Before jetting off to Luxembourg to witness the transition of power last week, the Queen of the Netherlands headed to France for a working visit—and brought some truly remarkable diamonds and pearls with her for the trip.
On Wednesday, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands arrived in Toulouse for a working visit to the Occitania region of France. The visit is part of the larger Dutch-French Economic Year, a project designed to strengthen trade relations between the two nations and develop new economic partnerships. The day’s program included visits to an urban farm and vineyard and a tour of the global headquarters of aircraft manufacturer Airbus, as well as an evening reception.
For the daytime events of the visit, Queen Máxima wore an ivory Natan skirt suit with a straw hat. There were plenty of touches in the ensemble inspired by traditional French design, including the New Look-esque cut of the suit and the beret-adjacent hat.
Máxima’s day jewels for the visit were classic diamond and pearl pieces, coordinating nicely with the vintage styling of the ensemble.
Classic pearl and diamond button earrings and a three-row pearl necklace were key elements of the jewelry ensemble for the first part of the program.
But there were even more exciting diamond and pearl touches, too, including the family’s large pearl and diamond double cluster brooch, which Máxima pinned at her waist. The brooch dates to the nineteenth century, and it can also be worn with a pearl pendant. She also added her pearl and diamond ring and an eight-row seed pearl bracelet with an elaborate gem-set clasp.
As a sidenote: I just love a Wax ‘n Max working visit. They are so game for any photo op, resulting in pictures like this one, taken during the Airbus tour.
On Wednesday evening, the royal couple attended a reception at the Capitole, Toulouse’s city hall. For the occasion, Queen Máxima wore a blush-colored ensemble from (you guessed it!) Natan, paired with sparkly accessories and some major jewels.
Máxima opted to wear diamonds for the reception, including a pair of classic diamond cluster earrings. These can be (and often are) worn with pendants—you can see the bale where various pendants can be attached at the bottom of the stud.
But the showstopper of the ensemble was, undoubtedly, the enormous diamond brooch that Máxima pinned to her top for the occasion. Photographer Patrick van Emst offered us a fascinating close-up of the jewel, which is meant to resemble a curling ribbon. The diamond in the center of the piece, fittingly, is also blush pink.
The brooch’s first recorded owner was Queen Sophie, the German-Russian princess who was the first wife of King Willem III. Her tenure as Queen of the Netherlands spanned from 1849 until her death in 1877, though she and her husband were separated for the majority of that time. No matter: her own glittering heritage, including the Romanov legacy of her mother, helped her assemble an impressive jewelry collection.
The brooch worn by Máxima in Toulouse is the top section of a larger devant de corsage from Sophie’s jewelry box. The complete piece, depicted on Sophie above in a contemporary engraving, has a long pendant section set with diamonds and pearls.
The full corsage ornament is still in the royal vaults today, and the complete version has been worn by Queen Máxima for various gala moments. Above, she wears the full devant de corsage for a state banquet in Vienna in the summer of 2022.
Máxima often wears the top portion of the corsage for events that are formal but don’t call for full gala dress, like the reception in Toulouse or the presentation of various awards. Above, she wears the top section for the King Willem I Awards presentation in Zwolle in May 2024.
Here’s one more look at Máxima wearing the brooch in Toulouse last week. She also added more diamond touches, including her diamond wedding bracelet and a Patek Philippe watch set with diamonds.
