This message #1 was written by Boffer pre-2013.

36. The Queen’s Aquamarine Clip Brooches

   Field attributes these aquamarine and diamond clip brooches, which she describes as a “typical 1940s design, combining baguette, oval and round stones”, to Cartier.[1] However, these brooches were actually purchased from Boucheron’s stock in 1944, by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and presented to The Queen, when still Princess Elizabeth, as a gift to mark her 18th birthday, in 1944.[2]

   The Queen has been pictured wearing them occasionally, both pinned together as one large brooch,[3] and, more usually, as two separate brooches pinned to her lapel.[4]

1. Field, The Queen’s Jewels, p. 23
2. Royal Collection: Dress for the Occasion: Pair of aquamarine and diamond clips
3. Field, The Queen’s Jewels, p. 23
4. Young, The Queen’s Jewellery, pl. 15; Field, The Queen’s Jewels, p. 23