British Royal Jewels: The Queen's White and Rose Gold Flower Brooch

This lovely brooch is one of Her Majesty’s rarely worn pieces and appears to be a recent addition to her collection.

White and Rose Gold Flower Brooch

The brooch is in form of a flower: the two blossoms and one of the leaves appear to be made of pink gold. In the centre of each blossom there is a pinkish orange stone (possibly topaz) surrounded by brilliants. The rest of the brooch is in white gold adorned with small diamonds.

British Royal Jewels: The Queen's Pink Sapphire and Diamonds Brooch

Queen Elizabeth has been wearing this brooch regularly, but not at all often, in recent years.

The Queen's Pink Sapphire and Diamonds Brooch

The brooch is composed of a pink stone in a diamond frame. It is surrounded by ten round diamonds with further ten small brilliants between them. This jewel reminds of the much more famous Prince Albert Sapphire brooch in design and style, although it unlikely they share the same provenance.

British Royal Jewels: Queen Elizabeth's Jardine Star Brooch

The Jardine Star Brooch is one of the Queen's most frequently worn jewels of late.

The Jardine Star Brooch

Very little is actually known about this jewel. The scarce information that we do possess comes mainly from Leslie Field’s ‘The Queen’s Jewels’: "In 1981 the Queen was left a late-Victorian diamond star brooch by Lady Jardine, which she has worn on many occasions. It has a collet diamond on a knife-wire between each of its eight points." 

Lady Jardine was a Scottish aristocrat, a member of the old Clan Jardine of Scotland; most probably, she was the wife of the Chief of the Clan. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be more information about this lady, or reasons why she chose to leave the brooch to the Queen.

Egyptian Royal Jewels: Queen Nazli's Diamond Rose Necklace and Clips

The stunning set was commissioned by Queen Nazli of Egypt in 1938. 

Queen Nazli of Egypt's Diamond Roses Necklace

The demi-parure consisted of a necklace that featured two large roses and several leaves, pave-set with diamonds and in a platinum frame. There were also matching dress clips which could also be worn as hair ornaments. 

Along with quite a few other stunning pieces from the Queen’s jewellery collection, this set is believed to have been sold while Nazli was in exile in the United States during the reign of her son, Farouk I. Unfortunately, because of Egypt’s somewhat turbulent history, it is very hard to trace the fate of most of the royal jewels. 

Focus on... Camilla's Jewels: Van Cleef & Arpels Ballerina Brooch

The Duchess of Cornwall has quite a few stunning pieces from Van Cleef & Arpels but my favourite among her collection is this lovely ballerina brooch.

In the 1940s, Van Cleef & Arpels created widely-copied, beautiful ballerina brooches. The inspiration for this High Jewellery collection was the collaboration between Claude Arpels and the renowned choreographer George Balanchine, which gave rise to the ballet Jewels in 1967. 

Van Cleef & Arpels Ballerina Brooch

An ode to femininity, the ballet series is dedicated to three exceptional gemstones and three different styles of ballet: emeralds with Fauré, rubies with Stravinsky, and diamonds with Tchaikovsky. 

British Royal Jewels: Queen's Gold Dahlia (Frosted Sunflower) Brooch

The Frosted Sunflower Brooch is one of the Queen’s favourites, and one of the few pieces especially designed for her.

Frosted Sunflower Brooch

The brooch, also known as the Sunflower Brooch or the Gold Dahlia Brooch was commissioned by Garrard & Co in early 1970s. The brooch is made of gold in the form of a sunflower or dahlia. The centre of the brooch and the petals are adorned with 31 diamonds; the largest diamond is in the middle and is surrounded by nine smaller pear-shaped stones.

Focus on... Camilla's Jewels: Faberge Lily of the Valley Brooch

Nikita Khrushchev, then First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, presented British royal ladies with several exquisite gifts during his 1956 visit to the United Kingdom.

Fabergé Lily of the Valley Brooch

The jewellery gifts included a diamond and sapphire brooch for Queen Elizabeth, a smaller diamond and sapphire brooch for Princess Margaret, and a Lily of the Valley Brooch for the Queen Mother (the non-jewellery gifts included a bear cub for Princess Anne, an Arabian horse for Prince Charles, and an Akhal Teke horse for Prince Philip). 

It is the Queen Mother’s gift that is the focus of this article. The Lily of the Valley Brooch was created by Fabergé the stem was made of white gold adorned with diamonds, while the rest of the brooch bears unmistakable Fabergé characteristics.

Focus on... Camilla's Jewels: Hesse Diamond Jubilee Brooch

This lovely brooch is a family heirloom that once belonged to Queen Victoria.

Hesse Diamond Jubilee Brooch

The Diamond and Sapphire Brooch was given to Victoria by her Hesse grandchildren – namely, Princess Victoria (later, Marchioness of Milford Haven - the Duke of Edinburgh’s grandmother), Princess Elizabeth (later, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia), Princess Irene (later, Princess Henry of Prussia), Prince Ernst Ludwig (later, Grand Duke of Hesse), and Princess Alix (later, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia). 

At the time the gift was made, it was described as a "brooch with an open pendant heart of diamonds bearing in the centre the number "60" in Slavonic characters. It has on the top a cabochon sapphire and two large sapphire drops." The description matches this brooch perfectly, so there is no doubt in my mind it is one and the same (thanks to Noel Q. for noticing the third sapphire on the top which I somehow missed).

Requests Sunday: Empress Maria Feodorovna's Sapphire Parure

As promised, today I present you the most requested piece ever since I started this blog. Hope you'll enjoy it!

Empress Maria Feodorovna's Sapphire Parure

The Romanovs had one of the most impressive jewellery collections of all times. None of the current Houses, not even the British one, can match the splendour of the Romanov Court. One of the most interesting and, unfortunately, mysterious parures belonged to Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, wife of Alexander III and mother of Nicholas II. 

The Empress is depicted wearing this parure (most of it anyway) of the famous portrait by Konstantin Makovsky. The sketch for the portrait was actually drawn at the wedding celebrations of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, the daughter of Emperor Alexander II (and thus Maria Feodorovna’s sister-in-law) who married Prince Alfred, the son of Queen Victoria. 

Maria Feodorovna wearing her sapphire parure

Swedish Royal Jewels: Queen Josephine's Pearl and Ruby Brooch

Just as with the Bernadotte Diamond Rose Brooch, this jewel is nowadays most often worn as a hair ornament as well.

Queen Josephine's Pearl and Ruby Brooch

As the name suggests, this pearl and ruby brooch originally belonged to Josephine of Leuchtenberg, wife of King Oscar I of Sweden. It is in a form of a flower; five pearls nest in a frame of rubies, while the rest of the jewel is encrusted with diamonds.

King Oscar presented this brooch to his wife in 1830s. It was a symbolic present since the five pearls in the brooch represented the couple's five children - Carl (future Carl XV), Gustaf, Oscar (future Oscar II), Eugenie, and August.

Swedish Royal Jewels: Bernadotte Diamodn Rose Brooch

The Swedish Royal ladies are known for their inventive ways of incorporating jewels into their hairstyles. Not content with the huge number of tiaras and hairpieces, they adapt other jewels for the purpose.

Bernadotte Rose Brooch

Among such jewels is the Bernadotte Diamond Rose Brooch. It is the form of a beautiful rose on a short stem, surrounded by leaves and rosebuds, all encrusted with diamonds.

British Royal Jewels: Queen Victoria's Orange Blossom Parure

This parure is not by any means among the grandest or most important jewels in the royal collection, but it is definitely one of the most symbolic and sentimental ones. One of the very first jewellery gifts Prince Albert gave his then fiancée was a gold and porcelain brooch in the form of a sprig of orange blossom.

The Orange Blossom Parure

It was a thoughtful gift because orange blossom is a symbol of chastity and has traditionally been been associated with betrothal in both England and Germany. Perhaps for that reason, Queen Victoria wore sprays of real orange blossom in her hair and on her bodice on the day of her wedding.

Swedish Royal Jewels: Queen Desideria’s Malachite Parure

Time to cover one of the most under-appreciated parures of all times - Queen Desideria’s Malachite Parure.

The malachite parure consists of a tiara, necklace, brooch, two bracelets, and a pair of earrings, all set with carved malachite. The cameos carved on the stones represent classical scenes. For instance, the cameos in the necklace depict Asclepius (god of medicine) and Hygeia (his daughter, goddess of health), Hercules (the Ancient Greek hero) and Hebe (daughter of Zeus and Hera who becomes Hercules’s wife). The central cameo of the tiara symbolises day, while the central stone of the brooch depicts the night, and so on.

Spanish Royal Jewels: Queen Sofia’s “The Eye of Time” Brooch

Queen Sofia of Spain has quite an impressive collection of brooches which could probably rival Queen Elizabeth’s. However, while the British Queen’s collection mostly consists of family heirlooms and historical pieces, the brooches of the Spanish Queen present a far more diverse assortment. 

Original "The Eye of Time" Pendant

One of such pieces is her “The Eye of Time” brooch. I can’t really tell whether it is paste (Queen Sofia has always been quite fond of wearing bijou) or studded with real diamonds. 

Focus on... Kent Jewels: More Random Pieces

It will appear that we have covered most of the important or well-known pieces in the Kent collection. This post is dedicated to some of the jewels that didn't warrant a separate article.

Most jewels belong to Princess Michael of Kent because although it was the Duchess of Kent who inherited the bulk of jewels from Princess Marina's collection, Marie Christine is the only one among Kent ladies who wears her jewels fairly regularly.

Jewellery Sets

Princess Michael has some really interesting sets in her collection. One of them is the beautiful aquamarine set that consists of a necklace of pearls and aquamarines, a pair of earrings and a brooch. Sometimes, the Princess wears the brooch (made of three large square aquamarines) in a necklace setting. 

Princess Michael wearing her Aquamarine Set

Another beauty is a citrine set consisting of a pendant and a pair of earrings. The pendant can be worn with a detachable pearl drop. Marie Cristine often dons it both on its own (as a brooch), or incorporated into a necklace.

Focus on... Kent Jewels: Princess Michael's Cartier Clips

One of my personal favourites among Princess Michael’s jewellery collection is the lovely necklace she sometimes wears on extra-special occasions.

The Pearl and Sapphire Necklace with Cartier Clips at the sides

The necklace consists of seven rows of pearls and sapphire beads, which incorporate two sapphire and diamond clips at the sides. The clips are detachable and can be worn as brooches or hat ornaments.

Focus on... Kent Jewels: Princess Michael's Dress Ornament

One of the more unusual items in Princess Michael's collection is the dress ornament she has worn on several occasions.

Princess Michael's Dress Ornament

Princess Michael has worn this ornament on several occasions. One of them was a re-internment of the remains of Diane de Poitiers, the famous favourite of Henry II and one of Princess Michael's ancestresses (just as a point of interest, Marie Christine is also descended from Henry II's wife, Catherine de Medici).

Focus on... Kent Jewels: Princess Louise's Emerald Pendant

The emerald and pearl pendant is among the jewels the Kents inherited from Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll.

Princess Michael of Kent wearing the diamond and emerald pendant suspended from a pearl necklace

Like the Daisy Brooches, Princess Louise's emerald pendant was a wedding present, this time from her mother Queen Victoria. Louise wore it on her wedding day suspended from a diamond riviere necklace (also left to the Kents).

Focus on... Kent Jewels: The Argyll Daisy Brooch

These lovely daisy brooches come from the collection of Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll.

There are three brooches, one large and two smaller ones. They were made by Garrard and are encrusted by diamonds set in white and yellow gold.

Princess Louise was the second youngest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The diamond daisy brooches were a present to Princess Louise from three of her siblings – Prince Arthur, Prince Leopold and Princess Beatrice – on the occasion of her marriage to the Marquess of Lorne (then heir to the Dukedom of Argyll).

Focus on... Kent Jewels: Princess Michael's Cherries Brooch

This lovely Cherries Brooch comes from the collection of the Duchess of Windsor.

Princess Michael's Cherries Brooch

In its original form, it was actually a necklace that consisted of two rows of ruby beads with a large gold clasp at the end. From the clasp, two cherry pendants hang from several gold threads. The clasp also contained uncut emeralds and brilliants.