On Tuesday, Queen Camilla wore a sparkling set of floral brooches as she and King Charles III celebrated the anniversary of an organization dedicated to supporting the arts.
King Charles and Queen Camilla headed to Chelsea Barracks in London on Tuesday, where a special exhibition has been mounted in the Garrison Chapel celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation. The organization, of which Charles was a founder in 2006, supports artisans and their communities in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia and the Levant, with the aim of preserving their heritage. On the Turquoise Mountain website, they note, “Our work is rooted in the belief that cultural heritage has the power to transform lives.”
During the visit, the King and Queen viewed pieces made by artists supported by the foundation, including this gorgeous selection of jewels made of gold and lapis lazuli.
Charles and Camilla also placed the final pieces of mother-of-pearl inlay on a pair of wooden jewelry boxes decorated with their royal cyphers.
Camilla, pictured here with another of the foundation’s founders, Rory Stewart, wore a red coat with a colorful scarf and black boots for the exhibition tour.
She accessorized with a favorite pair of gold earrings that feature pavé-set diamond drops, as well as an intriguing pair of floral brooches. I believe these might be new to Camilla’s collection, or perhaps jewels unearthed from the royal vaults.
Here’s a slightly better look at the pair of brooches, which are shaped like flowers and set with diamonds and rubies. The design of the jewels makes me think that they could be midcentury pieces from the 1940s or 1950s, and the overall look makes me suspect that Cartier or Van Cleef & Arpels could have had a hand in their creation. On first glance, I thought these were the two small Nizam of Hyderabad Brooches, and they do share some visual similarities with those Cartier jewels.
Here’s another look at Camilla wearing the floral brooches to celebrate the Turquoise Mountain Foundation. Red flowers plus Afghanistan automatically makes me think of poppies, but I highly doubt that’s the reference here, and at any rate, these flowers don’t look particularly poppy-shaped.
Before I head out today, a reminder that I’ll be over at Hidden Gems tomorrow with my usual Saturday article for paid subscribers. This weekend we’re looking at the intersection of royal fashion and jewelry with a focus on the royal wedding gowns made by the late Valentino Garavani. See you there!
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