Queen Mathilde Jewellery 1: Ending 2021


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I only know that Belgium has great jewellers, that Antwerp is important in diamonds, that King Philippe is not short on cash, so he must be able to buy nice items. Jewels are not arch expensive, in comparison with helicopters or motor yachts.
 
Plenty of Belgian Royal Jewels of the past have gone on sale but the Belgian kings prefer to splash out on yachts/helicopters instead historic pieces associated with the RF .
 
Indeed. But I would have thought that, in any case, they would have bought a few more pieces in recent years. For example, a good "work horse" diamond necklace (to supplement the Wolfers), and a few other critical bits.

I don’t think Mathilde is in need of another convertible necklace tiara . What she needs is a proper diadem to wear as an alternative to the Nine Provinces.

That wouldn’t be necessary if either Queen Elisabeth’s Cartier tiara, Queen Marie Jose's Fabergé tiara , or even Queen Elisabeth’s ( now Queen Paola’s) Art Deco bandeau were available to Mathilde. Unfortunately none of them are .

Two proper diadems ( the Nine Provinces plus another one) and two convertible necklaces should be enough for Mathilde’s needs. The large tiara collections seen in other European countries are of historical significance , but unnecessary for modern, frugal monarchies .
 
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The Cartier tiara of Queen Elisabeth is now owned by Cartier and they use it as one to the center pieces of their frequent expositions. They won't part with it easily, and I dare say that the price would be enormous. The Fabergé tiara would also be horrendously expensive, if it were to appear on the market again. We must accept that these jewels are gone.
 
Princess Lillian sold that off didn't she in the late 1980's ,what a shame such an iconic piece of jewelry is no longer with them and now they have such a paltry jewel collection.
 
Princess Lillian sold that off didn't she in the late 1980's ,what a shame such an iconic piece of jewelry is no longer with them and now they have such a paltry jewel collection.

King Léopold left the diadem to his wife, by testament. It was hers.

Already during Léopold's life the family was in dire need of money. The diadem was purchased by Lilian's brother-in-law, monsieur Jean-Paul Cartier (yes, the jeweller himself), to give some relief to the financial situation.

Possibly there was little left as already lots what was in Argenteuil was sold off in decades, as the former King was apparently not sufficiently enough financed since the abdication. The same counts for Prince Charles, the King's brother, whom equally struggled financially.

Apparently Princess Lilian's stepson King Baudouin did not help out with the diadem. So her brother-in-law saw his chance. It is difficult to blame Lilian. Probably we would have done the same when bailiffs are knocking on the door.
 
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Lovely evening look with earrings and tiara. Daytime,could have used a brooch
 
I think Mathilde knocked both her day and evening looks straight out of the ballpark. ?

The gold evening gown doesn't need or require a great deal of jewelry, imo.
 

I like the evening dress and overall outfit - I think she has hit it perfectly. for the daytime - I am really missing a little bit of bling on her. Only the earrings are not enough for me - even with the glittery border on her dress. She could have pinned her waterfall brooch on - I think this would have shown nicely :whistling::whistling:
 
I'm not often on this thread so I don't know if this has been asked before but do we know what happened to Fabiola's jewels? Every time a big tiara event comes up I hold my breath hoping that Queen Mathilde will appear in QF's Spanish tia|ra or diamond and aquamarine suite among other pieces. I'm genuinely surprised and disappointed that this has never happened.
 
I'm not often on this thread so I don't know if this has been asked before but do we know what happened to Fabiola's jewels? Every time a big tiara event comes up I hold my breath hoping that Queen Mathilde will appear in QF's Spanish tia|ra or diamond and aquamarine suite among other pieces. I'm genuinely surprised and disappointed that this has never happened.


As other posters explained before, Queen Fabiola's estate was officially bequeathed to the charity Help Fund of the Queen, which is currently chaired by Queen Mathilde. It has been confirmed that furniture, jewelry and letters from King Baudouin that were part of the estate are also among the items now transferred to the charity.


I fail to see what the Help Fund would do with a tiara or a necklace that were worn by Queen Fabiola, but I suppose they could be auctioned (we probably would know by now if they had been), placed in the Royal Collection as a museum item , or transferred to the Royal Family for personal use in public events. The latter has not happened yet, except for items like the Wolfers tiara, the waterfall diamond brooch, the pearl and diamond earrings, or the ruby and diamond bracelet which, apparently, were given by Fabiola to Mathilde (or Philippe) while she was still alive and, therefore, were not part of the estate that was left to the Help Fund.


Personally, I don't find the Franco wedding gift tiara a particularly valuable piece that is worth keeping for use by future generations of the RF, especially given its controversial origin. I will be far more upset if it is confirmed, however, that Queen Paola has left the Art Deco tiara to Princess Astrid. Although the Art Deco is a modest tiara by royal standards, it was worn by three queens (Élisabeth, Astrid and Paola) and it was Mathilde's wedding tiara, so it deserves to stay in the main line.
 
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I keep hoping and praying that the late queen put aside a few jewels, perhaps from the Spanish Wedding Tiara, to be commissioned into a proper diadem for the young Duchess of Brabant.

But I know it's a pipe dream.:ermm:
 
As other posters explained before, Queen Fabiola's estate was officially bequeathed to the charity Help Fund of the Queen, which is currently chaired by Queen Mathilde. It has been confirmed that furniture, jewelry and letters from King Baudouin that were part of the estate are also among the items now transferred to the charity.


I fail to see what the Help Fund would do with a tiara or a necklace that were worn by Queen Fabiola, but I suppose they could be auctioned (we probably would know by now if they had been), placed in the Royal Collection as a museum item , or transferred to the Royal Family for personal use in public events. The latter has not happened yet, except for items like the Wolfers tiara, the waterfall diamond brooch, the pearl and diamond earrings, or the ruby and diamond bracelet which, apparently, were given by Fabiola to Mathilde (or Philippe) while she was still alive and, therefore, were not part of the estate that was left to the Help Fund.


Personally, I don't find the Franco wedding gift tiara a particularly valuable piece that is worth keeping for use by future generations of the RF, especially given its controversial origin. I will be far more upset if it is confirmed, however, that Queen Paola has left the Art Deco tiara to Princess Astrid. Although the Art Deco is a modest tiara by royal standards, it was worn by three queens (Élisabeth, Astrid and Paola) and it was Mathilde's wedding tiara, so it deserves to stay in the main line.

I'm the opposite, I think the Franco tiara is really impressive and I would adore to see Mathilde wear it in all it's forms but particularly with the aquamarines alongside F's
aquamarine necklace and earrings.Oh well, maybe one day.
 
I'm the opposite, I think the Franco tiara is really impressive and I would adore to see Mathilde wear it in all it's forms but particularly with the aquamarines alongside F's diamond and aquamarine necklace and earrings. Oh well, maybe one day.

I couldn't agree more its a queens tiara and if any one can do it justice its Mathilde.

The grandest tiara in the Belgian depleted jewel chest and its ownership is the 4th secret of Fatima.
 
I couldn't agree more its a queens tiara and if any one can do it justice its Mathilde.

The grandest tiara in the Belgian depleted jewel chest and its ownership is the 4th secret of Fatima.

Yes it's very frustrating not knowing where it has gone. Didn't Fabiola also own an emerald and diamond necklace and earrings which she wore when the tiara was set with emeralds? I haven't seen those pieces since she died either. When you think about it Mathilde would have quite a nice collection if Fabiola had bequeathed most of her jewels to the main line of the family, perhaps as part of a protected foundation. The Spanish (able to be worn in 2 different styles with 3 different stones) Wolfers, Nine Provinces (able to be worn in 2 different ways) and the laurel wreath tiaras together with a good assortment of necklaces, earrings, brooches and bracelets would have really improved things on the jewellery front. It's such a shame.
 
I couldn't agree more its a queens tiara and if any one can do it justice its Mathilde.

The grandest tiara in the Belgian depleted jewel chest and its ownership is the 4th secret of Fatima.


And to that it is versatile as it can be worn in the coronet setting and the wreath setting and both versions can be worn with three different stones in the flower-center.

And not only that a few of the flowers can be worn on a chain as necklace or separate as brooshes.



But there are a lot of other Jewels of Fabiola which have not been seen and their ownership is not known.
 
Yes it's very frustrating not knowing where it has gone. Didn't Fabiola also own an emerald and diamond necklace and earrings which she wore when the tiara was set with emeralds? I haven't seen those pieces since she died either.


She has worn the earrings from the tunisian parure already during Fabiola's lifetime (i think she wore them first at the dutch inaguration Evetns) so it is liekly she has also the necklace of the Set. It would probably make also a nice bandeau tiara.
 
Queen Mathilde could have had the Leuchtenberg Fabergé tiara , King Albert I gave to Charles Count of Flandres. But he gave the tiara to his Sister Queen Marie Josée wo never wore it because she was to old. This very tiara was sold by Princess Marie Gabriella , her daugther ,the jewel seller, who sold also the small tiara of the Comtesse de Flandres her great grandmother.
 
Do we know anything about the pretty blue earrings she wore to her daughters birthday party? They look like aquamarines
 
Queen Mathilde could have had the Leuchtenberg Fabergé tiara , King Albert I gave to Charles Count of Flandres. But he gave the tiara to his Sister Queen Marie Josée wo never wore it because she was to old. This very tiara was sold by Princess Marie Gabriella , her daugther ,the jewel seller, who sold also the small tiara of the Comtesse de Flandres her great grandmother.

The Belgians could easily have bought this back when it went up for sale in 2007 and had it back ,the BRF are really unwise when it comes to historic family jewels.
 
Let us be fair: King Baudouin, King Albert and King Philippe all were (are) men of wealth. They purchase houses or villas abroad, expensive cars, yachts, helicopters. If they attach importance to a jewelry collection, they could have purchased nice items for their Queens.



Note that Princess Lilian had to sell Queen Elisabeth's Cartier Diadem, which was purchased by the firm of her brother-in-law Jean-Jacques Cartier, yes, the jeweller. Her stepson, King Baudouin, apparently was not willing to buy it, well then... Probably they simply find jewels not that important at all. That is a respectable choice, of course. Why not?
 
She has worn the earrings from the tunisian parure already during Fabiola's lifetime (i think she wore them first at the dutch inaguration Evetns) so it is liekly she has also the necklace of the Set. It would probably make also a nice bandeau tiara.




I am not sure if a bandeau tiara with low quality green stones would be fitting for a queen consort. If the Tunisian necklace had true emeralds, then breaking it up to make a new tiara would definitely make sense.




Let us be fair: King Baudouin, King Albert and King Philippe all were (are) men of wealth. They purchase houses or villas abroad, expensive cars, yachts, helicopters. If they attach importance to a jewelry collection, they could have purchased nice items for their Queens.



Note that Princess Lilian had to sell Queen Elisabeth's Cartier Diadem, which was purchased by the firm of her brother-in-law Jean-Jacques Cartier, yes, the jeweller. Her stepson, King Baudouin, apparently was not willing to buy it, well then... Probably they simply find jewels not that important at all. That is a respectable choice, of course. Why not?




I agree. They could have bought back both the Cartier and the Fabergé tiaras, but showed no interest.
 
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Do we know anything about the pretty blue earrings she wore to her daughters birthday party? They look like aquamarines




Yes, Mathilde was wearing aquamarine earrings, but I don't think they are from Queen Fabiola's estate.
 
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No they are not Queen Fabiola's. This has been discussed on other jewels forums.
 
Is there a tiara in the d'Udekem d'Acoz family or that of the Polish noble house of her mother Countess Anna Maria Komorowska?
 
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