QEII Jewelry Designs - the good, the bad and the ugly

[AddiesGirl]

HM's taste in jewelry design was being mentioned, so I thought it might be interesting to get your feelings on some of her designs.
The Brazilian aquamarine parure is a case in point. I love aquas, but this is such a clumsy and graceless set IMO.



The sapphire tiara she had commissioned is one of my least favorite in her collection.



And lastly, I used to like the ruby tiara she had made, with the York rose it's a sentimental choice. But it seems that as time has gone by I've liked this one less and less, perhaps because I don't care for rubies as much as I once did.




What do you think? Have any pieces to add?

[NotAgain]

   
You are a jewel
Such a great idea for a thread. I look forward to learning and drooling over these stones.

I don’t know how to add it, but the pearl choker she loaned Kate says lots about her style.  That aquamarine, such a shame to ruin those stones,,,seems like the jeweler would have spoken truth to power.  Gasping at how the sapphires were ruined. The ruby tiara drips of sugary sweetness.

ETA: perhaps it’s a case of too many gorgeous stones and not enough design sense.

[Duchess of Verona]

To me the Oriental Circlet Tiara that QEQM wore throughout her life is beautiful, so much more so than this ruby one. QEII rarely wears it. Perhaps is will reappear on one of her grandsons' wives.

[MidnightDiamond]

To me the Oriental Circlet Tiara that QEQM wore throughout her life is beautiful, so much more so than this ruby one. QEII rarely wears it. Perhaps is will reappear on one of her grandsons' wives.

Oriental Circlet Tiara belongs to the state and is a Queen only tiara as only Queen's wore/wear it. Camilla would be next to get the chance to wear it.

[Antevorta]

HM's taste in jewelry design was being mentioned, so I thought it might be interesting to get your feelings on some of her designs.
The Brazilian aquamarine parure is a case in point. I love aquas, but this is such a clumsy and graceless set IMO.



The sapphire tiara she had commissioned is one of my least favorite in her collection.



And lastly, I used to like the ruby tiara she had made, with the York rose it's a sentimental choice. But it seems that as time has gone by I've liked this one less and less, perhaps because I don't care for rubies as much as I once did.




What do you think? Have any pieces to add?

I find all three of these tiara absolutely appalling.  The designs are clunky and old fashioned.  Old fashioned in a bad way not like traditional old fashioned.  I have such strong hope that Camilla or even Kate will break all three of these down and re-design them.  In their current state, all three are such a waste of beautiful jewels.  

To me the Oriental Circlet Tiara that QEQM wore throughout her life is beautiful, so much more so than this ruby one. QEII rarely wears it. Perhaps is will reappear on one of her grandsons' wives.

I also wish that Camilla or Kate will return this tiara to its original state with opals and replace the rubies.  I think it would look so much cleaner.

[fairy]

It really seems that QEII has a certain Faible for how her necklaces should look: All three are basically the same.
The very big stones are set in diamonds and lined up with another diamond in between. In the front a single drop jewel of bigger proportions falls into the cleavage.
With the Aquamarine tiara, I would think they went overboard with the stones. There are simply too many and the two levels (headband and ornamental level) don't match in design and aura. The headband is rather geometrical and simple, while the ornamental level is extremely whimsical and fanciful with it's peacock design. Then the center stone is baam in the middle, neither fits the filigrane peacock nor the more moderate headband design....
The ruby tiara is in itself IMO a harmonious design, one you can like or not...
As to the pearl choker, I have always wondered if they hadn't originally intended to put a stone into that pussy clasp, and when QEII couldn't decide on which precious stone, simply thought: hey, doesn't look half bad as it is , why not leave it....

[Suzerain]

All the examples so far are the ugliest in her collection. If she really has a vault filled with tiaras never worn, why not wear something more beautiful? The sapphire tiara just looks like a necklace made out of brooches being stuck in a tiara frame. It would not be a particularly pretty necklace either but the kind you can buy cheaply from an online store. The aquamarine one is just a monstrosity that attempts to look modern and classic at the same time. It's a big clunky looking thing, like the jeweller was instructed to waste as little gem material as possible. The ruby one is best out of the three but still there's something in it that I don't like.

I still feel the best ones she has are antique ones but there are very few with coloured stones which is a shame really.





P.S. What's this necklace? I don't think I've seen it before

[fairy]

The first picture, the tiara with the circle diamonds and the peacock colored drops... what stones are those? It does look very interesting but doesn't it look familiar? A bit like the lovers knot but not entirely. Are the drops exchangeable with other gems such as pearls?

[Suzerain]

The first picture, the tiara with the circle diamonds and the peacock colored drops... what stones are those? It does look very interesting but doesn't it look familiar? A bit like the lovers knot but not entirely. Are the drops exchangeable with other gems such as pearls?

I think that tiara belonged to the Romanovs and does indeed have pearl drops too. The ones on it in the picture are emeralds. Let me google a bit...

http://orderofsplendor.bl...aras-6-grand-duchess.html

So, the tiara used to belong to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, aunt of tsar Nicholas II and it was made by Bolin, the Russian court jeweler (sounds Swedish to me). It has 15 intertwined diamond circles strung together with a diamond ribbon on top and hung with articulating pendant pearls and it was made in 1874. This is one of the jewellery pieces that Queen Mary was able to get her hands on and this is how Liz has it now. It's really interesting how the tiara was smuggled out of Russia, there's more behind the link above.

Queen Mary was in possession of the Cambridge emeralds so she had the drops made for this tiara from them. The 15 stones she added originally topped the Delhi Durbar Tiara (now used by Cam) like this:



Since there were 40 emeralds in total, here's where they went:
http://www.thecourtjewell...n-cambridge-emeralds.html
http://queensjewelvault.b...lds-and-delhi-durbar.html



If I'm not wrong, these are all private property of the Queen?

[fairy]

Ah yes, of course with the emeralds I remember the tiara. Of course the Cambridge emeralds. however the very different coloring in the photo threw me off. They look nothing like green emeralds...

[kpzra]

P.S. What's this necklace? I don't think I've seen it before

It's the Dubai Looped Sapphire.  http://queensjewelvault.b...sapphire-demi-parure.html

[Duchess of Verona]

That necklace reminds me of the Bernadotte Connaught.

[emtishell]

The first picture, the tiara with the circle diamonds and the peacock colored drops... what stones are those? It does look very interesting but doesn't it look familiar? A bit like the lovers knot but not entirely. Are the drops exchangeable with other gems such as pearls?

I think that tiara belonged to the Romanovs and does indeed have pearl drops too. The ones on it in the picture are emeralds. Let me google a bit...

http://orderofsplendor.bl...aras-6-grand-duchess.html

So, the tiara used to belong to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, aunt of tsar Nicholas II and it was made by Bolin, the Russian court jeweler (sounds Swedish to me). It has 15 intertwined diamond circles strung together with a diamond ribbon on top and hung with articulating pendant pearls and it was made in 1874. This is one of the jewellery pieces that Queen Mary was able to get her hands on and this is how Liz has it now. It's really interesting how the tiara was smuggled out of Russia, there's more behind the link above.

Queen Mary was in possession of the Cambridge emeralds so she had the drops made for this tiara from them. The 15 stones she added originally topped the Delhi Durbar Tiara (now used by Cam) like this:



Since there were 40 emeralds in total, here's where they went:
http://www.thecourtjewell...n-cambridge-emeralds.html
http://queensjewelvault.b...lds-and-delhi-durbar.html



If I'm not wrong, these are all private property of the Queen?

O/T, but my, Mary had a way with jewels didn’t she? I know it was the fashion to stack them on like that, but wowsers! Pics of her (and Alexandra) just boggle my mind for sheer carat power!

[CyrilSebastian]

Queen Elizabeth II Amazing Necklace Collection     
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9zmMD_ZMhM