Aquamarine Maxima

Sailor's gem in a royal parure

In earlier times, it was believed that the aquamarine gemstone offered protection to sailors during their often long and stormy sea voyages. Whether Princess Juliana was aware of this and saw the aquamarine as her talisman for her future queenship, we will never know. It could also very well be that she was looking for something suitable to go with a gown and couldn't find it among the crown jewels. In any case, Princess Juliana received aquamarine jewels as gifts on her 21st birthday from her grandmother, Queen Mother Emma, and her parents, Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry.

Aquamarine parure

For this rather special birthday, her parents gave her a tiara with seven teardrop-shaped aquamarines. Queen Mother Emma even had a necklace set with diamonds and square aquamarines designed for this special occasion. The necklace was crafted so that the birthday princess could wear it in two different ways: as a long necklace or as a collier du chien (short). If the necklace was worn short, the remaining part served as a bracelet.

That Princess Juliana was enthusiastic about her aquamarines was further demonstrated years later when she received long aquamarine earrings from her future mother-in-law on the occasion of her marriage to Bernard. Earrings she wore very regularly. Nowadays, this style of earrings is also known as Maxima earrings.

But her future husband Bernhard also did not lag behind, and he further expanded her aquamarine collection by giving her a pendant with a pear-cut aquamarine and an Art Deco aquamarine brooch on their wedding day. Years later, on their 25th wedding anniversary, he gave her a second aquamarine brooch, this time in Edwardian style.

Queen Maxima aquamarine

All these aquamarine jewels together form the set of crown jewels as it is today. And I can imagine that due to the special occasions on which these jewels were given to Princess Juliana, this set has emotional value. It was therefore remarkable that the pear-cut aquamarine pendant was worn by Princess Laurentien on a diamond brooch on the evening before the inauguration of Prince Willem Alexander.

The aquamarine is a beautiful gemstone that, fortunately, is not only worn by queens and princesses. It is also possible to wear aquamarine yourself; shop our aquamarine jewelry.