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The September Artistry webinar was the Jewel of the Spring!
Monday, 20 September 2021
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Participating in online webinars can certainly brighten the not so sunny winter or even a spring day, and our last EKC Artistry series webinar in September: The Queen’s Diamonds simply sparkled! Gloriously displayed on our screens were the most beautiful jewels of Queen Elizabeth II from her Private Diamond Collection Exhibition. If you ever wondered what happens with the amazing and vast collection of royal jewels, rest assured, they do not gather dust. Our presenter, Adrian Dickens, confirmed that when it comes to royal jewellery, it all stays in the family. For centuries, the British royals have passed priceless jewels from one generation to the next, sometimes with a bit of change to better suit current tastes or to be more wearable for an individual woman. Fashion does matter even to the royals (!), and as fashions change, royals often recycle precious stones to suit their personality or trend.  Adrian explained how Queen Mary’s tiara (pictured above) made in 1913 and modelled after a previous version of the same sparkler, her grandmother Princess Augusta of Hesse’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, became a favourite of her granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen lent it to Princess Diana for a time and after Diana’s death, it wasn’t publicly seen until Duchess Kate wore it to Buckingham Palace in 2015. Since then, it’s become one of Kate’s favourite tiaras. However, if you secretly hope that one day this tiara may adjourn your new hairstyle, Adrian crashed this dream completely by assuring us that The Queen doesn't give the jewels as gifts—they still remain part of her personal jewellery collection, but she allows family members to wear them on a long-term basis. The Queen is especially fond of her collection of 98 different brooches and often wears them for special appearances. One of them is the Australian Wattle Brooch, which was presented to Queen Elizabeth II by Prime Minister Robert Menzies, on behalf of the Government and People of Australia, at a State Banquet in Canberra on February 16 in 1954, during Elizabeth II’s first visit to Australia, and her first as a reigning monarch. The Queen immediately wore it during her Coronation Tour of Australia in 1954 and continues to pin it to coats and dresses. It is such a large sparkly brooch that she’s worn it with virtually every colour, though yellow and orange tones seem to show it off to best effect - see below:  She regularly pins it to outfits at ordinary royal engagements, not just engagements tied to Australia. That’s unusual for Her Majesty. She usually wears national symbol royal brooches only at events tied to that country, a tradition of other Royals throughout the centuries. The Diamond Maple Leaf has been such a popular brooch worn during royal visits to Canada - below:  King George VI gave his wife Queen Elizabeth this brooch to mark their 1939 state visit to Canada. Then Princess Elizabeth was loaned the piece for her 1951 trip to Canada, but it stayed in the Queen Mother’s possession until her death. She continued to wear it, even at age 100. Queen Elizabeth II subsequently inherited the piece and has lent it to Camilla Parker-Bowles and Kate Middleton for their respective trips to Canada. The Queen’s Diamonds was a fascinating presentation and a great insight into the world of anything “royal and jewellery” with a touch of history. Adrian Dickens, who is a jeweller with 40 years’ experience in modern, estate and antique jewellery, is British-born and trained in England before moving to Australia in 1988, where he managed iconic Australian jewellery retailers such as Paul Bram, Jan Logan and Bunda Fine Jewels. His passion for jewellery and history was evident throughout the presentation. He provides advice and expertise in all matters of jewellery, and you can see his creations on his website https://circaadjewels.com. Be sure to sign up for his newsletter. The Artistry series of webinars are organised by the Elizabeth Kirkhope Circle, the Lauriston bequest society, and have been presented to the Lauriston alumnae for the past 12 months. They certainly give us a chance to recognize the generosity of our Lauriston community and their gifts in will to the school. Last month we presented the fabulous Jane Edmanson OAM (1967) talking about her passion for gardening, and in the next couple of months we are planning some more sensational webinars. Thank you for your suggestions and words of encouragement after each webinar. We do appreciate your feedback and welcome your comments and ideas for future webinars, which are certainly proving to be a great way of connecting our Lauriston community. I hope you will be able to join us again soon. Bo Rutecki Advancement Associate ruteckibo@lauriston.vic.edu.au |