jewelry: Queen Elizabeth II

Showing posts with label Queen Elizabeth II. Show all posts

Which Brooch Did the Queen Wear at the London Olympics?

The queen has to look majestic, whether she’s parachuting from a helicopter into London’s Olympic Stadium or serving as the person to officially open the 2012 London Olympics. Friday night Queen Elizabeth did both (sort of) while wearing a magnificent brooch.

The British Royal Monarchy isn’t talking about the queen’s jewelry selection but from an eyeball account and growing consensus, Queen Elizabeth II wore the King William IV Brooch Friday night. It was seen during her scripted film entrance with the world-famous British detective, James Bond (Daniel Craig), and while in the stands participating in the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

The large, sparkling piece of jewelry (pictured above) is also known as Queen Adelaide’s Brooch, named after the wife of William IV. Created in 1830 or 1831, it consists of six large brilliant cut diamonds a several smaller stones. The gems came from a diamond-studded Badge of the Order of the Bath that had belonged to his father King George III. Queen Victoria wore this brooch and left it to the Crown in 1901.

The Queen also wore a diamond necklace but I’m not venturing a guess as to what it is.

Of course stunt doubles portraying the 86-year-old monarch and Craig were used to do the actual parachute jump into Olympic Stadium.

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Royal Asscher Releases Diamond Jubilee Edition of Stars of Africa Jewelry

The Royal Asscher Diamond Company released a limited edition version of its Stars of Africa jewelry line in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s yearlong Diamond Jubilee celebration.

The “Diamond Jubilee Stars” is based on the same design introduced in 2009 that incorporates a clear half-sphere or full-sphere made of sapphire crystal filled with tiny diamonds. The crystal shells are filled with a clear silicone, which allow the diamonds to float inside the sphere jewelry in the same manner that paper confetti floats inside a snow globe.

The newest collection consists of a ring and pendant made of 18k rose gold. The half-sphere of the ring contains a total of 2.12 carats of white, blue and fancy pink floating diamonds. The full sphere of the pendant contains 4.91 carats of white, blue and fancy pink diamonds. The colors of the diamonds resemble the three colors of The Union Jack, the British National Flag.

The Diamond Jubilee Stars are available in a very exclusive edition of six pieces, each with its own serial number and certificate and are only available at Harrods, London.

There are few in the jewelry and diamond industry that has had as long or as close of a relationship with with the British Monarchy as Royal Asscher. It began in 1908 when the Asscher brothers of Amsterdam cut the biggest diamond in the world: the Cullinan. The Cullinan I (530 carats) was mounted in the head of the Scepter with the Cross. the Cullinan II (317 carats) was mounted in St. Edward's Crown. Both are part of the Royal Crown Jewels and on permanent display in the Tower of London.

On the fourth day of the National Diamond Jubilee celebrations, Queen Elizabeth wore the brooch set with the Cullinan III and IV in front of a worldwide audience on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Jewelry Exhibition

Queen Victoria wears the Coronation Necklace and Earrings and the small diamond crown in an 1890 portrait by Heinrich von Angeli. Photo Credit: The Royal Collection (c) 2011, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The yearlong celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee will hit a crescendo with the special exhibition, “Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration,” which will mark the annual summer opening of the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace.

More than 10,000 diamonds set in works acquired by six British monarchs over three centuries go on display to mark the queen’s 60-year reign. The exhibition runs from June 30 – July 8 and July 31 – October 7 at Buckingham Palace. It includes a number of the queen’s personal jewels and works from the Royal Collection, the art collection of the British Royal Family.

Queen Victoria wears the Coronation Necklace and Earrings and the Small Diamond Crown in an 1890 portrait by Heinrich von Angeli. Photo Credit: The Royal Collection (c) 2011, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The items for the exhibition were chosen for their artistic significance and their historic importance, and for the supreme skill in diamond cutting and mounting they embody, said Caroline de Guitaut, exhibition curator.

“The exhibition shows how over the past three centuries monarchs have used diamonds to display magnificence, whether in personal adornment or as a statement of power,” de Guitaut said. “Each piece demonstrates breathtaking workmanship and extraordinary ingenuity in design.”

Several jewelry pieces—such as the Delhi Durbar Tiara, Queen Victoria’s Fringe Brooch and the Kokoshnik Tiara—are on display for the first time. The exhibition also includes jewelry made from the world’s largest diamond, the Cullinan Diamond, which weighed 3,106 carats as an uncut stone. Pieces containing seven of the nine principal stones cut from the Cullinan Diamond are reunited for the first time. They include the Cullinan III and IV Brooch, worn by the queen for the National Service of Thanksgiving for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, at St Paul’s Cathedral, June 5, 2012.

The exhibition contains several pieces commissioned by Queen Victoria, the only other monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee. They include the Coronation Necklace created for her and subsequently worn by Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother) and Queen Elizabeth. Also on display is the miniature crown worn by Queen Victoria for her official Diamond Jubilee portrait in 1897. The crown’s 1,187 diamonds give it a grandeur that belies its tiny proportions – it measures just 9 x 10cm (3.5 x 4 inches).

Diamonds acquired by previous monarchs continue to play an important role on State and ceremonial occasions. The Diamond Diadem, made for the famously extravagant coronation of George IV in 1821, has been worn by the queen to and from the State Opening of Parliament throughout her reign. Set with 1,333 brilliant-cut diamonds, it is one of Her Majesty’s most widely recognized pieces of jewelry, appearing on British and Commonwealth stamps and also on certain issues of banknotes and coinage.

Among items of the queen’s personal jewelry are a number of pieces marking important events in her life. The South Africa Necklace was presented to the then Princess Elizabeth on her 21st birthday in 1947. The Williamson Brooch incorporates at its center what is considered to be the finest pink diamond ever discovered. The diamond was found in Tanzania in 1947 by the Canadian geologist Dr JT Williamson, who gave the uncut stone to Princess Elizabeth for her wedding in November that year.

To learn more about the jewelry in the pictures follow this link to visit the slide show.

You can also follow this link for a more detailed explanation of the jewelry.

The exhibition also includes historic objects that show the skill and ingenuity with which diamonds have been used in different cultures and traditions. They include the exquisite 18th-century bloodstone box made for King Frederick the Great of Prussia. The box incorporates nearly 3,000 diamonds arranged pictorially to represent flowers, insects and musical instruments. The Jaipur Sword was presented to King Edward VII for his coronation in 1902 by the Maharajah of Jaipur. It is set with 719 diamonds, weighing a total of 2,000 carats.

Laurence Graff Receives Order of the British Empire

Laurence Graff, founder of the one world’s most successful jewelry brands, has received one of the highest honors awarded by the British Monarchy. He has been named to Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honors List, receiving a “Most Excellent Order of the British Empire” for his “Services to Jewelry.”

The OBE recognizes distinguished service to the arts and sciences and public services outside the civil service and work with charitable and welfare organizations.

The 75-year-old chairman of Graff Diamonds began his career in jewelry at the age of 15 working as a jeweler’s apprentice in London’s Hatton Garden. Sixty years later the British-born billionaire leads a global luxury jewelry business with boutiques in UK and Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Also during this time, he has taken ownership of some of the world’s rarest and most precious diamonds and gemstones, including the Wittelsbach-Graff, the Idol’s Eye, the Imperial Blue, the Blue Ice, the Magnificence, the Graff Pink, the Delaire Sunrise, the Graff Constellation, the Flame and the Graff Sweethearts.

“From humble beginnings and a lifetime working in the industry, I am extremely proud to receive such an honor,” Graff said. “I was born to be amongst diamonds, they are my true passion and this passion translates into everything I do.”

A total of 1,180 people were named on the Birthday Honors list, released June 15. The British Honors System is made up of five awards of differing rank. In descending order, they are as follows:

* Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (GBE)
* Knight Commander or Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE or DBE)
* Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)
* Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE)
* Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE)

The highest two ranks entitle its recipient to become a knight or dame.

The awards are presented twice each year in June (Queen’s Birthday Honors) and on New Year’s Eve.

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Queen Elizabeth Wears Tiara and Diamonds at French State Dinner

Queen Elizabeth II with French President Francois Hollande (left)
and her husband Prince Philip.

French President Francois Hollande honored Queen Elizabeth II with a state dinner Friday reportedly attended by seven monarchs and 10 presidents to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. The jewelry worn by the queen at the historic event was appropriate for the grand occasion and nearly as compelling as her words in the speech she gave, which were described by London’s Daily Mail as “forceful and personal.”

Consulting with Buckingham Palace Sunday and verifying that information with two of several blogs that follows the queen’s jewelry preferences, “From Her Majesty’s Jewel Vault,” “The Court Jeweller,” as well as The Royal Collection Trust website and Wikipedia, I was able to get a near complete picture of what she wore.

Described by a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman as “Queen Mary’s Tiara,” I was able to learn that what she wore was “The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara,” which was a wedding present to Queen Mary in 1893 from a committee of girls representing Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the current queen’s favorites, according to several sources.

The queen also wore the “Coronation Necklace” and the matching “Coronation Earrings.” These are substantial diamond jewelry pieces with little adornment. A total of 26 large diamonds make up the necklace with the largest diamond suspended as a pendant. Matching diamond drop earrings make up the set.

Thanks to From Her Majesty’s Jewel Vault,” I was able to identify the brooch on her red sash as the Queen Mother’s ruby and diamond bouquet brooch.

The queen also wore a diamond bracelet, rings and a watch, according to a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman.

In case you're interested, below is a transcript of the speech given by the queen at the dinner:

Monsieur le President, The Duke of Edinburgh and I are delighted to be here this evening on this, our fifth State Visit to your country.

Our first visit together overseas was to France, in 1948: shortly after our wedding, and four years after D-Day.

I recall my own happiness, discovering this beautiful country for myself and for the first time, and developing my own great affection for the French people.

Wherever two or more of our countrymen gather, there one finds the unique mixture of friendship, good-humoured rivalry and admiration that is the essence of Anglo-French relations.

But tonight, stirred by the day’s commemorations, we are also filled with other emotions:

With sorrow and regret, remembering the loss of so many fine young soldiers, sailors and airmen;

With pride, at the sheer courage of the men who stormed those beaches, embodied in the veterans among us;

And with thankfulness, knowing that today our nations are free and sovereign because allied forces liberated this continent from occupation and tyranny.

Knitted together by common experiences of struggle, sacrifice and reconciliation, we remember those times in a way that strengthens unity and understanding between us.

In that spirit, I venture three observations:

The first is that the true measure of all our actions is how long the good in them lasts.

Each year has compounded in Europe the benefits of our victory in the Second World War, since it enabled our subsequent successes and our achievements. Seen in that light, those heroic deeds will stand out as much in 700 years as they do after 70.

In an age of instant news and instantaneous judgment, it reminds us that we should weigh our actions not by immediate acclaim, but by their benefit for future generations.

This leads me to my second observation, which is that everything we do, we do for the young.

Since my last State Visit I have had the joy of becoming a great-grandmother.

The hopes and innate potential of young people are the same in all nations and on all continents.

The decisions we make should always be designed to enlarge their horizons and enrich their future, from caring for our environment to preventing conflict.

Our peace and prosperity can never be taken for granted and must constantly be tended, so that never again do we have cause to build monuments to our fallen youth.

My third observation is that our two nations, Britain and France, have a particular role to play in this effort.

We are two of the trustees of international peace and security, and we are both ready and equipped to aid those threatened by poverty or conflict.

We are famously proud of that which is particular to each of our peoples, and rejoice in our cultural differences.

But there is also great inspiration to be found in what we represent together:

Two democracies who have faced grave perils and emerged stronger together.

And two of the world’s most successful economies, working together on the technologies of the future, and making a vast contribution to the development of other nations.

All this rests on the efforts of thousands of people who have made the Channel not a dividing line but a trait d’union.

It gives immense confidence in the future of relations between us.

Monsieur le President, Ladies and Gentlemen, I pay tribute to the nation of France, as Kipling wrote:

“First to follow Truth and last to leave old Truths behind – France, beloved of every soul that loves its fellow-kind!”

And I ask you to join me in a toast to the French Republic, to the President and to the people of France.

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Graff Diamonds Receives Queen’s Award For Enterprise

The Graff Diamonds store inside the fine jewelry room at Harrods.

For the fifth time in its history, Graff Diamonds has received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise, considered by many to be the highest accolade for a British company.

Graff Diamonds is one of the world’s top luxury jewelry and diamond retailers founded in 1960 by Laurence Graff, who still owns the company. The global firm has been recognized by the queen for its sustained increase in international operations over the past three years. It was one of more than 100 British companies to receive the award this year.

“Currently our portfolio incorporates 45 flagship stores spread globally and we plan to continue to expand our network through 2014 and beyond,” said Francois Graff, Graff Diamonds CEO. “We are extremely proud of our British heritage and whilst our global headcount is in excess of 600, our international headquarters, design studios and workshops are proudly located in the heart of London.”

The Queen’s Award for International Trade is granted on the advice of the Prime Minister, following a thorough examination of each application by an Advisory Committee composed of leading representatives from industry,

The awards are conferred by Queen Elizabeth II each year on April 21, her birthday.

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