I think "cockade" was originally a flourish, on a hat, in ribbons that was later represented in diamonds by some royals.
When Twining wrote of the (diamond) cockade jewel he said -
" A cockade, originally of five separate pieces set with brilliants, was altered for Queen Alexandra to a cloak clasp to consist of three pieces; the centre piece, set with a cluster of diamonds, and one side were kept in their original form and the other three pieces remounted as one to match the opposite side. "
So it was a (diamond) cockade before it was a cloak clasp, according to Twining.
(I have never understood how the jewel would have worked as a cloak clasp, other than as three brooches pinned side by side with the middle one pinned through both sides of the cloak front.) So it would seem that Queen Mary reverted to using the name for the original form of the jewel.
Pic from Twining -
--Previous Message-- : Me three. I noticed all the pictures of this : important piece but no info. Any guesses : why that would be? : : Where does the name cockade come from : anyway? : : This piece must have a fascinating history. : : :
on May 26, 2012, 12:04 am, in reply to "