Duchess of Cambridge Jewellery 2: December 2011 - December 2015

[Lmarch]

Elegant, respectful, understated and beautiful. The event was not about showing off the bling nor is it a tiara event. She's not an ostentacious person and she did not try to make the event about her or draw attention to herself by wearing her hair up to show off the jewelry. She wore it respectfully and appropriately. She's was flawless.

 

[Empress Merel]

I really like the necklace, I just have to pretend there's no flowers on it.

 

[Baroness of Books]

But I would rather see it a tiara on the Duchess. With that wonderful hair - with a wonderful hair-do - that necklace would look fantastic on her.

I think converted to a tiara this would have almost a modern fringe look. But I don't know if I'd like to see those little ruby florettes as the focal point of a tiara. It would be nice if those clusters could be interchangeable with another stone or design.

 

[Princess of Durham]

Elegant, respectful, understated and beautiful. The event was not about showing off the bling nor is it a tiara event. She's not an ostentacious person and she did not try to make the event about her or draw attention to herself by wearing her hair up to show off the jewelry. She wore it respectfully and appropriately. She's was flawless.

I must agree, perfectly done, IMO.

 

[Mirabel]

I like the set; it's youthful and charming.

According to the Telegraph, the necklace was given by a family friend, and the matching earrings and bracelet by another family friend. This makes me wonder if the givers were from the same family, such as the Van Cutsem brothers?

I'm also wondering if Kate will have rubies as her signature jewel, the way Diana had sapphires.

Also, George VI always gave his daughters gems, and it was always sapphires for Elizabeth and rubies for Margaret.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Now I'm wondering if there's a matching pair of earrings to the necklace and bracelet.

 

[Frelinghighness]

do we know who the designer is?

 

[JennahPc]

Show us more of the wedding gifts!

With those beautiful green eyes I really hope that some of those wedding gifts contain emeralds.

 

[Frelinghighness]

With those beautiful green eyes I really hope that some of those wedding gifts contain emeralds.

Funny, I was just thinking since her name is Cambridge, the Cambridge emeralds!

 

[JennahPc]

According to the Telegraph, the necklace was given by a family friend, and the matching earrings ...and bracelet by another family friend...

Is it possible that they may have come from the same source as the Duchess of Cornwall's ruby and diamond collar/necklace?

Dumb question and I am sure that the answer is in another thread but how is a necklace converted to a tiara? Is it affixed to the metal frame?
.

 

[Sunnystar]

Are we positive they are rubies? Garnets come in various shades, though usually darker, but sometimes in pinks. And garnet is her birthstone.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Is it possible that they may have come from the same source as the Duchess of Cornwall's ruby and diamond collar/necklace?

That's probably unlikely since Camilla's huge collar necklace with the cascading diamonds and rubies came from the Saudi Arabian royal family who normally give pieces with huge stones. The stones in Kate's necklace are much smaller. And if the report is to be believed, a family friend gave the jewelry to Kate.

 

[4Pam]

Maybe it's from Earl Spencer. I doubt it's from the Saudi royals though. It's not "bling-y" enough. But it's kind of hard to rule them out also.

 

[jemagre]

Im not a fan of the necklace at all, looks childish to me with the look of shooting stars/flowers. IMO, would be much more nicer if the flowers weren't made up of several rubies but one single ruby. Its nice to see her go for something new something modern but this is not a nice set.

Moreover, with such a necklace, Kate should be wearing her hair up, with hair down and covering most of the necklace, she might as well have not worn it.

That was my thought as well. (childish) Far away it looks better, up close it lacks a certain amount of sparkle. Is it real or paste? Then again depending on the cut of the diamonds some sparkle more than others so perhaps these have a dull finish? The bracelet looks very similar to the one she wore with the purple dress just with "rubies" added. I am also not certain about them being rubies then again cut is everything.

 

[HRHHermione]

I'm sure it's real- the palace confirmed that it was a wedding gift from a family friend, and I doubt someone would have given her paste jewels as a wedding present.

 

[Warren]

Are we positive they are rubies?

Quote from the (more reliable than most) Telegraph.uk:
"Accessorised with a ruby and diamond necklace and bracelet given to her as a wedding present by a family friend...".

...how is a necklace converted to a tiara? Is it affixed to the metal frame?

Yes, indeed, but metal as in 'precious'; the necklace is clipped or screwed into the frame.
The jewellers Van Cleef & Arpels produced a short video on the making of the versatile Océan tiara/necklace, commissioned by Prince Albert of Monaco.
At the 2.40 mark you can see how it is attached to the frame.

> VC&A video (post #102 of the Princess of Monaco Jewellery thread)
.

 

[dazzling]

I think converted to a tiara this would have almost a modern fringe look. But I don't know if I'd like to see those little ruby florettes as the focal point of a tiara. It would be nice if those clusters could be interchangeable with another stone or design.

If this was to be converted to a tiara it would look rather childish with flowers sticking out. Its a modern piece but its not a piece that will last long regarding style/design.

 

[MARG]

I think it is a beautiful and delicate set that will stand the test of time. It is not jewellery on the grand scale, it is serious jewellery that can be worn on those occasions that do not call for the formal tiara's and diamond earrings, bracelet's, etc. that state occasions demand.

 

[Baroness of Books]

If this was to be converted to a tiara it would look rather childish with flowers sticking out. Its a modern piece but its not a piece that will last long regarding style/design.

I think this would look better as a necklace rather than a tiara.

 

[countess felicitas]

I am still not decided on this set. At first glance it looked like costume jewelry to me - if this is real jewelry it is still a little bit vague - modern but not very expressive - pure diamonds would be ok. I think I don't like the rubies - but this is personal taste of course. Overall I liked her look that evening - the black dress was very stylish.

 

[Baroness of Books]

So what do you think? Are these new earrings the Duchess is wearing at Christmas Day service? They look like a clear stone:

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/25/article-2078446-0F4580F100000578-35_634x545.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/25/article-2078446-0F45817900000578-1_634x639.jpg

Looking at the second photo, you can see that the dangling jewel slides onto the hoop portion so apparently this can be interchangeable.

 

[life84]

Beautiful earrings, I really like them, they are so simple.

 

[Daria_S]

I really love Catherine's Christmas Day earrings. Classy and elegant, just like her

 

[Tilla]

Oh, my goodness, how elegant is her hat!

 

[Marika86]

Kate Middleton dazzles in £1,900 gold drop earrings | Mail Online

 

[Baroness of Books]

Wow; for that kind of money I'd expect the center stone to be the diamond, but I have a feeling it's the citrine.

 

[PrincessKaimi]

I really like her hat, too. It's whimsical without being silly. I also like that she's brave enough to go tonal and not be all matchy-matchy. She actually looks like she's developing a sense of fun in her fashion, which is very good thing.

 

[annaelfka]

Hello. I'm new to Royal forums, but I have been foloowing Duchess of Cambridge jewelry for quite some time now.
It happens to be, I ID those earrings, over at WKW Facebook community, but Daily Mail got my info wrong, they are by Kiki McDonough, but they are with green amethyst not citrine.
I did close-ups at my site, here:
Kate's UFO jewelry | Facebook

 

[Baroness of Books]

Welcome to the forums, and thank you for the clarification about the stone and the link to your site. I saw in your closeups that the hoops are encrusted with diamonds that also encircle the larger stones. So you're saying that these are green amethysts that Kate is wearing, then, and not citrine.

 

[ladongas]

Citrine is a stone that also can be a pale green.