Kate Middleton: Favorite Jewelry of The Duchess of Cambridge

Kate Middleton – or Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, as she became known after her marriage to Prince William of Great Britain – has been in the public eye for a quite a while. While her engagement and subsequent marriage to the prince made her a household name, her fashion-consciousness had already placed her on “best dressed” listings as early as 2006. Style, Richard Blackwell and Vanity Fair all sang her praises.

Once the engagement with the prince was official, her jewelry and clothing styles became matters of intense scrutiny by fashionistas around the world. Some of her most famous jewels have become so popular that they are being copied and sold to the mass market.

Engagement ring from Garrard of Mayfair. It is the ring that Prince Charles gave to Lady Diana Spencer for her engagement. Back in 1981, when the couple was smiling and happy, the blue 12-carat Ceylon sapphire oval and halo consisting of 14 diamonds made the newspapers. Jewelers worked hard to quickly mass produce inexpensive imitations. When Prince William put his late mother’s engagement ring on Kate’s finger, the frenzy started anew.

Drop earrings from Kiki McDonough. Kate has a penchant for Kiki McDonough’s pieces. Known for the inventive use of gemstones in jewelry, the duchess has been spotted wearing a pair of drop earrings featuring a citrine set in 18-carat gold. Jewelry insiders note that this design stems from the Eternal Collection.

Necklace by Cartier.Known as the Trinity necklace, the 18-carat gold chain features a mix of white, yellow and rose gold. Three circles make up the trinity. The design includes pave diamonds that lend an otherworldly sparkle to this piece. It is interesting to note that Kate does not usually favor larger circles in her jewelry. To make an exception must mean that she was thoroughly impressed with the look and craftsmanship of the piece.

Tiara by Cartier.For her wedding, Queen Elizabeth lent Kate the halo tiara made by Cartier that had once belonged to the Queen Mother. When Elizabeth turned 18, her mother presented her with the piece. For the wedding, Kate was allowed to wear this family heirloom that featured a veil of silk tulle with hand-embroidered floral designs.

Bracelet by Tiffany.Tiffany & Co. is famous for its bracelet-by-the-yard. Although the duchess is not usually seen wearing thin bracelets – she has been spotted wearing a more sizable piece that is said to have been a wedding gift from her father-in-law – Tiffany managed to have her make an exception. She has been spotted wearing this piece frequently and seems to enjoy the platinum links that hold small round diamonds.

As she continues with her royal duties, the Duchess of Cambridge will undoubtedly bring new jewelry fashions to forefront.

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5 Stunning Royal Jewelry Pieces—Wow!

No matter what country they hail from, when royals are involved, jewelry is always elaborate, exquisite, unique and expensive! Still, we know our readers love to see images and read stories about jewelry from around the world so here are five stunning royal jewelry pieces we know you’ll love.

Marie Antoinette Necklace

 

They say Marie loved spending money and this necklace is full of white diamonds, two are yellow diamonds in an oval shape and a fabulous pink diamond at the bottom. The gems are set in platinum and all the jewels together equal 20.35 carats! Not bad for the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and Emperor Francis I. The approximate cost today is a whopping $3.7 million.

Art Deco Diamond Necklace

 

Although this necklace graced Spanish Flamenco dancer Anita Delgado—who became Princess in Kapurthala, no one is quite sure what this necklace is worth in today’s money. It is full of diamonds, emeralds and rock crystal. Before Anita wore it, she fondly placed the necklace as an adornment on her favorite elephant.

Poltimore Tiara and Diamond Monogram Brooch

 

The younger and often scandalous sister of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret was lucky enough to own the Poltimore Tiara made from old cut diamond clusters and diamond set scroll motifs. What’s amazing about this Tiara is it can be converted to a necklace or eleven brooches. The cost in today’s dollars--$1,704,576. Also owned by Princess Market is a monogramed brooch bearing the letters HSH and an “M” for its namesake. The brooch is made of single cut and circular cut diamonds. The brooch is worth $344,448.

Tabbah Infinite Cascade Necklace

 

When Prince Albert II of Monaco married Charlene Wittstock, he handed over a Tabbah Infinite Cascade necklace made of 1,237 diamonds, six giant pearls and 18k rose gold. Again, no price tag on this one as of this writing but when His Serene Highness Prince Albert gives a gift to his wife, it’s a good one!

Jackie Kennedy’s Engagement Ring from JFK

 

Although not world royalty, in the U.S, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and JFK were certainly a “royal power couple.” The engagement bobble, purchased by JFK’s father Joe Sr. is a diamond and emerald ring. Made by Van Cleef & Arpels, JFK gave the ring to Jackie in 1953. By 1962, the original 2.88 carats of diamonds and emeralds was reset and its final weight was 4.3 carats—2.84 carts of cut emeralds and 1.46 carats of round diamonds.

Some pretty impressive pieces from the world’s royalty and our own beloved Jackie Kennedy in the United States. Do you have a favorite celebrity or royal piece of jewelry you long to own? If so leave us a comment and let us know!

Peter Suchy Jewelers is located at 1137 High Ridge Road in Stamford Connecticut and we invite you to stop by our showroom to browse many of our vintage and estate jewelry pieces—they are truly stunning.

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Elizabeth Taylor’s Impressive Jewelry Collection

We all knew her as “Liz.” And, for the movie star who married Richard Burton—twice. We watched as she transitioned from little girl actress to mega movie star—glamorous, beautiful and oh those violet eyes! So many of us today are still obsessed with Liz Taylor’s impressive jewelry collection—so what was in this fabulous group of jewels? 

We turned to Vogue and Forbes to see what they had to offer on Liz’s jewelry and they revealed plenty!

When Taylor was only 12, she was drawn to jewelry. At 12, she discovered a gold-plated brooch and saved and saved until she was able to purchase it from a Beverly Hills Hotel boutique. The ever-generous Liz gave the brooch to her mother.

It was, however, after her death in March of 2011, when Christies Auction House realized a combined total of $156,756,576 and sold every single piece of Taylor’s collection in an auction that lasted from December 3^rd to December 17^th in 2011. Some of the pieces included in the auction were:

The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond 

This stunning 33-carat white diamond was given to Elizabeth by husband Richard Burton. He offered this ring to her on May 16, 1968 and it was the ring Elizabeth preferred to wear each and every day—definitely a favorite.

La Peregrina Pearl Necklace 

Full of the pearl, rubies and diamonds, the La Peregrina necklace has a 203-grain pear-shaped pearl that came from the 16^th Century. Also a gift from Richard Burton in 1969, the stunning pearl was once part of the crown jewels of Spain. Burton was lucky enough to win the pearl at an auction in 1969 for a mere $37,000. Of course, Liz immediately hired Cartier to come up with a stunning necklace to enhance the pearl that included rubies and diamonds.

Bvlgari Emerald Collection 

Again Burton outdid himself through his many trips to the Italian jewelry house of Bvlgari. It took Burton from 1962 to 1967 to obtain the necklace, pendant, ring, bracelet and earrings—what a guy!

Cartier Ruby Collection 

Husband Mike Todd was the source of Liz’s Cartier ruby collection. He purchased the set in 1957 and it includes a necklace, bracelet and earrings full of rubies and of course, her favorite—diamonds.

Taj Mahal Diamond 

Gold and rubies surrounded the Taj Mahal Diamond and was a gift to Taylor from Burton on her 40^th birthday in 1972. Said to be circa 1627, it was first presented by Emperor Shah Jahan to his wife Mamtaz-i-Mahal.

Charm Bracelet 

This beautiful gold bracelet is graced with 20 charms and is engraved to commemorate The Taming of the Shrew.  It is also engraved with Liz’s name and contains a sphere-shaped locket that opens to reveal four gems engraved with the names and birthdates of each of her four children.

Ping Pong Diamonds 

What do you get when you beat your husband in a game of ping pong? Well a group of three diamond rings of course! The husband? You guessed it; this trio of diamond rings was given to Liz by Richard Burton in 1970.

Mike Todd Diamond Tiara 

What is a movie princess without a diamond tiara? That’s exactly what husband Mike Todd thought when he gave Liz this tiara in 1957.

We would like to thank Forbes for the photos of these stunning jewels from the Elizabeth Taylor Collection. But more than anything, the world still misses Liz who was a strong supporter of AIDs and a generous person with open arms to all who needed her. Hollywood will never be the same without her and no one could possibly imitate or top her successes.

Peter Suchy Jewelers are experts at finding, repairing and selling vintage and estate jewelry and we invite you to visit our showroomlocated at 1137 High Ridge Road in Stamford Connecticut.

We also encourage you to browse our eBay store where you’ll find thousands of pieces from many periods and designer.

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