A ruby, gold and diamond brooch, presented to The Queen by The Duke of Edinburgh in 1966, was designed by Andrew Grima and is an example of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh's patronage of British design.
This brooch formed part of a collection of jewellery which The Council of Industrial Design chose as a contender for the Duke of Edinburgh's Prize. Subsequently, Grima was the only jewellery designer to be awarded The Duke of Edinburgh Prize for Elegant Design, which was established in 1959 and given to a designer of 'a contemporary design in current production distinguished by its elegance'. Grima, who trained as an engineer, was subsequently awarded The Queen's Award for Industry and the Royal Warrant.
He made 100 pieces of jewellery for the Royal Family. His jewels are owned by The Princess Royal and Princess Michael of Kent, while the late Princess Margaret had many of his unique pieces. He also designed the wedding gift for Crown Princess Margarethe given by the British Royal Family. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother also placed orders with him.
Prince Philip chose this brooch of carved rubies with diamonds in gold and later presented it to Her Majesty the Queen. It is approximately "...two inches wide, with brilliant-cut diamonds set in platinum and carved rubies set in [irregularly-carved]gold." The rubies came from an Indian ornament. It looks very nice on tweed.
This brooch will be on display at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on the 90th birthday of Her Majesty The Queen. Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from The Queen's Wardrobe, opens on Thursday, 21 April -16 October 2016.
Sources:Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2016; The Canberra Times; Australian Women's Weekly
Thank you to Laura!
