It is a very beautiful brooch, with a delicate foliate diamond wreath around a big central turquoise surrounded by diamond brilliants. Perfect for a Queen! Judging from the style, I would say it dates back more or less to the middle of the 19th century (which does not exclude a recent acquisition, of course).
Unfortunately, I have no information on this brooch, and I do not remember having seen it previously on Queen Elizabeth II or on either of the previous British Queens. It could be either a new brooch (official gift? private gift? personal purchase?), or another brooch forgotten for decades in the royal jewels vaults...
Maybe the brooch has any to-be-determined relation with the region of Derbyshire, or with the family of the Dukes of Devonshire (the Queen visited today the cities of Matlock and Lea Mills in Derbyshire, and then travelled to Chatsworth House, home of the Dukes of Devonshire, where she had a luncheon and met representatives of rescue services).
It is also interesting to see this brooch, not only because it is a new one, but also because Queen Elizabeth II rarely wears turquoise jewels – either because her collection may be short on this particular stone, or because she may not be fond of turquoises. The only turquoise jewels I know to her are the turquoise and pearl necklace from President Ayub Khan of Pakistan (an official gift from President Khan during his State visit to Britain in 1966, and which has been worn for years by Princess Anne) and the turquoise, sapphire and diamond demi-parure given by King Hussein of Jordan (also during a State visit to Britain in 1966).
The main turquoise jewels in the Royal Family do not belong to the Queen: - Queen Mary’s turquoise and diamond parure (a wedding gift from her parents in 1893) was given in 1935 as a wedding gift to Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Duchess of Gloucester, and is now in possession of the current Duchess - Queen(-mother) Elizabeth’s turquoise and diamond parure (a wedding gift from King George V in 1923) was later given to Princess Margaret as a 21st–birthday present in 1951 and is probably owned now by Viscount Linley or Lady Sarah Chatto - Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall owns (since at least 1998) a splendid turquoise and diamond necklace, with matching earrings (possibly a gift from Prince Charles, or from Camilla’s family). BTW, the brooch the Queen has worn today would make a very nice combination with this necklace!
Here are a few more pictures from the Queen’s visit to Derbyshire today (all from Zimbio).
On these side-views, the brooch is of course less visible, but we can notice that the central turquoise is a rather big one, protruding voluminously from the diamond surround.
And I can not refrain from posting this impressive picture too, showing the Queen and her hosts in the splendid Painted Hall of Chatsworth House!
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on July 10, 2014, 5:29 pm, in reply to "
