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    Netherlands Order of Oranje-Nassau


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    The Netherlands Order of Oranje-Nassau was instituted on 4 april 1892.

    After King William III died in 1890, Luxembourg was split from the Dutch crown because a woman now became Queen of the Netherlands. With Salic law applying in Luxembourg, a distant relative of Wilhelmina, the new Dutch Queen, became the new Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The Order of the Oaken Crown, instituted for Luxembourg by King William II in 1841, was now no longer available for use in the Netherlands, so a new lower order (after the Order of the Netherlands Lion) was needed. This led to the creation of the Order of Oranje-Nassau, named after the Netherlands Royal House.

    Today, it has 6 grades: Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer, Knight, and Member.

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    Here are my Grand Cross and Grand Officer sets of this order. The Grand Cross was awarded to a Bulgarian ambassador in the 1970s, while the Grand Officer was awarded to an unknown person in around the 1930s.

    One way to date the insignia is by looking at the inscription on the reverse. It reads "God Zij Met Ons" ("May God be with us"). On earlier pieces, the word "Zij" is spelled "Zy." The switchover to the "zij" spelling occurred some time around the 1970s or so, I'm not sure of the exact year.

    Edited by DutchBoy
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    Nice Collection!

    Do you have also the other grades?

    The commander, officer, knight and the more modern Member-grade?

    And also the medals affilated with the order, in bronze, silver and gold?

    anyway, I like your collection!

    Kind regards,

    Jacky

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    Thanks guys!

    I don't have any of the other grades (yet), but I really want one from the military division, with swords. I'll try to make some close-ups of my pieces as well, especially showing the "zij" and "zy" variations. If anyone has a variation with swords please post it!

    Thanks,

    Matthijs.

    :D

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    Magnificent items Matthijs, congratulation :)

    Out of curiosity: Whenever I encounter this order for sale at various dealers the badge is mostly (always?) in silvergilt, and judging from these pictures yours seem to be silvergilt as well.

    Was the badge ever awarded in real gold? And if yes, do you know when it changed?

    /Mike

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    Thanks Mike!

    I have never heard of a solid gold version. Considering it is the 3rd highest Dutch order, a solid gold variation would seem unlikely. The badges are always gold-plated silver as far as I'm aware.

    I know the lion on the front of both the badge and the star are solid gold, as is the "W" monogram and crown on the badge, and are separately attached.

    Hope this helps,

    Matthijs.

    Magnificent items Matthijs, congratulation :)

    Out of curiosity: Whenever I encounter this order for sale at various dealers the badge is mostly (always?) in silvergilt, and judging from these pictures yours seem to be silvergilt as well.

    Was the badge ever awarded in real gold? And if yes, do you know when it changed?

    /Mike

    Edited by DutchBoy
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    I have a quick note on this one.

    It wasn't Wilhelmina who created this order, but her mother, Queen-Regnant Emma.

    After the order of the Oaken crown fell in disuse, as it became an order of luxemburg. Emma knew that a "commoner"-order was needed and

    created the order of Orange-Nassau in name of her minor-aged daughter.

    From the governmental site:

    "In 1841, as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, King Willem II created the Order of the Oak Crown. Although this was not a Dutch order, honours in the Order of the Oak Crown were regularly conferred on Dutch people and foreign diplomats. After the death of King Willem III in 1891, Luxembourg became an independent state. Since then, honours in the Order of the Oak Crown can no longer be awarded by the Dutch head of state.

    There was an obvious need for a new, third Dutch order, in particular to be able to confer a royal honour on foreign diplomats, but also to be able to give people from lower classes and ranks a royal pat on the back. On 4 April 1892, at the time when Queen Emma was Regent of the Kingdom, the Order of Orange-Nassau was created."

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