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| The Triple Diamond Bar Brooch |
This brooch includes three large emerald-cut diamonds in the center and two half moon-cut diamonds on either side, all enclosed in a double row diamond outline. The provenance of the brooch is unconfirmed, but the likely answer is that the design was created from loose diamonds received as a gift while The Queen, as Princess Elizabeth, was in South Africa in 1947.*
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Princess Elizabeth receiving the diamonds thought to be used in the Triple Diamond Bar Brooch, 1947
British Pathé |
The diamonds, which were mined in South Africa, were given to the Princess when she opened the Princess Elizabeth Graving Dock in East London, South Africa, on March 3, 1947. The gift came from the South African Railways and Harbors Administration and was presented by Mrs. Sturrock, wife of the Transport Minister. "They are the most magnificent ones, aren't they," Princess Elizabeth can be overheard saying
in this video as she receives the box and opens it to examine the diamonds inside.
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| Royal Family |
Despite the diamonds potentially entering The Queen's collection decades earlier, this brooch was not debuted publicly until the Commonwealth Day reception in 2014 - a fitting occasion, assuming that provenance is correct. It has made multiple appearances since then.
*Thanks to research from the posters at the Royal Jewels of the World Message Board, and thanks to Jelena for bringing attention to it here.
Appearances:
7 November 2018:
Schroders Headquarters Opening
27 May 2018:
Church at Balmoral
12 May 2018:
Royal Windsor Horse Show
18 April 2018:
Commonwealth Walkway Panel Unveiling and Audiences
20 July 2016:
Audiences at Buckingham Palace
28 June 2016:
Visit to Northern Ireland, Day 2
10 March 2014:
Commonwealth Day Reception
