![Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway arrives for a memorial service at Oslo cathedral, on July 22, 2015 as Norway marks the fourth anniversary of the bombing of the government buildings in Oslo, and shooting at the Labor Party youth camp on Utoeya island, killing in total 77 people](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-0819-01-mettemarit01.jpg?resize=1200%2C828&ssl=1)
Today in Norway, Crown Princess Mette-Marit is celebrating her 49th birthday. We’re joining in the festivities with a look at a fascinating modern pearl and diamond brooch from her jewelry collection.
![Crown Princess of Norway Mette-Marit arrives at the Norwegian Seamen's Church Anniversary Service and inauguration of minister Margareth Glad in The Upper East side in New York City, NY, USA on September 23, 2012](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-0819-01-mettemarit03.jpg?resize=1200%2C1871&ssl=1)
The jewel is a modern take on a classic floral spray brooch. It’s been in Mette-Marit’s jewelry box for at least a decade. One of her earliest appearance in the brooch came in September 2012, when she wore it for a service at the Norwegian Seamen’s Church during a visit to New York.
![Crown Princess of Norway Mette-Marit arrives at the Norwegian Seamen's Church Anniversary Service and inauguration of minister Margareth Glad in The Upper East side in New York City, NY, USA on September 23, 2012](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-0819-01-mettemarit04.jpg?resize=1200%2C1670&ssl=1)
Mette-Marit wore the brooch on a black lace jacket for the New York appearance, allowing the details of the jewel to show up nicely against the dark fabric.
![Crown Princess of Norway Mette-Marit arrives at the Norwegian Seamen's Church Anniversary Service and inauguration of minister Margareth Glad in The Upper East side in New York City, NY, USA on September 23, 2012](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-0819-01-mettemarit05.jpg?resize=1200%2C990&ssl=1)
Here’s a closer look at the brooch’s details. The piece features pavé-set diamond leaves and stems with creamy baroque pearls set as “buds” on the stems. From a distance, the brooch looks much more like a traditional spray, but up close, it has an edgy, almost dark quality about it.
![Crown Princess of Norway Mette-Marit arrives at the Norwegian Seamen's Church Anniversary Service and inauguration of minister Margareth Glad in The Upper East side in New York City, NY, USA on September 23, 2012](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-0819-01-mettemarit06.jpg?resize=1200%2C1557&ssl=1)
The brooch has a pair of coordinating earrings, which were also worn by Mette-Marit for the 2012 church service.
Mette-Marit has worn the pearl and diamond earrings without the brooch on occasion as well. Here, she wears the earrings for an Offshore Technology Conference dinner at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, during the crown princely couple’s May 2013 visit to the United States.
Here’s a great close-up view of the earrings from the Houston dinner outing. Note how they incorporate the leaf, stem, and bud design elements from the spray brooch.
![Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway arrives for a memorial service at Oslo cathedral, on July 22, 2015 as Norway marks the fourth anniversary of the bombing of the government buildings in Oslo, and shooting at the Labor Party youth camp on Utoeya island, killing in total 77 people](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecourtjeweller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-0819-01-mettemarit02.jpg?resize=1200%2C1633&ssl=1)
Crown Princess Mette-Marit has often worn the brooch and earrings for occasions of memorial or remembrance. Here, she pins the brooch to another black lace jacket on July 22, 2015, for a memorial service dedicated to the victims of terrorist attacks in Oslo and on Utøya Island in 2011. (One of those victims was Mette-Marit’s stepbrother, Trond Berntsen.) She wore the brooch again for the same service a year later. The piece is a large, lovely, interesting brooch, and I’d love to see the crown princess wear it again.
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