When the King and Queen welcomed Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman to Windsor Castle for a state banquet on Tuesday 20 October, the Princess of Wales chose jewels with a remarkable back story. With a golden-yellow Elie Saab gown, Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara and the Queen Mary Choker Bracelet, she wore the Greville Chandelier Earrings, a pair of Cartier diamond drops that once belonged to Queen Elizabeth II and that, according to royal jewellery historians, helped make pierced ears fashionable in 1950s Britain.
A Cartier commission that grew over a decade
The earrings began life in December 1918 as a fairly simple pair of diamond drops ordered from Cartier by Margaret Greville, a wealthy society hostess and close friend of Queen Mary. She sent them back to be lengthened in 1922, and again in 1929, when more stones gave them the cascading shape we know today. The Royal Collection describes the result as a lexicon of modern diamond cuts: three pear-shaped drops framed by baguette, baton, emerald, half-moon, trapeze and square-cut stones, all set in platinum. It is a perfect snapshot of Art Deco ambition, and the reason the style still feels modern next to a sleek evening gown.
From a tin trunk to a wedding present
Mrs Greville had no children, and when she died in 1942 she left her entire jewellery collection to Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother. The jewels reportedly arrived at Buckingham Palace in a modest tin trunk, and with Britain at war the royal couple kept the bequest very quiet. In 1947 King George VI and his wife chose the chandelier earrings as a wedding present for their daughter, Princess Elizabeth, on her marriage to Prince Philip.
There was one small problem: the princess did not have pierced ears. The earrings stayed in their box until the summer of 1951, when she had her ears pierced shortly before her tour of Canada. Writers on royal style say the news encouraged many young women to follow suit. As Queen, she wore the pair to her first Royal Variety Performance in 1952 and returned to them often through the 1950s and 1960s.
A new chapter on the red carpet
Queen Camilla does not have pierced ears, which may explain why the earrings have become a favourite of the Princess of Wales instead. She has chosen them for several white-tie evenings, including last year’s Royal Variety Performance, where they were again paired with the Queen Mary bracelet, an echo of the late Queen’s own outing in 1952.
The lesson for the rest of us? Long, light-catching drops instantly lift an evening look, especially with the hair swept back. Browse our earrings, from sparkling sapphire earrings to statement drops, or complete the look with a matching bracelet or one of our coordinated jewellery sets.
Sources: Vanity Fair Italia, Tatler, The Court Jeweller, The Court Jeweller (Oman state banquet).
