UPDATED to add a few more photos!
Welcome to the glittery details section of last night’s Dutch party! Take a look at Part One to focus more on the clothing.
Our guest author today is our kind friend over at dutchroyaljewels. Give them a follow over on Instagram and always have fabulous photos and detailed history of all the Dutch sparkles at your fingertips! Once again, thanks to Gert-Jan de Wit of (and on Twitter) for his generosity.
Your guest author awaits…please do give them a follow on Instagram and welcome them to our little space here on the internet!
Queen Maxima’s Antique Pearl Tiara is sometimes called the Pavlovnik pearl tiara, because Anna Pavlovna, the queen consort of Willem II of the Netherlands, once had a tiara quite a lot like it. This tiara, which was made in 1900, was designed to mimic the shape of the original Pavlovnik tiara. The pearls were mounted on a base with diamond garlands and fleur-de-lys. Note that the tiara can be worn without the pearls. The large, pear-shaped pearls that sit upright in the tiara (at least four) are even older than the piece itself (1646)– the biggest one is weighs over 41 carats! They belonged to Amalia van Solms, a seventeenth-century Dutch princess who shares her name with Máxima’s eldest daughter, Catharina-Amalia. Queen Wilhelmina was the first wearer of this tiara, and it has been worn by all Dutch queens since then. Queen Juliana inherited the piece from her mother in 1962. She placed the tiara in the family’s jewel foundation, ensuring that all future queens of the Netherlands will also be able to wear it.
The diamond and pearl devant de corsage belonged probably to the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna, mother of Queen Anna Pavlovna of the Netherlands and grandmother of Queen Sophie (first wife of King Willem III). Sophie inherited this jewel from her mother Grand-Duchess Catharina Pavlovna. (Queen of Württemberg). The jewel consists of a diamond open work or lace work bow containing five cushion cut pink diamonds, from which are suspended a pearl and two tassels with pearls with in between a small diamond bow. Queens Wilhelmina, Juliana, Beatrix and Maxima all wore this stunning piece in different versions. The full version , the version without the pendant, but with the three drop pearls or with the three diamonds directly hanging from the bow and the version with the shortened pendant with the pear shaped pearls, which Max wore last night.
Princess Margriet wore her favorite and bridal tiara, the Pearl Button tiara. This tiara is made of five pearl and diamond buttons placed on a diamond base. The buttons are sometimes referred to as “floral” in design, and indeed, the diamond design surrounding each large pearl does resemble the petals of a flower. These button elements started out as brooches, worn in the nineteenth century by Queen Sophie, first wife of King Willem III. Some have argued wrongly that the festoon base of the tiara was originally part of a coronet also owned by Queen Sophie, but the tiara as we know it today was not worn in public until the middle of the twentieth century. In 1965, the five brooches and a newly created base were used to make a new tiara. It was first worn by Queen Juliana in the same year. Queen Beatrix choose this tiara for her inauguration. Queen Máxima has worn both the star and pearl versions of the tiara.
Oma is wearing her favorite tiara also…King Willem III of the Netherlands ordered this diamond tiara for his wife, Queen Emma, who had chosen it from a selection of designs presented by the Royal Kempen & Begeer. But recently the Dutch royal jewel specialist, Edwin Fellner discovered the real origins of this tiara in the archives of Kempen, Begeer & Vos. The original design was made by Jac. Vos & Co. This jeweler from Rotterdam also created the tiara in his role as subcontractor. By the time the tiara was ready in 1890, the King had passed away. But the tiara was indeed used by his wife, by their daughter Queen Wilhelmina, and now by Wilhelmina’s granddaughters and great-granddaughters-in-law. The tiara features three central clusters of diamonds, each featuring a large center stone surrounded by eight slightly smaller stones. Each cluster is surrounded by a scrolled diamond frame, and more diamond collets decorate the tiara between the central elements and along the frame. It was originally designed to be worn with or without up to five of the diamond stars Queen Emma received as wedding gifts on the very top.
What is your favorite piece of jewelry worn by the Dutch ladies to this event? Would you like to know more about any of these pieces? Do you think other items from the Dutch vault would have been a better choice? Tell us what you think!
UPDATE: Check out our friend’s article at ModekoninginMaxima.nl–a great site to follow!