A gift from Charles, perhaps? Queen Camilla wears a new, gem-encrusted Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet to…see more

A gift from Charles, perhaps? Queen Camilla wears a new, gem-encrusted Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet to Ascot
The Queen sported a bangle from her favourite jewellery designer to watch her horse compete

When the Queen arrived at Ascot on Saturday, it was to watch her horse, Handcuffed, compete in the Princess Margaret stakes. All eyes were not on the course, however – but on Camilla’s sensational summer look.

For her day at the races, Queen Camilla picked a blue, iris-print dress by one of her favourite designers, Suzannah London, which she teamed with a wide-brimmed straw hat and nude heels. But it was her jewellery that really drew focus; specifically, a new bracelet which she showed off on her left hand.

While watching the (quite literally) nail biting race, Camilla could be seen raising a hand to her mouth in anguish, revealing a diamond-encrusted bangle. Her latest acquisition, which is made from 18 carat yellow gold, is from the ‘Perlée’ collection by Van Cleef & Arpels and costs just shy of £30,000.

The Queen is a committed devotee of the upmarket jewellery designer, and sported her favourite ‘Alhambra’ chain bracelet from the brand on her other wrist for her day at Ascot. Over the years, she has built up quite the Van Cleef collection: among other pieces, she owns a malachite set of necklace and matching earrings, a pair of ‘Cosmos’ clip brooches (which she wore for her very first Buckingham Palace garden party in 2005) and enormous diamond drop earrings, which she wears for evening events. For the launch of the Great Get Together at Clarence House in 2017 she wore the brand’s ‘Libellule’ dragonfly brooches and, a year later at a state dinner in Ghana, she sported a necklace and earrings from the designer’s ‘Snowflake’ line

Queen Camilla has been collecting Van Cleef & Arpels designs, both modern and vintage, for many years – but she is far from the first royal to patronage the brand. The Queen Nazli of Egypt is thought to be one of the first royals to take a liking to the label, and commissioned two famous pieces of jewellery – an art deco style tiara and a necklace containing over 600 diamonds – in the late 1930s.

Wallis Simpson, who famously loved expensive accessories, was also a regular client; the brand’s ‘Zip’ necklace was allegedly inspired by her style. Grace Kelly was frequently gifted gems from the designer by Prince Rainier III, who bought her a pearl and diamond parure as an engagement present. Kelly loved the jeweller so much, that Van Cleef & Arpels was even appointed the patented supplier of Monaco.