Duchess of Cambridge Jewellery 1: April-December 2011

[Midwestern Mom]

Ah, beautiful...thanks!

MM

 

[Daria_S]

here is a replica of the royal order, it is worn on the left shoulder.

Thank you . Now I have an idea of what was being talked about.

 

[Elly C]

Thank you Diarist for the information - it very much makes sense, If the information is correct, I think the Queen is very wise to loan jewels & certainly advise William & Harry about such matters. I just wish she offered loans on a more regular basis I too would expect to see Catherine in several important pieces for the white tie events during the Diamond jubilee. (I wonder where Charles stands on the loan matter - would he be following his mother's sound advise & what might this mean for the important pieces Camilla wears in the future when he is King.)

 

[wymanda]

Once again, Diana's personal (non royal) jewels were left to her sons!!!!!

Interesting how this piece would be considered. While the pearls were probably Diana's own, the central sapphire brooch/clasp was a wedding gift from HM The Queen Mother. Would it have been returned to the vaults upon Dianas' death or would the whole piece have then been considered private and passed to William and/or Harry.

 

[MARG]

Interesting how this piece would be considered. While the pearls were probably Diana's own, the central sapphire brooch/clasp was a wedding gift from HM The Queen Mother. Would it have been returned to the vaults upon Dianas' death or would the whole piece have then been considered private and passed to William and/or Harry.

A Wedding gift of jewellery is a gift to the bride. In in this case it was not a loan from the royal vault but a personal gift from HM the Queen Mother not the Queen.

 

[muriel]

Interesting how this piece would be considered. While the pearls were probably Diana's own, the central sapphire brooch/clasp was a wedding gift from HM The Queen Mother. Would it have been returned to the vaults upon Dianas' death or would the whole piece have then been considered private and passed to William and/or Harry.

I suspect the entire necklace would be considered "private".

IMO, in practice, it does not matter whether the jewels were considered private or not. HM would ensure that W&H had access to all these jewels in their lifetime.

 

[blauerengel]

I once watched a good documentary about Dianas jewellery and dresses and if Catherine only gets 10% of them she will never need to buy any jewellery herself
But I think that she will do anyway because she has a different taste and prefers smaller, less ostentatious pieces that are elegant and classy.
We also have to keep in mind that "global recession" is still spooking around and it wouldn´t be wise to wear big,extravagant,expensive stuff like in the 80ies and 90ies!
That was a whole different time and nowadays royals try to be as down-to earth as possible.
But maybe she will wear more precious jewellery and tiaras for official pictures that are made for representation...?

 

[branchg]

Interesting how this piece would be considered. While the pearls were probably Diana's own, the central sapphire brooch/clasp was a wedding gift from HM The Queen Mother. Would it have been returned to the vaults upon Dianas' death or would the whole piece have then been considered private and passed to William and/or Harry.

The sapphire and diamond brooch was likely from the bequest of Greville jewels inherited by The Queen Mother. This piece was a wedding gift to Diana and would have been retained as her personal property as it did not belong to the Royal Collection.

 

[Baroness of Books]

It would be interesting to see which of the princes inherited the stunning sapphire and pearl choker because, for me, it's as iconic a piece of jewelry as was Diana's engagement ring and Lovers Knot tiara (even though the latter is Crown property). I wonder if we'll see it grace Catherine's neck, or if she'll feel it's too large an item for her taste.

 

[RubyPrincess168]

I'd like to see it converted into a tiara.

 

[MARG]

Hmmm . . . . a pile of pearls with a whacking great, humongously enormous rectangular sapphire smack in the middle. Great heavens above . . . she'd look like cyclops!

http://0.tqn.com/d/jewelry/1/0/2/u/Princess-Diana-1995.jpg

I think I would prefer to see the necklace gracing someone's neck, be it Catherine or Harry's future wife.

 

[muriel]

It would be interesting to see which of the princes inherited the stunning sapphire and pearl choker because, for me, it's as iconic a piece of jewelry as was Diana's engagement ring and Lovers Knot tiara (even though the latter is Crown property). I wonder if we'll see it grace Catherine's neck, or if she'll feel it's too large an item for her taste.

If I am not mistaken, the Cambridghe Lovers Knot tiara is not crown property, but the private property of HM.

 

[Daisiesforever]

Yes I do think think the Cambridge Lovers Knot tiara is the property of HM. It certainly is a lovely piece and looked superb on Diana, however I am not certain if just anyone can "pull off" this tiara and still look classically elegant. The sapphire and pearl choker is also beautiful but again, because of it's size, will not just suit anyone. It would be wonderful though if these pieces were safely kept for Kate or Harry's future bride.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Oops, getting mixed up again with what's Crown property and what is HM's property! Thanks for clarifying about the Lovers Knot tiara. And the sapphire and pearl choker looks so amazing paired with the sapphire earrings on Diana in Marg's photo. I'd love to see that set photoshopped on Catherine just to imagine how she'd look in it. I can't visualize the necklace as a tiara, either.

 

[Warren]

According to Suzy Menkes the only tiara apart from George IV's diadem which has been left to the Crown is the Regal Indian Tiara, a favourite of the Queen Mother.
All the rest are HM's private property.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Thank you, Warren!

 

[blauerengel]

Hmmm . . . . a pile of pearls with a whacking great, humongously enormous rectangular sapphire smack in the middle. Great heavens above . . . she'd look like cyclops!

http://0.tqn.com/d/jewelry/1/0/2/u/Princess-Diana-1995.jpg

I think I would prefer to see the necklace gracing someone's neck, be it Catherine or Harry's future wife.

I also don´t think it would be good to work it into a tiara,I am not a big fan of changing beautiful jewels unless they are broken or need to be changed because they are too narrow or wide.

Maybe she is going to wear it when she´s getting older,IMO big jewels are not for young girls as they have enough natural beauty-but when you grow more mature you can wear bigger pieces and more make-up or try for flshier jewels while keeping your outfits simple and classic!

 

[Daisiesforever]

IMO big jewels are not for young girls as they have enough natural beauty-but when you grow more mature you can wear bigger pieces and more make-up or try for flshier jewels while keeping your outfits simple and classic!

I agree totally Blauerengel. Big jewels are not even fashionable anymore and tend to look more and more ridiculous every time I see an oversized necklace or head piece. In this day and age of wearing simpler oufits, large or "flashy" jewels are not always appropriate or even elegant for that matter. I think Kate has extremely good dress sense and will always opt for the smaller pieces that suit her overall look.

 

[KittyAtlanta]

If large, impressive jewels are no longer fashionable, then shoot me now.

And what about that 18 carat sapphire engagement ring...or are rings excluded?

 

[Baroness of Books]

Couldn't agree with you more, so I'll join you on the firing line!

 

[Daria_S]

And what about that 18 carat sapphire engagement ring...or are rings excluded?

That sapphire is huge. I think for that reason I'm not really a fan of the ring. I've seen similar rings with smaller stones, and they looked so much more elegant. Of course in this case, it would have been insensitive and rude to refuse the piece of jewelry.

 

[branchg]

According to Suzy Menkes the only tiara apart from George IV's diadem which has been left to the Crown is the Regal Indian Tiara, a favourite of the Queen Mother.
All the rest are HM's private property.

Keeping in mind that Leslie Field's book on the Royal Collection claims Queen Mary did, in fact, designate some pieces in her will as "belonging to the Crown to be worn in right of it". Other pieces were left to The Queen as her personal property.

Exactly which pieces is unknown, but it is speculated to include Queen Alexandra's jewels that were selected by George V from her collection after her death as state and wedding gifts, as well as pieces received from Queen Victoria as gifts.

 

[Daisiesforever]

If large, impressive jewels are no longer fashionable, then shoot me now.

And what about that 18 carat sapphire engagement ring...or are rings excluded?

Oh Kitty dear, the 18 carat sapphire engagement ring (formerly Diana's) is absolutely beautiful. However it is neither "chunky", ostentacious or oversized. It is a lovely, lovely piece and even suits Kate perfectly. Remember, Diana chose and wore her jewellry very well. She did not need to sparkle from the ouside... she sparkled from within. Kate is proving to be the same and so is Sophie. The approach of "less is more" really does contribute to modern day elegance. Just look at current models and fashion icons who really do know about dress. Understated. Sorry, just my feelings on the matter.

 

[blauerengel]

@Daisiesforever
I believe we agree! Understated luxury and good quality without trying too hard-this is modern and beautiful and I also like the engagement ring a lot
Blue is a good colour for Catherine,the jewels look good on her!

 

[Daisiesforever]

I agree. Sapphire blue is lovely, rich colour on Kate. Works well with her dark hair

 

[Baroness of Books]

That's why, at the risk of being repetitious, I would really love to see Kate wearing the sapphire and pearl choker if William has inherited this piece. With her coloring and long neck, I think it would look marvelous on her.

 

[Daisiesforever]

Ooh yes Baroness. This is not an easy piece to "pull off". However I do think Kate can definitely do it. This beautiful choker will suit her to perfection.

 

[Mirabel]

It would be interesting to see which of the princes inherited the stunning sapphire and pearl choker because, for me, it's as iconic a piece of jewelry as was Diana's engagement ring and Lovers Knot tiara (even though the latter is Crown property). I wonder if we'll see it grace Catherine's neck, or if she'll feel it's too large an item for her taste.

I read someplace that most of Diana's jewels went to Harry; the theory was that William's wife would have a vast selection to choose from once she became Queen, so Diana was trying to balance things out a bit.

I also read that George VI gave many gifts of jewelry to his two daughters, and it was always sapphires for Elizabeth and rubies for Margaret.
If that's the case, then there must be many items made of sapphires that Catherine will have access to someday.

 

[Midwestern Mom]

I'd read that as well and that Harry actually had the Sapphire engagement ring that was Diana's but gave it to William when he asked for it.

MM

 

[Baroness of Books]

I realize it was discussed earlier that Harry would have received most of Diana's jewels because of the wealth of jewelry available to William's wife as future queen consort. I had also heard that Harry originally had the sapphire ring in his possession, but gave it to William for Kate (such a generous little brother!). But I'm just speculating how the pearl choker would look on Kate if perhaps that was one of the few pieces William inherited. For some reason, that necklace has always knocked my socks off! A girl can always dream about whom she'd like to see wearing it....