According to Leslie Field's book The Queen's Jewels, the Kent Amethyst demi-parure consists of a necklace, three brooches, a pair of earrings and a pair of hair combs. As far as I know, we have never seen the hair combs.
As for the three brooches, I have the feeling that the solution is just under our eyes... i.e. on the pictures of the Queen’s State visit to Portugal in 1984.
If you look closely at the necklace, you can see that most of the elements of the necklace are large oval-shaped amethysts surrounded by a thin line of round brilliant diamonds and separated by small diamond stars. But if you look more closely, you can see that the two amethysts on the left and on the right of the central amethyst are smaller and hexagonal, with a wider diamond surround in a sunray design... like the brooch!
So my guess is that the three brooches are identical, and that two of them have been integrated into the necklace, probably to increase its length.
As it was frequently the case with jewels in the 19th century, I guess that all the elements of the necklace are detachable and can be hitched and unhitched at will, thanks to small hooks and loops cleverly hidden in the metal frame (it is the same, for instance, with the Cambridge sapphire and diamond parure, whose necklace and brooches were worn in several shapes and lengths by Queen Mary and by Marina and Katherine, Duchesses of Kent). The three pendants on the necklace and the three ones on the brooch are probably removable too.
I agree it is a beautiful parure – and definitely a historical one, since it is one of the few pre-Victorian jewels in the Royal collection. I would love Queen Elizabeth to wear it occasionally. A State Visit from (or to) King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium could be a nice opportunity, as the amethysts would match perfectly with the purple colour of the sash of the Belgian Order of Leopold.
As for the tiara, I would personally prefer to see this amethyst demi-parure worn with Queen Alexandra’s Peeresses’ Kokoshnik, or with Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara. But any diamond tiara will be welcome, actually!
The pictures of the State Visit to Portugal are the most famous, but Queen Elizabeth II also wore the Kent Amethyst Demi-Parure (again with the Girls of Great-Britain and Ireland Tiara) in 1985 during the State visit of the President of Mexico. As far as I know, these are the two only occasions when the Queen wore the full parure (minus the hair combs). Note that for the Mexican State Visit, the Queen did not wear the brooch (but still had two of them included in the necklace), and had only one pendant hooked to the central amethyst of the necklace.
(sorry, I do not remember who posted this picture on this board first! Maybe Nellie? Marianne?)
--Previous Message-- : : : --Previous Message-- : : It looks to me like one of them. I think : there is more than one. : : : Nellie, do you happen to have a picture from : the other brooche(s)? Are they similar in : shape and size (like the Q Victoria Bows) or : are they entirely different? : : I know, there's this picture of HM where she : wears something below the 'main-brooch'. But : I'm not sure wether it's a pendant or : another amethyst pinned on HM's sash... : : :