WEDDING FLOWERS: Calendar of Jewels
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Showing posts with label Calendar of Jewels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Calendar of Jewels. Show all posts

Citrines for November: Luxembourg


Sparkling in citrines - Stephanie of Luxembourg in a very unusual tiara
(photo By Frankie Fouganthin - Own workCC BY-SA 3.0, via Wiki Commons)

November has two birthstones but finding royal jewels featuring either citrine or topaz is a bit of an ask. These two jewels come in stunning colours but they aren't favourites in the jewellery boxes of the ruling houses of Europe right now. However, there is one rather striking tiara featuring citrines which you can't fail not to notice. Welcome to Citrines for November.


Citrines are said to take their colour from the sun and these stones are filled with warmth. Their yellow/ orange hue is unmistakable and it's the first thing you notice about the tiara from Luxembourg that stars this stone.



The citrines, round and oval, are set amongst semi cirlces of pearls in a bandeau tiara. The shape, style and mix of stones is very unusual and somehow works. The fact that there's a matching necklace and earrings helps - mixing this diadem with other diamonds would be difficult. 



It's been worn intermittently by the royal ladies of Luxembourg although its exact provenance isn't known. In recent years, it got a starring role at one of the royal weddings of the decade when Hereditary Duchess Stephanie wore it to the marriage of Princess Madeleine in 2013. It's not a huge favourite with the Luxembourg royals but it still has its moments. And while it's not the easiest piece to wear, it's still an intriguing addition to the royal jewel box of Europe.

There are more pearls for June here.

Sapphires for September: the Netherlands


Queen Maxima of the Netherlands in the sapphire tiara of her royal house on the day her husband ascended the throne
(photo koninklijkhuis.nl)


Sapphires are stunning and the regal blue of the deepest stone has made them a favourite for royals for centuries. The modern royal families of Europe possess some pretty cracking tiaras set with sapphires and among the most striking is the one that belongs to Dutch ruling house. The sapphire tiara of the Netherlands is among the most photographed of recent times after Queen Maxima chose to wear it on the day her husband became monarch. But that historic appearance was just the latest chapter in the tale of this diadem. Here are more sapphires for September.


  



The sapphire tiara worn on April 30th 2013 by Maxima as her husband became the first King of the Netherlands in over a century had made its way into the royal jewellery box via the last woman to hold the title of queen consort in the country, King Willem III bought this sapphire selection for his second wife, Queen Emma, two years into their marriage and not long after they had welcomed their only child together, Wilhelmina.

  


It began life in 1881 as an arc of diamonds (over 650 of them in total) rising above a neat row of huge sapphires and ending with a sparkling three pronged spray reminiscent of a fleur de lys. When Maxima wore it for her husband's accession she had the top altered leaving a more modern design that arcs more gently with the round stones building to a much more gradual point.






This is a tiara fit for a queen with Beatrix using it for some of the biggest events in her reign as well as for state visits. It's been seen on Maxima, Beatrix and her mother Juliana keeping up the queenly beginnings of a tiara bought for a young consort at the end of the 19th century.



It's become a popular piece for Queen Maxima who wore it in its traditional setting for a State Banquest in Copenhagen in 2015. And given that the Dutch Royal House also owns a stunning set of sapphire jewels to complement it, this tiara has a regal air and then some every time it's worn. Let's be glad Maxima loves it so much - these sapphires for September are worth a second glance over and over again.

Steel for August: Sweden's Steel Stash



August has spinel and peridot as its birth stones and although we'll end the month with a look at some regal examples of those stones, there aren't enough to fill a whole four weeks of sparkly wonder. So this summer, we're taking a look at some of the tiaras that just don't fit anywhere else in the calendar of jewels including some of those made mainly of metal. Yes, metal. We've had a look at some of the golden additions to the modern European sparkle stash and now it's time to get really, well, metally, and start on the steel. Sweden has two tiaras made of the stuff and they're both rather pretty. Here's a sparkle fest you weren't expecting, Steel for August.


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The biggest and, in my opinion, best of the metal tiaras currently doing the round in Europe is the Cut Steel version seen in Sweden. This is a favourite right now of Crown Princess Victoria and on her head, sparkling away at major events, you would never guess that this diadem is a diamond free zone.




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The Cut Steel Tiara does what it says on the tin, all puns intended. It's made of steel, cut and polished to sparkle like a jewel encrusted diadem. The material was popular in the early 18th century for women who couldn't afford the diamonds and friends spectaculars that usually constitute tiaras and found a great vogue in the Napoleonic era which is where this beauty began its royal journey.




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It first belonged to Queen Hortense of Holland, the only daughter of the Empress Josephine by her first marriage. Mummy's second hubby was, of course, Napoleon. He arranged a marriage between his brother, Louis, and Hortense and then went on to make them King and Queen of Holland. Hortense gave it to her niece, Josephine of Leuchtenberg, who ended up Queen of Sweden through her marriage to Oscar I who was the son of another of Napoleon's loves. This tiara comes with a backdrop that would put a romantic novel to shame.



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But for all its evocation of empire, it became a sleeping partner in the rather impressive Swedish royal jewellery box - perhaps because the family have such a cracking set of sparklers to choose from. However, in 1979 it twinkled back into sight when Queen Silvia wore it on a State Visit having apparently found it while having a good old rummage at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. It only goes to prove that there can be advantages to housework.



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Since then it's become a bit of a favourite and is most often seen on Crown Princess Victoria. It's central feature is a plume of feathers, surrounded by oak leaves and acorns atop a row of cut steel flowers. There's a bit of brass in there to add colour and the end result is a terrific tiara with plenty of originality.  But why stop at one steel tiara when you can have two? The Swedish Royal Family also owns a smaller, bandeau style diadem which has been worn by Victoria and Princess Sofia. It, too, first belonged to Hortense and spent over a century hidden away.



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It's much simpler, made up of a lattice of cut steel topped with a row of little studs that can't help but sparkle whichever way they move. It's pretty if slightly underwhelming, a tiara for a rainy day if ever there was one.




Embed from Getty Images 



Steel doesn't feature in other royal collections, making these two tiaras unique but all the more interesting for that. And in the case of the biggie, it's become so much of a go to for Victoria that it's even been featured on stamps. It's an emblem of this popular royal, another layer of history for a tiara with a special regal story of its own.

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