The Williamson is a 23.60-carat pink diamond that belongs to Queen Elizabeth II. At her request, in 1953 Cartier designed a floral brooch that featured this gem.
Certainly one of the most famous pink diamonds in the world, the Williamson was discovered by a Canadian geologist, who gave it his name, in South Africa in 1947. As a fervent admirer of the British monarchy, John Williamson offered it that same year to Princess Elizabeth (1926–) on the occasion of her marriage to the duke of Edinburgh.
In 1953, the year of her coronation, Queen Elizabeth II consigned the precious stone to Cartier, who designed a floral brooch with curved stem that sprouts two budding leaves before blossoming into pavé-set corollas that surround the Williamson.
This brooch became one of the queen’s favorite pieces of jewelry, worn only on special occasions, both public and private. For example, she wore it to the wedding of her son Prince Charles (1948–) with Diana Spencer (1961–1997) in 1981. And in 2014, during a state visit to France, she honored her hosts by wearing it on her lapel.
The British monarch has occasionally agreed to lend this piece of jewelry for public exhibitions, notably in 1975 when Cartier organized a retrospective in London to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Louis Cartier, in 2012 for celebrations at Buckingham Palace of the queen’s own diamond jubilee, and again in 2012–14 for a major exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris, titled Cartier: Style and History.