Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World
We’ve talked a lot lately about the generous gifts of jewels that Brits made to the late Queen Mother. Today’s brooch is another piece of that bejeweled category: the James Bow Brooch, which was presented to Elizabeth by someone very close to her.
You know you have a serious amount of charisma when multiple people who are not family members leave you glittering jewels in their wills. Such was the luck of the Queen Mum, who famously received the gigantic Greville jewel bequest from a family friend; even better, she also inherited today’s piece, the Courtauld Thomson Scallop-Shell Brooch, from a loyal subject.
For a royal family that has faced serious upheaval over the last century, the Borbons of Spain have managed to hang on to some serious heirloom tiaras. That’s been possible in part because the family has largely maintained personal possession of their jewels rather than consigning them to an official collection of crown jewels. It also means that many tiaras, like the Spanish Diamond Loop Tiara we’re discussing today, meandered a bit through the family before arriving in the hands of its current owners.