We are back once again with a festive fashion post for Style File Friday again! While I enjoy writing all of my Blogmas posts, these are some of my favourites. Yes, they take a lot of research but there is nothing like jewellery history to pull you in. (If only we all had historic jewellery vaults to reach into…) In the first week of Blogmas, we explored different red and green brooches, and in the second, we looked at earrings. Now, we are turning to a different item for Style File Friday! Onto Red and Green Bracelets…
Royal Jewels: Red and Green Bracelets
Before we dive into the jewels (what we are all here for…), I will be up front- this is the shortest post in this series. For some reason, most parures and demi-parures do not feature bracelets, and it does not seem that royals branch out from standard diamond bracelets. However, there are a few ruby and emerald bracelets that are spectacular!
Danish Ruby Parure Bracelet
The Danish Ruby Parure is one of the most impressive sets in the Danish collection, and the Danish royals have arguably the best jewellery collection. (That we know of- the Brits like to keep their collection very private.) This set originally belonged to Queen Desideria of Sweden, wife of the first Bernadotte King of Sweden. Princess Louise of Sweden brought this incredible ruby set with her when she married into the Danish Royal Family in 1869 (and became Queen Louise of Denmark).
While the tiara and necklace are the showstoppers, the bracelet is no slouch, either. The yellow gold bracelet features seven round rubies, each circled by smaller diamonds. Given that red and white are Denmark’s colours, you often see this bracelet worn.
Queen Fabiola’s Diamond and Ruby Bracelet
The Belgian Royal Family has one of the smallest jewellery collections, but that does not mean that their vaults are empty. (They have far more than most of us.) Queen Fabiola received this ruby and diamond bracelet as a wedding gift from her brother and sister-in-law (the future King Albert and Queen Paola).
The bracelet features a core row of rectangular rubies sandwiched between two rows of round diamonds. Although it is a somewhat slender bracelet, it does not lack sparkle in any way.
Queen Mathilde will often wear this bracelet when wearing red would be a diplomatic choice, such as a visit from the Jordanian Royal Family (see above).
Queen Mother’s Cartier Bracelets
If you want an exceptionally versatile set of jewels, look no further. The then-Duchess of York received a set of five Cartier bracelets from her husband in the 1920s. The Art Deco style strip bracelets have baguette stones in the centre row of the bracelet. There are two diamond bracelets, one ruby bracelet, one emerald bracelet, and one sapphire bracelet.
The Queen Mother wore these bracelets frequently, from when she was Duchess of York to Queen Mother. A very interesting detail: there was a bandeau frame for the bracelets, meaning that three of the bracelets can be worn as a tiara. (We’ve not seen the bracelets worn as a tiara in a century, though.)
Queen Elizabeth II frequently wore some combination of the bracelets at different events. Above here, you can see Queen Camilla wearing the ruby bracelet at the Qatari State Dinner. And below, Queen Elizabeth is wearing the emerald bracelet at the 2019 Diplomatic Reception.
Want more royal jewels?
What are your favourite red and green bracelets?
Cheers,
The Historian
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