Focus on. Camilla's Jewels: Van Cleef & Arpels Magic Alhambra Earrings

Another Van Cleef & Arpels pieces from the Duchess of Cornwall’s collection are these beautiful earrings.

Van Cleef & Arpels Magic Alhambra Earrings

Ever since 1968, Alhambra – Van Cleef & Arpels’ symbol of luck – has appeared in a variety of elegant guises, inspired by different materials and occasions. All of these Magic Alhambra pieces are individually numbered and signed by Van Cleef & Arpels.

Focus on... Camilla's Jewels: Boucheron Honeycomb Tiara

The Boucheron Honeycomb Tiara used to be one of the Queen Mother’s signature jewels and has become an equally signature piece of the Duchess of Cornwall.

Boucheron Honeycomb Tiara in its current form

The tiara consists of diamonds set in platinum in a contemporary honeycomb and lozenge design. Originally a strictly symmetrical piece, it was remodelled to add several brilliant-cut diamonds and a single marquise-cut one. 

Boucheron created the original diadem for Mrs Greville in 1901 using diamonds from her own collection. By 1920s, that design of the tiara grew out of fashion and so Mrs Greville commissioned the same firm to make a more contemporary piece using the stone from the old tiara. The work was done by Lucien Hirtz, chief designer of Boucheron in Paris. The new tiara was executed in strict geometrical honeycomb style.

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. 

Focus on... Camilla's Jewels: Pearl and Aquamarine Choker

One of the Duchess of Cornwall favourite pieces is undoubtedly her aquamarine choker.

The Duchess of Cornwall's Aquamarine Choker

The three-string pearl choker features a spectacular detachable step-cut aquamarine pendant with brooch fitting. The aquamarine nests in an elaborate yellow gold scrollwork frame which also features ten brilliants.

The provenance of the choker was long disputed; some said it was a gift from the Prince Charles, while others claimed she got it from her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles. However, it was eventually revealed that the choker is actually a family heirloom which the Duchess had inherited from her mother, the Honourable Rosalind Cubitt.

Focus on... Camilla's Jewels: The Diamond Serpent Necklace

One of the Duchess of Cornwall’s signature jewels is her diamond serpent necklace.

The Diamond Serpent Necklace

The necklace consists of round and square-cut diamonds that adorn the serpent’s body, set in a platinum frame. The head of the snake is decked with smaller round diamonds, with two tiny rubies for the eyes. The Serpent Necklace is purported to be a gift from the Prince of Wales, presented before their wedding. Camilla has been wearing the necklace since at least 2001

Focus on... Camilla's Jewels: The Cartier Watch

The Duchess of Cornwall is inseparable from her Cartier watch, which she wears to virtually all of her daytime engagements.

Must de Cartier watch (left), and the watch as worn by the Duchess of Cornwall (right)

The watch is a vintage Must de Cartier Vermeil one. Based on the design and the inscriptions inside, it was probably made in 1980s. This watch features a vermeil case (a solid sterling silver case with heavy gold plating), a 17-jewel manual-wind movement, and a cream coloured dial with black Roman numerals.

Focus on... Camilla's Jewels: Diamond Necklace and Earrings

One of the most-worn necklaces in Camilla’s collection is this gorgeous necklace and matching earrings.

The Diamond Necklace

The necklace is composed of pear, marquise and oval-shaped diamonds of varying sizes. It alternates between two rows of larger diamonds and three rows of smaller ones. The ear pendants consist of seven pear shaped diamonds. The largest diamond hangs from the centre. 

These jewels, like many in the Duchess’s collection, were purchased by her husband. Prince Charles bought a diamond tiara for the specific purpose of creating a stunning necklace for Camilla. Whether the earrings were also made from the stones of that tiara or they are just a well-matched pair of an entirely different origin, isn't known.

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: The Keppel Ruby and Diamond Tiara

The Keppel Tiara is a family heirloom that belongs personally to the Duchess of Cornwall.

The Keppel Tiara/Necklace

It was originally a gift from Edward VII to his most famous favourite, Alice Keppel – Camilla’s great-grandmother. Alice received many gifts of jewellery from the King, most of which were inherited by her younger daughter Sonia (later, Baroness Ashcombe). 

The tiara is made of gold and platinum set with diamonds and synthetic rubies. The choice of synthetic and not real rubies may be explained by the fact that synthetic tones were relatively new at the time and were in high demand. The tiara can be converted into a necklace, and the only known occasion of Camilla wearing this piece is in that form.

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).

Focus On... Camilla's Jewels

Time for our next Focus On... series installation dedicated to the wonderful and ever-growing collection of the Duchess of Cornwall. Before posting articles on actual jewels, a little introduction is in order.

Not all jewels that are to be covered actually belong to the Duchess. Some of them, such as the Delhi Durbar, Boucheron, and Teck Crescent Tiaras are a loan from Her Majesty. Others, such as the Saudi Parures, may have been gifted to Camilla but they don’t actually belong to her (gifts received on official engagements automatically become Crown property and are on a lifelong loan to the person they were gifted to). 

The jewels the Queen loans to the Duchess are mainly from the late Queen Mother’s collection. Mind you, Camilla has also worn pieces from the collection of most other British Queens including Victoria (the Diamond and Sapphire Brooch), Alexandra (the Heart-Shaped Amethyst Brooch), and Mary (Delhi Durbar Tiara). 

The jewels that come from her family collection may also sometimes have a royal connection through Alice Keppel, the most famous of Edward VII’s favourites and Camilla’s direct ancestress. One such piece is the Keppel tiara/necklace – a gift from King Edward. Prince Charles has also bought back a lot of Keppel pieces sold over the years for Camilla. 

The fact the Duchess has worn quite a few pieces from the famous Greville bequest may at first glance seem insignificant: after all, Camilla has use of many of the jewels that formerly belonged to the Queen Mother. But there is actually another reason too - Mrs Greville was a close friend of Sonia Keppel and a godmother to Sonia’s daughter, Rosalind Cubitt. The latter is of course the Duchess of Cornwall’s mother. Although Mrs Greville left most of her immensely valuable jewellery collection to Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother), she didn't forget her goddaughter either. In her will, she specifically mentioned Rosalind: “...to my goddaughter Rosalind Cubitt, a legacy of £500, my cultured pearls, and all my wearing apparel including my laces, furs and all my trinkets”. I wonder whether we have seen Camilla wearing some of those trinkets without realising. 

Focus on... Camilla's Jewels: Van Cleef & Arpels Dragonfly Brooches

One of my favourite jewels in Camilla’s collection are these beautiful dragonfly brooches.

Van Cleef & Arpels Dragonfly Brooches

They were created by Van Cleef & Arpels in their signature dragonfly theme, and were a gift from the Prince of Wales to his wife. 

The brooches, or rather clips, are made of white gold. One of them is studded with blue sapphires, the other – diamonds. They are designed as a tribute to the lightness and femininity of Nature.

Focus on... Camilla's Jewels: Turquoise Demi-Parure

One of my favourite pieces from Camilla’s personal jewellery collection is her turquoise demi-parure.  consists only of a necklace and matching earrings but they are lovely and I like the word, so I am going to continue to refer to this set as the Duchess of Cornwall’s Turquoise Demi-Parure. 

The Turquoise Demi-Parure

The parure consists of a tiara and matching earrings. The necklace is made of turquoises set in diamond frames. From each turquoise, a pear-shaped stone is suspended, also in a diamond settings. Five rows of diamonds nest between each clasp. The earrings consist of an oval turquoise surrounded by diamonds, suspended from a smaller round turquoise. 

The style of the necklace was very popular in late Victorian and early Edwardian times so in all probability it (and presumably, the earrings as well) is a late 19th or early 20th century design. 

Jewellery Gifts Received by Female Royals in 2012

The Buckingham Palace has already released the list of gifts received in 2012, and now the Clarence House has followed the suit. To view the list of the Queen's jewellery gifts, have a look at this post - The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Jewellery Gifts.

Below are the jewels received by other female royals. In case of the Duchesses of Cornwall and Cambridge, the list includes only gifts received on overseas tours; it is more than likely they received other presents too, for example from foreign dignitaries on state and official visits to Britain. It is, for instance, virtually certain that either or both of them received parures from the Amir of Kuwait (as both the Countess of Wessex and the Princess Royal did).

Gifts received by the Duchess of Cornwall

- Beaded medallion, a medallion, a pendant, two brooches from unspecified individuals

- Two shell necklace from the people of Boera village (Prince Charles got two of those as well)

- A Brooch from the Governor of Papua New Guinea

- A Brooch from the Premier of New South Wales

- A Brooch from the Australian Monarchist League

Focus on... Camilla's Jewels: Gold Eucalyptus Brooch

When it was announced the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall would pay an official visit to Australia as part of the Diamond Jubilee tours, the Australian Monarchist League to commission the manufacture of a brooch to be presented to the Duchess. The gift was to commemorate both Camilla’s 65th birthday (she turned 65 in July of 2012) and her very first visit to Australia.

The Australian Pearl and Gold Eucalyptus Brooch

The brooch was designed and manufactured by Australian Opal Cutters Pty Ltd on the same basis as the pendant gifted to Kate Middleton on her wedding to Prince William. It consists of an Australian pearl nestled into the curve of a eucalyptus shaped leaf in gold with the Southern Cross set in Australian pink diamonds.

Focus on... Camilla's Jewels: The Pansy Brooches

As wife of the Heir to the Throne, the Duchess of Cornwall has access to most of the jewels in the royal vaults. Yet her own jewellery collection is no less impressive; there are many beautiful gems Camilla has inherited from her family and has regularly worn since her marriage to the Prince of Wales.

The Duchess of Cornwall's Pansy Brooches

One of those pieces is a pair of pansy brooches the Duchess has worn pretty regularly since her marriage. As with many pieces from her personal collection, there is no definite information on the provenance of this pair as well, however it is virtually certain to be a family heirloom.

Set in 14k yellow gold, colouration is realized in a palette of deep purple and vivid yellow enamel. The brooches have clear rhinestones all around the edge of each petal, with a single pearl nested in the centre, in a small spot of yellow.