Tuesday 29 November 2016

State Dinner Sparklers: Dutch Diamonds...and rubies


Maxima rocks the rubies during the State Dinner for the King and Queen of the Belgians 
(photo koninklijkhuis Facebook)

We didn't get just one tiara from the Dutch royal jewellery box as the gala dinner for the Belgian State Visit got under way. We got four. That's right, count them. A quartet of cracking collections of gems. These diadems were mostly diamonds but amidst all that pure sparkle was the fire of some of the most famous royal rubies in Europe right now. Welcome to a stand out set of State Dinner Sparklers.




Queen Maxima chose one of her favourite tiaras for this big event. wearing the ruby diadem created for Queen Emma in 1890.  Commissioned by her husband. King Wilhelm III and made by Mellerio, it features a large scroll in the centre with two smaller scrolls on either side. The rubies are used discreetly but dominate nonetheless. This is a tiara fit for a queen.




Princess Beatrix kept it simple, if a line of huge diamonds can be considered simple. The Diamond Bandeau Tiara was made for Beatrix's mother, Juliana, with stones given to Queen Emma for her wedding - there's a theme emerging here. They are big, beautiful stones and set in a sleek line to show off their sparkle in all their glory.



Princess Laurentien, on the other hand, was going nowhere near simple and opted for another piece belonging originally to Queen Emma. This has been a State Dinner staple in recent times as Queen Maxima took it to New Zealand for her State Visit earlier this month. This diadem is a diamond extravaganza with a band on stones supporting a set of three scrolls, all made of gems, which then fan out into a line of single set diamonds. This one is truly spectacular.


Princess Margriet chose a tiara that was first influenced by Queen Sophie but don't worry, Emma gets a look in too. The Button Tiara features a band of diamonds with a row of more sparklers rising to five peaks which are worn with pearl buttons on top of them. Margriet wore this for her wedding, her sister, Beatrix, chose it for inauguration as Queen of the Netherlands and when Maxima married Willem-Alexander in 2002, she wore this tiara but with her own twist. She swapped the pearl buttons for five stars made of diamonds - and originally belonging to Queen Emma. The last woman to be queen consort of the Netherlands before Maxima certainly made her sparkling mark on this State Dinner.


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