1 of Queen Elizabeth’s Final Gifts May Have Been Her Most Symbolic
Queen Elizabeth II spent her final months celebrating 70 years on the throne via the Platinum Jubilee. The nearly year-long festivities included exhibitions, competitions, and events that the queen and other senior royals attended. Her Majesty also received her final piece of gifted jewelry that may have been her most symbolic.
Queen Elizabeth II’s final jewelry gift was one of her most symbolic brooches
At the lighting of the Jubilee beacon at Windsor Castle during the queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, the monarch wore a brooch commissioned by the Goldsmiths’ company. It’s believed to be the last piece of jewelry the queen was gifted, and it was possibly the most symbolic brooch she ever owned.
The wreath-like brooch paid homage to the four nations of the United Kingdom — England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
According to the fine jewelry experts at UK retailer Steven Stone, those four nations are represented by four diamond swirls and their national flowers — the rose, the thistle, the daffodil, and the shamrock. There’s also a special addition to the brooch, the queen’s favorite plant Lily of the Valley. The piece is estimated to be worth $44,000 (£40,000).
Jeweler Zack Stone noted that the brooch appears to be 18-carat white gold. However, considering the occasion, the intricate piece could possibly be made of platinum.
“It’s worth noting that it’s incredibly difficult to make this kind of piece with platinum, though not impossible,” Stone said. “Set with princess cut and round brilliant diamonds, it’s one of the late monarch’s most symbolic brooches.”
The monarch’s newest brooches were on display at a Platinum Jubilee exhibition
Following the queen’s death, the brooch was placed on public display at the Goldsmiths’ Fair in London. But it’s not the only brooch in her collection that represented the UK’s four nations. And, it’s not the only brooch that got a public display in 2022.
An exhibition for the Platinum Jubilee titled “The Queen’s Coronation at Windsor Castle” that ran through the end of September had four of Her Majesty’s newest brooches on display that were presented to the queen in 2012 by Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman for her Diamond Jubilee.
“This brooch isn’t the first that the Queen wore to pay tribute to the four nations of the UK. The Sultan Quaboos Bin Said of Oman gifted her four diamond brooches that represent the national emblems of the UK for her diamond jubilee in 2012 – boasting delicately beautiful craftsmanship and fine detail, they have a combined value of $202,000 (£187,000),” Stone revealed.
Queen Elizabeth II wore the pieces in the countries they represented
The queen wore the four brooches — the Rose of England, the Thistle of Scotland, the Shamrock of Ireland, and the Welsh Daffodil Brooch — on numerous occasions. Often, she would wear a specific brooch in the country that was represented by the emblem.
The Ireland brooch included three diamond shamrocks, with each leaf containing one round diamond set in white gold. The shamrocks are secured by an emerald ribbon. The Scottish brooch incorporated white and yellow gold and a combination of diamond baguettes and round diamonds.
The Rose of England brooch is an intricate piece that features a pair of wild roses rendered in warm-toned gold and entirely made of fancy diamonds.
“Each of the roses appears to have a red diamond as its center stone, which is the rarest variety of colored diamonds,” says jeweler Maxwell Stone.
The most valuable brooch in the collection was the Welsh Daffodil Brooch. With an estimated worth of £80,000, it featured three daffodils made up of yellow fancy diamonds, set in yellow gold. Plus a stem encrusted in white diamonds.
