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.

Swedish Royal Jewels: The Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure

This neo-classical sapphire and diamond parure has to be one of the most beautiful works of jewellery craftsmanship ever. From the design to the rich colour of the sapphires – it is quite simply perfection. Not to mention, it is also one of the most complete parures out there.

The Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure

The original parure consisted of a tiara, necklace, earrings, brooch and four hairpins. At some point, the original earrings were separated from the set, and so Queen Louise had two of the earrings converted into a pair of earrings. 

To learn about each individual element of the parure, as well as its history and provenance, read on.