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Oct 25, 2024

Queen Camilla Wore a $39,000 Seashell Brooch

It's over 100 years old. Getty Images King Charles and Queen Camilla are still knee-deep in their Australia trip, which means there are plenty of opportunities for eagle-eyed royals to scope out which

It's over 100 years old.

Getty Images

King Charles and Queen Camilla are still knee-deep in their Australia trip, which means there are plenty of opportunities for eagle-eyed royals to scope out which of the family's showstopping jewels managed to make the journey with the king and queen. Today, the duo are in Canberra—and for the occasion, Camilla wore a white dress with an eye-catching accessory: a seashell-shaped brooch that has been passed down multiple times, going from the Queen Mother to Queen Elizabeth II to the current reigning queen.

The piece features a large pearl and pavé diamonds and while it's tough to put a price tag on history and heritage, a jewelry expert notes that the scallop is nearly $40,000. Even before Camilla made it one of her go-to pins, it made its way into the history books by being the brooch of choice for the Queen Mother as she celebrated a huge milestone.

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Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

“Featuring pavé-set diamonds around a single pearl, the scallop shell brooch was made in 1919—it was left to Queen Elizabeth [the Queen Mother] by Courtauld-Thomsen’s sister, Winifred Hope Thomsen. Queen Elizabeth regularly wore the piece, most notably during her 100th birthday celebrations in 2000," Maxwell Stone, diamond expert at U.K. retailer Steven Stone, shared. "When [the Queen Mother] sadly passed away in 2002, she left the brooch to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. One of the late monarch's most valuable brooches, she wore the heirloom to the wedding of Zara and Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2011."

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Stone added that like many royal jewels, the seashell brooch has been handed down and has since become a favorite for Camilla. It made an appearance earlier this year in France and last year, it made a trip to Africa. Each time, Camilla has paired it with a creamy white outfit, while both the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II wore it with pastel hues.

"As with many of the late monarch’s treasures, the diamond brooch has been inherited by Queen Camilla, who notably showcased the stunning piece during her first public appearance in Kenya in October 2023," Stone added. "She also wore it in June of this year, to a commemorative event in France, marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. I'd estimate the sea life-inspired brooch to be worth £30,000 [about $39,000]."