Christina, I have the same pictures as you, so I can not provide pictures enabling us to compare the versions of the necklace.
Merlin, your information is very interesting, but totally new to me. Do you have pictures of the events you mention? Can you identify the two events in the 1990s?
--Previous Message-- : : As far as I know the first time the Queen : was photographed wearing the large Kent : Amethyst necklace was in 1972 while in : mourning for her Uncle, the Duke of Windsor. : She wore it twice more in 1990, once with : the Girls of GB&I and another time with no : tiara. : : : : --Previous Message-- : Arthur thank you very much for your post and : picture of the Mexican visit, its totally : new to me. : : Your hypothesis on the two remaining : brooches is very interesting. It does seem : that the elements can be worn as an : extension of the necklace. It would be very : interesting if there were previous times : where this necklace was worn so it could be : compared. : : Are there any portraits/ pictures of the : previous owners of the demi parure since the : Duchess of Kent wearing this necklace? : : I'm puzzled because I only know a picture of : QEQM wearing the large Kent brooch, and I : believe a portrait of the original owner : also wearing the brooch but none with the : necklace. : : : : : : --Previous Message-- : 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... : : : : : : : : :