The Queen received the striking piece of jewelry in 2013 while she was on tour with Willem-Alexander through Middelburg, Zierikzee and Goes, among others. In the latter place, she was given the mussel necklace as a gift from the Goese jewelery designer Ineke Otte, who is known for her colorful designs and uses ‘parts’ that are slightly different.
Maxima’s humor
During the tour, Ineke spoke extensively with Máxima about her jewelry. “’What a sense of humour, how beautiful’, she said then. She was impressed, which was great fun. Then I offered this one and after so many years she still wears it in public”, Ineke tells Broadcasting Zeeland† “I had heard through the media that she sometimes wears it, but now it was clearly visible. I think it looks fantastic on her, it was really a picture. It’s nice that she picked that out for her outfit yesterday.”
International attention
The mussel shells of the chain are not real, by the way. “A real mussel continues to smell or is too sharp to have around the neck,” explains Ineke. “It is a synthetic combination, but I strung glass beads between the mussels. The dullness of the mussel and the shine of the pearl that has been incorporated into it makes it a fascinating composition.” And Ineke doesn’t just think so, her necklace also hangs as part of a collection in the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in San Francisco. Even in Máxima’s country of origin, the piece of jewelery is causing a furore. “I received a message from an Argentine newspaper in which it was mentioned”, Ineke says proudly.