Queen Elizabeth II: Tiaras, Necklaces etc 2: Nov 2007-Dec 2015

[muriel]

HM wore her "minor" emeralds in Edinburgh today, for the Order of the Thistle service.

If I recall correctly, these were last used for the return dinner the Obama's hosted at Winfield House when they visited London in 2011.


Queen Elizabeth II And Prince Philip Duke Of Edinburgh

 

[AdmirerUS]

Emeralds, may I say, finally! I do like pear shaped stones, as well.

 

[MichelleQ2]

As her major diamonds are on display back in London, it seems we are benefitting from HM having to dig a little deeper into the Royal jewelry vault.

 

[Artemisia]

Seeing one (or in this case, nine) of the Cambridge emeralds is always a pleasure, not to mention a Cullinan diamond (even one of the smaller ones).
I absolutely love every element of the Delhi Durbar parure, this necklace included.

Here is a huge picture of the necklace which showcases every stone in all their glory.

 

[Baroness of Books]

The Delhi Durbar emerald necklace is seriously magnificent, one I always love to see on HM. The design and those dangling gems are just exceptional!

 

[Krisotter]

Seeing one (or in this case, nine) of the Cambridge emeralds is always a pleasure.
I absolutely love every element of the Delhi Durbar parure, this necklace included.

Here is a huge picture of the necklace which showcases every stone in all their glory.

wait, in the picture above, HM's necklace appears to be pearls with multiple emerald drop pendants. Is this an alternative setting?

 

[ldmemail]

wait, in the picture above, HM's necklace appears to be pearls with multiple emerald drop pendants. Is this an alternative setting?

No, there are only diamonds in the Delhi Durbar / Cambridge Emeralds Parure!

 

[Artemisia]

wait, in the picture above, HM's necklace appears to be pearls with multiple emerald drop pendants. Is this an alternative setting?

No pearls - just diamonds and emeralds.
Have a look at this picture; every stone is visible, so you can see there are no pearls in this necklace.

You can read about the history of the necklace here.

 

[Krisotter]

Then, looking at the picture Muriel posted above, HM wasn't wearing this necklace from the Delhi Durbar parure. It's lovely to have a picture from before the robes were put on for the second part of the day.

 

[Baroness of Books]

No, she wore her "minor" emerald necklace as Muriel described. And her are her "minor" emerald earrings that match it! But it is nice to see different jewels we haven't seen for awhile being trotted out because of the exhibition.

 

[Artemisia]

My sincere apologies for the confusion; I saw emeralds and immediately thought of the Delhi Durbar necklace.
Krisotter and Baroness of Books are absolutely correct; the necklace Her Majesty wore today is of course not the Delhi Durbar one.

The Queen wore the Emerald and Gold necklace.
Teardrop emeralds (presumably, Cambridge emeralds) have been set in the knot diamond encrusted yellow gold necklace with matching earrings.

Her Majesty has worn this necklace only handful of times. In fact, on top of my head I can only think of one occasion, when she paired the necklace and the earrings with the Vladimir Tiara set with emeralds (the picture attached). She also has a very similar sapphire necklace (second picture attached).

Cropped from larger images and constitute 20% of the originals.

 

[padams2359]

How many carets are the smaller diamonds in the DD emerald necklace?

 

[muriel]

The Queen wore the Emerald and Gold necklace.
Teardrop emeralds (presumably, Cambridge emeralds) have been set in the knot diamond encrusted yellow gold necklace with matching earrings.


Cropped from larger images and constitute 20% of the originals.

The origins of this demi-parure and the emeralds it contains is less than clear. It is a modern deisgn and I understand it first appeared in the 1980s, or perhaps even later. I would be surprised if the emeralds were part of the Cambridge emeralds.

Her Majesty has worn this necklace only handful of times. In fact, on top of my head I can only think of one occasion, when she paired the necklace and the earrings with the Vladimir Tiara set with emeralds (the picture attached).
Cropped from larger images and constitute 20% of the originals.

I agree, this necklace has hardly been used. In fact, it has been a while that HM has used either the Delhi Durbar emerald necklace or the GDV tiara with the emeralds. Perhaps she is not a fan a emeralds these days.

 

[Artemisia]

The most accepted version of the origin of the two demi-parure sets (the emerald and the sapphire ones) is that they were a gift from one of the Arab Royal Families.
However, the emeralds might have well been substituted with Cambridge ones because they do look a lot like the Cambridge emeralds in the Delhi Durbar set.

 

[Boris]

However, the emeralds might have well been substituted with Cambridge ones because they do look a lot like the Cambridge emeralds in the Delhi Durbar set.

No, the emeralds in the modern set have certainly not been substituted by any of the Cambridge emeralds.
The necklace is still in its original form as it was seen several years ago, and the Cambridge emeralds are afaik all larger in size and shaped differently.

As the setting and design of the modern set is very typical of the style used in jewelry gifts from Arab countries, this is most likely the source indeed.
It would be interesting to research if this set - like many others - was worn for the first time at a return dinner during a state visit, since this occasion usually indicates who gifted a newly worn jewel.

EDIT:
According to Baxter and Boffer from the Royal Jewels MB, this set was first worn by The Queen to the return banquet hosted by Sheikh Zayed of the United Arab Emirates when he paid a State Visit to Britain in 1989.
Therefore, it was in all probability a gift from the UAE on that occasion.

 

[muriel]

The most accepted version of the origin of the two demi-parure sets (the emerald and the sapphire ones) is that they were a gift from one of the Arab Royal Families.
However, the emeralds might have well been substituted with Cambridge ones because they do look a lot like the Cambridge emeralds in the Delhi Durbar set.

No, the emeralds in the modern set have certainly not been substituted by any of the Cambridge emeralds.
The necklace is still in its original form as it was seen several years ago, and the Cambridge emeralds are afaik all larger in size and shaped differently.

As the setting and design of the modern set is very typical of the style used in jewelry gifts from Arab countries, this is most likely the source indeed.
It would be interesting to research if this set - like many others - was worn for the first time at a return dinner during a state visit, since this occasion usually indicates who gifted a newly worn jewel.

EDIT:
According to Baxter and Boffer from the Royal Jewels MB, this set was first worn by The Queen to the return banquet hosted by Sheikh Zayed of the United Arab Emirates when he paid a State Visit to Britain in 1989.
Therefore, it was in all probability a gift from the UAE on that occasion.

I maintain (and agree with Boris) that the emeralds do not appear to be Cambridge emeralds at all, neither in size or colouring.

As to whether they were a gift from a Middle Eastern state, we are unlikely to see confirmation of that. Often when modern jewellery is seen on the BRF (or any other European royal family for that matter), it is often ascribed by forum members to Middle Eastern states. This may or may not be true.

 

[Boris]

As to whether they were a gift from a Middle Eastern state, we are unlikely to see confirmation of that. Often when modern jewellery is seen on the BRF (or any other European royal family for that matter), it is often ascribed by forum members to Middle Eastern states. This may or may not be true.

QE II has actually long been in the habit of wearing jewelry which was gifted to her during a state visit for the return dinner/function of this state visit - see the major Saudi Arabian diamond necklaces, for example.
Along with the fact that in terms of the setting and style used, the emerald suite points very much towards a Middle Eastern gift, the assumption that this set came from the UAE is most likely correct, IMHO.

 

[Artemisia]

I do not disagree with you and Boris, muriel.
Just thought the emeralds might have been some of the smaller Cambridge emeralds.
Then again, the ones in the earring match to those in the necklace, so probably they came from the same source - and it's very unlikely to be Cambridge ones.

The two demi-parures do look a lot like Saudi designs, so I'd say rumours of their origin are pretty accurate. Of course, that's never going to be officially confirmed.

 

[Warren]

As Boris has posted, the emerald necklace is commonly accepted as being a gift from Sheikh Zayed, President of the UAE, in 1989.
The sapphire necklace of similar style was worn in 2007 during the visit of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia which (strongly) suggests it is a gift from a senior member of the House of Saud.

 

[cepe]

Link to site dedicated the HMQ's jewellery

From Her Majesty's Jewel Vault

 

[EIIR]

On today's episode of 'This Morning' there was a segment on diamonds. They showed some really lovely footage of some of the Queen's diamonds on display at BP for the Diamond Jubilee. They also brought in some random jewellery that's currently for sale.

Nothing here that we haven't seen before, but some of the footage of the Coronation necklace, for example, is just breathtaking. I hope it's viewable outside the UK. The segment is here:

Queen's Jubilee diamonds | Style & Beauty - ITV This Morning

 

[Baroness of Books]

No, the video isn't viewable since you have to be in the UK, according to the disclaimer, but I think I've seen photos of the BP exhibition with that magnificent display.

 

[padams2359]

British Royal Jewel Storage

We are always commenting of the jewelry that we see, but what about when we don't see them? I am pretty sure that every piece has a custom made case for storage when the queen travels, but what about when she is at BP or Windsor? Do you all think they are stored in the cases for dust protection, etc.? Or is there a room with glass cases (bullet proof or not) where there is some fantastic lighting that really shows off the pieces as selections are made by her, or someone on her staff? I have never heard anything more than that the jewels were moved to Windsor during WW2. I am not referring to the State Jewels, just the personal ones.

 

[Lumutqueen]

I imagine the royal jewels are kept at a palace, potentially under guard or just lock and key, and when Her Majesty wants a tiara or a set of jewels it's brought out.

Diamonds: The Jubilee collection is on display at Buckingham Palace it is the biggest display of the entire collection we've ever seen.

 

[branchg]

At Buckingham Palace, there is a vault in the apartments which only The Queen and her personal dresser have the combination to that holds most of her jewels. Each royal residence reportedly has a similar vault.

In the basement of BP is a much larger strongroom vault which stores all the family's jewels going back to George III.

 

[Grandduchess24]

Although the jewels are of the queen's does she need to sign a paper in order to borrow or are the jewels at her disposal?

 

[Lumutqueen]

Although the jewels are of the queen's does she need to sign a paper in order to borrow or are the jewels at her disposal?

Not all of the jewels belong to The Queen, but seeing as they are kept at her residences, I doubt she needs any paper to borrow.

 

[branchg]

Not all of the jewels belong to The Queen, but seeing as they are kept at her residences, I doubt she needs any paper to borrow.

The vast majority of the jewels are The Queen's personal property. The state pieces, like the Imperial State Crown, are not kept in her vault, although the State Crown is brought to her a few days before she opens Parliament. According to Paul Burrell, she wears it a few hours at night before bedtime to get used to the weight!

 

[Lumutqueen]

The vast majority of the jewels are The Queen's personal property. The state pieces, like the Imperial State Crown, are not kept in her vault, although the State Crown is brought to her a few days before she opens Parliament. According to Paul Burrell, she wears it a few hours at night before bedtime to get used to the weight!

Indeed I know that. The Crown Jewels, as everyone knows, are kept at The Tower of London and as they cannot be removed from the UK, The Queen wears other jewels abroad.

Her personal collection listed on wikipedia, I believe a few things are missing, I'm pretty sure certain things aren't owned by HM but are even on loan to her.
The Personal Jewel Collection of Elizabeth II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Artemisia]

"A few" missing jewels from the Wikipedia list is a serious underestimation. On top of my head, I can think of dozens of important, impressive pieces that are omitted: her personal brooch collection alone is well above 100 - and that's just the ones she has worn in the last decade or two.

Wikipedia's article includes just the better known and more important pieces but I'd say they don't compromise even 5% of the Queen's private jewellery collection (I obviously mean the jewels that I personally am aware of, although there can be many more somewhere in the vaults or jewellery boxes).