Queen Maxima’s Tulip and Olive Brooch Sparkles in Rotterdam

On Tuesday, Queen Máxima wore a fascinating floral brooch from her collection for a special residential building opening in Rotterdam.

Queen Máxima traveled to Rotterdam on Tuesday to open SAWA, an innovative circular wooden residential building. The developers of the apartment building were focused on creating housing that was both affordable and eco-friendly. Koninklijk Huis shared, “SAWA’s design is inspired by the terraced rice paddies of Indonesia. The building is designed as a living ecosystem, fostering biodiversity. Integrated planters, native plants, and nesting boxes for birds and bats are incorporated into the design.”

For the opening of the new apartment building, Queen Máxima wore an ensemble in shades of berry and burgundy, fittingly accessorized with a brooch that was also inspired by the natural world.

Máxima wore big, oversized gold hoop earrings with the ensemble, plus a yellow gold floral brooch with gemstone accents.

Here’s a closer look at the floral brooch. The piece depicts two entwined floral sprays: one with a red tulip blossom, and the other with tiny black olives.

Máxima made her first public appearance in the brooch in Thessaloniki during the November 2022 Dutch state visit to Greece. Because of the important symbolism of the tulip in the Netherlands and the olive in Greece, Josine Droogendijk from ModeKoninginMaxima has speculated that the brooch may have been given to Máxima by someone from the host nation during the visit.

The brooch had a second prominent outing earlier this year, when Máxima wore it for a visit to the new city hall in Nicosia during the Dutch state visit to Cyprus. Olives have an important symbolic resonance for that Mediterranean nation as well.

For Tuesday’s visit to Rotterdam, Máxima also wore rings on both hands: her orange diamond engagement ring and gold wedding band on her left hand, and her diamond and ruby ring on her right. The ruby ring has special family meaning as well: it was a gift to Máxima from Willem-Alexander after the birth of Princess Amalia in 2003.