Queen Maxima Wears Her Wedding Diamonds in Rotterdam

The King and Queen of the Netherlands made a special joint appearance on their wedding anniversary this week, with Queen Máxima making a bejeweled nod to the couple’s royal wedding 24 years ago.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands headed to Rotterdam on Monday for a visit to the Wijkpaleis, a community center for the arts that features workshops dedicated to all kinds of creative disciplines. The working visit was connected to the royal couple’s work with the Oranje Fonds, which invests in initiatives to support social connection. The fund was created as a wedding gift to the couple from the Dutch people in 2002.

For the visit, Queen Máxima wore an elegant ensemble in a wintery shade of gray. Josine Droogendijk tells us that the knit dress and matching cape come from BEGG x CO, the fashion line founded by Vanessa Seward, a designer from Máxima’s native Argentina.

Máxima kept her jewelry uncharacteristically small and simple for the Wijkpaleis visit. This seems to have been a deliberate choice, because it focused all of our eyes on the important pair of diamond earrings that she wore with the ensemble.

The earrings, which feature ornate diamond studs and delicate diamond drops, are the same ones that she wore on her wedding day. The studs can be (and often are) worn with various other pendants and drops from the family collection, including Queen Juliana’s aquamarine briolettes and Queen Emma’s diamond and ruby clusters.

Here’s a look at Máxima wearing the earrings 24 (!) years ago on the balcony of the Royal Palace in Amsterdam on the couple’s wedding day. She wore the earrings with additional diamonds, including the Dutch Star Tiara and a diamond bracelet, as accessories for her Valentino wedding gown.

The only other major jewels worn by Queen Máxima on Monday were, appropriately, her engagement and wedding rings. Her engagement ring, which was made by the Dutch jewelry firm Steltman, is set with a rare orange diamond. The orange gemstone is a nod to the name of her husband’s dynasty, the House of Orange-Nassau, and the title he held at the time of their engagement, Prince of Orange.

And don’t forget that, later this morning, our free Wednesday edition of Hidden Gems will drop in your inboxes! Lots to talk about today, including that famous Cartier necklace from the “Wuthering Heights” premiere in Hollywood and a major upgrade coming to the Danish crown jewelry display.