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To mark what would have been Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday, the team at Hancocks Jewellers has chosen our favourite highlights from the Queen Elizabeth II jewellery collection.
Born on 21 April 1926, her style still feels instantly familiar. Not because it followed trends, but because it always felt considered. For many of us, her jewellery sits alongside the great photographs of her reign. Not simply because it was beautiful, but because it so often signalled the moment. A state visit. A banquet. A portrait that travelled the world.
Below, we share a few pieces that capture that story best. These are jewels with history, and with presence, worn in ways that still feel clear and purposeful today.
There are jewels that feel famous, and there are jewels that feel historic. The Cullinan III and Cullinan IV diamonds, worn together as a brooch, belong firmly in the second category.
In 1958, during the Queen’s state visit to the Netherlands, she wore the brooch when visiting the Asscher workshop in Amsterdam. It was a quietly meaningful moment, given Asscher’s link to the Cullinan diamond’s cutting. Years later, many will remember the same brooch at the Diamond Jubilee service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral in June 2012, chosen with that familiar royal confidence. Then in October 2018, she wore it again for the state banquet during the Dutch state visit at Buckingham Palace, returning the diamonds to the centre of the story once more.
If the Cullinans are about heritage, the Brazilian aquamarines are about presence. Cool, striking, and unmistakably regal, this suite is one of the most memorable in the Queen Elizabeth II jewellery collection.
The aquamarines began as a gift connected with Brazil, and in 1957 the Queen commissioned Garrard to create a matching tiara. It completed the parure and gave the stones a bold new setting that photographed beautifully. Over the years, the tiara became a confident choice for major occasions, worn when a state evening called for scale and polish. And for those who love a clear, modern reference point, it is widely noted as last photographed at the Spanish State Banquet in 2017, a late chapter that still felt completely assured.
Some jewels feel like a finishing touch. These earrings do not. They are the moment.
The Greville chandelier earrings came to Princess Elizabeth as a wedding gift in 1947, and she later had her ears pierced in 1951 so she could wear them. That detail alone says so much, a future Queen making room for beauty that deserved to be worn, not stored away.
Once she became Queen, they quickly became part of her evening rotation. The first Royal Variety Performance of her reign in 1952 marked an early appearance, then they returned again and again across the decades. They even reappeared during a summer 2010 tour of Canada, a reminder that truly exceptional jewels never lose their relevance.
Sapphires were one of the Queen’s most recognisable signatures, and this suite carries both style and sentiment. The sapphire necklace and earrings were a wedding gift from King George VI in 1947, and they were worn early and often, becoming part of the Queen’s visual language.
In November 1951, she wore the sapphires during her tour of Canada as Princess Elizabeth, already showing the steady confidence that would define her public image. Two years later, in October 1953, she wore the shortened necklace with the earrings for the Royal Film Performance of Rob Roy at the Odeon Leicester Square, placing Victorian design under modern lights, and making it look completely natural. And in March 2019, the portrait released for Canada, photographed at Windsor Castle, offered a later reminder of her affection for sapphire jewellery, rich colour, clear structure, and a sense of calm authority.
Looking back at the Queen Elizabeth II jewellery collection is a little like stepping into a family photograph album of a nation. You remember where you were when you saw certain images. You remember the atmosphere of the day. You remember the feeling.
What stays with us most is how her jewellery never wore her. She wore it with poise. Diamonds brought light, but never noise. Sapphires added depth and strength. Aquamarines offered cool clarity. Each piece felt chosen to support the moment, and in doing so, it became part of the story we all share.
If royal jewellery inspires you, take it as a guide to dressing with confidence. Choose one strong element, then keep everything else calm. A single colour. A clean neckline. A piece that feels like you. That is often where the most elegant style begins.
And if you enjoyed this look back, our blog on Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent is a lovely next read. It is another story of jewels, personality, and British style at its most captivating.
