Mastery of Design: Queen Elizabeth II’s Sapphire and Diamond Suite, 1947

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II wearing the necklace from this parure  before it was altered.

Sapphire and Diamond Parure
Carrington & Co., 1947
The Royal Collection

In 1947, King George VI purchased this magnificent suite of diamonds and sapphires set in gold from Carrington & Co. as a gift for the wedding of his eldest daughter, Princess Elizabeth, to Prince Philip.


Her Majesty loved the necklace, but found it a trifle too long. In 1959, she had it shortened by four stones. The largest of the sapphires that were removed was converted into the elegant pendant which hangs from the center of the necklace. This pendant, as is the case of much of the Royal jewelry, serves as a secondary piece of jewelry when detached and worn from a matching pin assembled from the remaining stones from the necklace’s alteration.