable (Mary, as we know, was prone to switching around her jewels, and accordingly this pendant was once used in the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara), more pendants can be added, the whole brooch can be used as a pendant itself, and Queen Mary even used it in her hair.
Queen Mary (wearing the brooch in the center of her bodice, left, and as a pendant on a necklace while dressed in costume for the Devonshire House Ball, right)
The brooch has been identified by several different names over the years. In the original edition of Leslie Field's The Queen's Jewels, it was identified as the Warwick Sun Brooch, a present from the Earl of Warwick and family; in a later edition, it was called the Surrey Brooch, a present from the Ladies of Surrey Needlework Guild. Hugh Roberts' The Queen's Diamonds has now corrected this to be the brooch from Richmond. These were all wedding gifts to the then-Princess Victoria Mary of Teck; since the bride's gifts included upwards of 40 brooches, it's not surprising that some confusion has resulted.
The Queen, both with and without the pearl drop
The Queen inherited the brooch when Queen Mary died, in 1953. She wore it during her post-Coronation Commonwealth tour but then seems to have put it away. Only in her later years has it appeared again, worn for evening events and a few special day engagements. She has worn it both with and without the bottom pearl pendant.

Appearances:
10 November 2018: Festival of Remembrance 
19 May 2018: The Wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
10 June 2016: The Queen's 90th Birthday Service
8 November 2014: Festival of Remembrance
2009: State Visit from India
2007: Festival of Remembrance
2000: State Visit to Italy, Papal Audience

Photos: Leslie Field/Getty Images/Lafayette/V&A
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02 November 2013

Flashback: Remembrance Events

In November, The Queen's calendar is always marked with events surrounding Remembrance Day, a memorial day to pay respects to the country's war dead. She attends the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance ahead of the main ceremony at the Cenotaph war memorial on Whitehall in London; other events can also be included, such as opening the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey, though not every year. Red poppies are the symbol of remembrance, a reference to the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae, and The Queen fastens a cluster of these with her brooch.

The Festival of Remembrance is an evening affair, with a few fancier jewels.
(A note: Pearl necklaces are all identified simply by their number of strands not because they are the same necklace, but because they're hard to identify by different names)


It might seem frivolous to talk about jewelry when it comes to somber events like this, but I think it's interesting how they can be used in symbolic and touching ways. At the main Cenotaph event, The Queen leads the wreath-laying ceremony with senior members of her family in uniform behind her (she herself attended in uniform during some of her years as Princess Elizabeth, but she wears regular black as Queen). Other members of the family watch from balconies above, and many of them choose to honor regiments they're identified with by wearing regimental badges; The Duchess of Cambridge has on occasion worn a crystal poppy brooch, the sales of which help aid the Royal British Legion. Sometimes The Duchess of Cornwall accents her poppies with her Diamond Stick Insect Brooch, which is said to have been a gift from her late father, a veteran and former prisoner of war.
For her part, The Queen dips into her collection of bow brooches. They handle the poppy job well, being large enough to accommodate the five poppies typically worn (as seen in the Festival flashbacks above, she has used brooches beyond the bows, but they aren't all well suited to the task - it appears she had to reduce her usual poppy number when using the Cambridge Pearl Pendant!). The Dorset Bow Brooch seems to be the most popular. None of these are restricted to use at Remembrance Day exclusively, but many aren't seen too often apart from poppy events, giving her choice a special touch.

Photos: PA/BBC/Royal British Legion/Getty Images/Corbis/EPA/AFP/Reuters
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01 November 2013

The Newhaven Horse Brooch

The Newhaven Horse Brooch (shown with the Duke of Edinburgh's Tudor rose tie pin)
To commemorate their visit to East Sussex on October 31, 2013, the Newhaven Chamber of Commerce presented the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh with pieces donated by jeweler Mike Shorer and his company Historic Jewellery Reproduction. Picking up on the Queen’s love for horses, her brooch is a reproduction of a second century Romano-British horse brooch and is made from gold plated English pewter accented with green and blue enamel. (The Queen is not the only one that may have a replica of this second century piece – other versions up for sale in the past include one at the Royal Armouries Shop* and one previously auctioned on Ebay.) The Duke received a Tudor rose tie pin, also made of gold plated English pewter, which was inspired by Henry VIII’s Mary Rose warship.

We have not yet seen the Queen wear her Newhaven brooch.

*Thanks to Jelena for this link.

Photo: Sussex Express screencap
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