Tiara Thursday: The Countess of Villagonzalo's Meander Tiara

We've covered tiaras that can be necklaces, tiaras that can be brooches, and tiaras that can be reduced in size...but a tiara that's actually two tiaras stacked on top of each other might be a new one for our Thursday spotlight. It's a double decker diadem!

 The Countess of Villagonzalo's Meander Tiara
Bonhams

Spanish jeweler Ansorena crafted this tiara around 1900, just around the time that jewelers were beginning to master the use of platinum. The lightness and strength of the metal allowed for a delicate and intricate Belle Époque design. (Interestingly, Ansorena's archives note the tiara was conceived as early as 1890, just ahead of the rise of platinum.) The tiara includes approximately 33.5 carats of old brilliant, single, and rose-cut diamonds. The construction features millegrain detailing and knifewire tracery.

Top portion of the tiara
Bonhams

Together, the whole diadem is a lot of look - but it separates into two pieces, both of which can be worn on their own as tiaras. The top tiara has a band of meandering Greek key motifs in the center; forget-me-not flowers and trailing laurel leaves representing true love and the triumph of love fill out the rest of the piece.

Bottom portion of the tiara, as a tiara and as a necklace
Bonhams

The bottom tiara can be removed from its frame and worn as a choker necklace. It features a lacework lattice design with a central handkerchief motif.

Esperanza Chávarri Aldecoa, the Countess of Villagonzalo, wearing the tiara in the fashionable low style circa 1920, with an additional diamond tassel at the center
Christie's

Although not owned by a royal family, this diadem would have seen plenty of royal events courtesy of its owner, Esperanza Chávarri Aldecoa, the Countess of Villagonzalo (1893-1982). The Countess was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria Eugenia, wife of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. Victoria Eugenia was another Ansorena patron; the jewelers created the Fleur de Lys Tiara among other Spanish royal jewels. (And they're still doing so, with the Ansorena Princess Fleur de Lys Tiara as an example.)

The Countess of Villagonzalo's diamond necklace
Christie's

The Countess' tiara passed down through her family over the years, and is now headed for the auction block. It will be sold at Bonhams London on September 26th. The pre-sale estimate is $100,000 - $160,000. It's not the only Villagonzalo jewel to hit the market this year: Christie's sold a diamond collet necklace - pictured above and worn by the Countess in the portrait above - for around $370,000 in June. A similar necklace was owned by Queen Victoria Eugenia and it is a part of the joyas de pasar, the jewels she left in her will to pass from queen to queen.

A two-for-one tiara: yes or no?

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Wedding: More Guest Fashion

How’s your royal wedding fever holding up? Still hanging in there? It’s like running a marathon, but on your couch, with snacks. We’ve already done the main stuff:

The bride, groom, and bridal party at the wedding ceremony

The royal guests at the wedding ceremony

The bride and groom at the evening reception

So let’s finish up the fashion business with a little look at what a few of the other guests - the ones that aren't members of the royal family - brought to the party.

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One of the first guests to catch my eye: Countess Spencer in Pamella Roland with a Rachel Trevor-Morgan hat. A purple outfit after my own heart! With a wee cape! She was terribly elegant back in 2011, too, I still remember her blush pink ensemble with a massive hat.

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Lady Kitty Spencer caught my eye too, in a green Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda dress with a hand-painted floral design and a Philip Treacy hat. Fantastic use of orange velvet accessories to give it an extra splash of interest.

Royal Family Channel/Instagram

You give Oprah an invite to the royal wedding, she's not about to chicken out on the hat game. Her hat is Philip Treacy she's had since 2005, with new feathers for the occasion. I had quibbles on the dress until I checked Oprah's Instagram; Stella McCartney’s team made this for her overnight after she suddenly realized her planned beige outfit was going to photograph too white. All things considered? That’s a pretty good result. McCartney labels this a “blush, double tiered dress with lace trim made of sustainable viscose.”

Instagram

It’s hard to go wrong with a blush pink outfit for a royal wedding, isn’t it? Oprah would agree. This Versace dress on Serena Williams is just right, as is the fascinator that keeps clear of her long braids.

Instagram

Serena also posted her look for the evening reception, a Valentino gown. Not everyone could carry this print off, yet on Serena, it's pure fun.

RFC

Amal Clooney opted for a bold color choice for the ceremony with this honey yellow Stella McCartney midi dress with a side tie detail in silk Cady, accompanied by a custom Stephen Jones hat. I loved this ray of sunshine during the broadcast, but in the photos, I suddenly want a little color variation. Maybe not full yellow on the hat?

Instagram

Meghan’s good friend Priyanka Chopra posted just after midnight that she was still waiting for her outfit to arrive, but no problems here: this is Vivienne Westwood with a to-die-for suit silhouette. A Philip Treacy hat tops it off.

Instagram

Also to-die-for: Priyanka’s evening look from Christian Dior. That is one sparkly dream of a dress, no? Let's get this on a princess or something.

The whole crew from Suits rolled up with their partners to support their former costar. I was watching all the guests arrive, trying to think which outfit I'd claim as my own if I were invited (as you do), and I think I found it: Jacinda Barrett's merlot grape Emilia Wickstead, be mine.

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Let’s end with the ever-appropriately dressed Middleton crew. The only surprise comes when you realize that Pippa’s floral dress from The Fold actually looks startlingly like an Arizona Tea can…and once you see it, there’s no turning back.

Who else caught your eye at the royal wedding?

Tiara Thursday: Elizabeth Taylor's Cartier Ruby Necklace Tiara

Elizabeth Taylor's Cartier Ruby Necklace Tiara

Elizabeth Taylor called Mike Todd, her third husband, one of the two great loves of her life. Their marriage lasted just 13 months before it was cut tragically short by Todd's death in a plane crash in New Mexico. Those months were filled with the 47-year-old theater and film producer showering his 24-year-old superstar wife with glittering gifts of jewelry, including a tiara (the Mike Todd Tiara).

The necklace

One of his most spectacular “just because” gifts was a suite of diamond and ruby jewelry by Cartier, a set anchored by a spectacular bib necklace made in 1951 of oval-, cushion-, and round-shaped rubies with baguette- and round-cut diamonds. The rubies are set in gold and the diamonds are set in platinum, and the necklace was accompanied by matching earrings and a matching bracelet.

The bracelet

The earrings

Todd gave Taylor her rubies in August 1957, at a villa the couple were renting in the south of France. She described the moment in her book, My Love Affair with Jewelry:

"When Mike gave me the rubies I was pregnant with Liza. We had rented a villa, La Fiorentina, just outside Monte Carlo near St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, about three months into our marriage. The most beautiful house you've ever seen. Actually, I rented it twice - once with Mike and once with Richard. I was in the pool, swimming laps at our home, and Mike came outside to keep me company. I got out of the pool and put my arms around him, and he said, ‘Wait a minute, don't joggle your tiara.’ Because I was wearing my tiara in the pool! He was holding a red leather box, and inside was a ruby necklace, which glittered in the warm light. It was like the sun, lit up and made of red fire. First, Mike put it round my neck and smiled. Then he bent down and put matching earrings on me. Next came the bracelet. Since there was no mirror around, I had to look into the water. The jewelry was so glorious, ripping red on blue like a painting. I just shrieked with joy, put my arms around Mike’s neck, and pulled him into the pool after me. It was a perfect summer day and a day of perfect love."

That gleeful moment of jewelry delight was caught on home video (below).

Taylor wore the ruby set for big events during her marriage and afterward. The whole Cartier suite was included in the landmark auction of her jewelry and other treasures in 2011 by Christie’s.

The fevered bidding at the auction brought in astonishing prices for most pieces, well above their estimates. The Cartier ruby suite commanded close to $5.5 million total, with $3,778,500 paid for the necklace alone. The set is now back in the Cartier collection.

Now that the piece is with Cartier, another function of the necklace is highlighted once again: it can also be worn as a tiara!

The necklace as a tiara, modeled by Niki de Saint Phalle

The necklace was originally designed in 1951 and was modified in 1953 to double as a tiara (all occurring before Todd bought it in 1957). As necklace-to-tiara conversions go, the triangular bib shape is perhaps not the most natural fit, but it does make a strong impression – and it’s undeniably ruby, when many other ruby tiaras are light on the red stones. I think it looks like something you’d see in an animated Disney princess movie, which is not necessarily a bad thing in my book.

As a tiara: yes, or sport it as a necklace and leave it be?

You have a chance to see these rubies in person, should you happen to pass by the National Gallery of Australia in the next few months. Cartier: The exhibition runs from March 30 through July 22 and includes this necklace plus a whole lot of other sparklies and tiaras like the Hesketh Aquamarine Tiara, the Cartier Essex Tiara, and the Cartier Halo Tiara on loan from Queen Elizabeth II (so if you had that one in your royal wedding tiara pool, you’re going to be out of luck). The Williamson Diamond Brooch is also on loan from the Queen to this exhibition. Check it out if you can!

Tiara Thursday: Lady Delia Spencer’s Tiara

Lady Delia Spencer’s Tiara
Hancock's

This geometric tiara includes 800 old-cut diamonds with an estimated total carat weight of 48 carats. It is a flexible piece; held on the frame by small wing-topped screws, it can be removed and separated into three sections, creating a choker necklace from the center section and a bracelet by joining the two outer sections.

Lady Delia Spencer and the Hon. Sidney Peel on their wedding day

The tiara came into the family that makes it well known in 1914, when it was gifted to Lady Delia Spencer (1889-1981) by her father, the 6th Earl Spencer, when she married the Hon. Sidney Peel. (Accordingly, you will also see the Peel family name associated with this piece.) The tiara is mentioned in the Times report on the wedding, which also notes gifts of jewelry to the bride from Queen Alexandra and Princess Victoria.

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The wedding of Robin Douglas-Home and Sandra Paul

Lady Delia’s tiara was worn by Sandra Paul for her wedding to Robin Douglas-Home in 1959. Douglas-Home was Lady Delia’s nephew, a grandson of the 6th Earl Spencer. (Sliding Doors but with tiaras, maybe: Robin Douglas-Home romanced and reportedly proposed to Princess Margaretha of Sweden, but he was turned down. Later he had a relationship with Princess Margaret.)

Cheffins

The Spencer name gives this tiara a tenuous royal connection, because Lady Delia Spencer was the great-aunt of Lady Diana Spencer, the Princess of Wales. And even though there’s no actual connection between Diana and this specific tiara, the Spencer name was all it took to turn the sale of this jewel into a headline-worthy event.

The Spencer name also increased the tiara’s price considerably. It was first sold in 2016 at Cheffins Fine Art Auctioneers, where it had an original estimate of £30,000 to £40,000 and sold for £70,000, or just around $100,000. It made a few headlines as a “Spencer tiara” at that time. In 2017, it was up for sale again, this time offered at TEFAF, a prestigious art fair in the Netherlands, by Hancock’s of London. Many articles on the sale referenced Diana and this time around, the tiara's value was widely reported at $225,000 - quite a jump from original estimates. It sold on the first day of the fair, to an unknown buyer for an unknown price.

I love this piece, and its symmetrical design that keeps an antique feeling fresh and modern. With its flexibility, it would be a welcome addition to any collection – though maybe not, I think, at its highest price.

Who would you like to see try this one out?

Tiara Thursday: The Cartier "Lusitania" Tiara

Some tiaras are set apart by their extraordinary materials or craftsmanship, some become known for their ownership, and some simply have a story you can't forget.

The Cartier "Lusitania" Tiara
Sotheby's

This tiara was commissioned from Cartier Paris in 1909 by Sir Hugh Montagu Allan for his wife, Marguerite (1873-1957). It features a classic Greek key or meander motif created with circular-cut diamonds in a millegrain setting, with a border of seed pearls and a large detachable old-mine cut diamond at the center. Sir Montagu, as he was known, was a prominent Canadian banker and ship owner and the family were fixtures of Montreal society.

Lady Allan wearing her Cartier tiara
Sotheby's

In 1915, the family was packing up their life in Canada and heading to England, where they intended to stay for the duration of World War I to assist in the war efforts. Lady Allan was to help open a hospital in England for Canadian serviceman. Sir Montagu was still in Canada closing up the family's mansion when his wife and two of the couple's four children, 16-year-old Anna and 15-year-old Gwendolyn, set out to sail from New York to Liverpool on the RMS Lusitania. Joining the Allans on their fateful journey were two of Marguerite's maids, Emily Davis and Annie Walker, plus a load of luggage that included Lady Allan's jewels - and her diamond and pearl Cartier tiara. The ship left New York on May 1, 1915.

Sotheby's

The Lusitania was one of the largest and fastest ships on the sea, and it continued to ferry civilian passengers across the Atlantic even as submarine warfare intensified. Germany had declared the seas around the United Kingdom a war zone and had warned that allied ships were in those waters were risking attack. The German embassy in the United States even warned specifically of the threat to the Lusitania on its May 1915 voyage. Many, however, thought that the ship's speed would keep it safe from attack. They were wrong.

Sotheby's

On the afternoon of May 7, 1915, the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the southern coast of Ireland. It sank in just 18 minutes. Of the nearly 2,000 passengers and crew on board, 1,198 died. Among the fatalities were both of the Allan's teenage daughters. (Heartbreakingly, Sir Montagu and Marguerite would later endure the losses of their remaining two children: son Hugh was killed on his first service flight as a member of the Royal Naval Air Service in 1917, and eldest daughter Martha died at the age of 47.) Though she was severely injured, Lady Allan survived the sinking of the Lusitania. Her two maids survived the shipwreck as well. Unbelievably, one of them also managed to save Lady Allan's Cartier tiara, concealing it in her clothes throughout the tragedy.

Cartier

Marguerite Allan kept her shipwrecked tiara for the rest of her life and bequeathed it to a cousin, Elspeth Paterson Dawes. Ms. Dawes' granddaughter placed the tiara up for auction in 2015, telling The Globe and Mail that while she was sad to see it leave the family, the 100th anniversary of the war was the right time to let it go. The tiara sold for $799,265, well over its estimate of $293,994 - $443,483 (USD). It was reacquired by Cartier and is now part of the Cartier Collection.

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On display at the V&A

Cartier's reserve of historical tiaras are regularly loaned for museum exhibitions, and if you happen to be in London in the first half of 2018, you have an opportunity to see the Lusitania tiara in person at the Victoria & Albert Museum. The tiara joins furnishings, ship fittings, clothing of wealthy passengers, and other items from the age of the great ocean liners in the Ocean Liners: Speed and Style exhibition, which runs now through June 17, 2018.

Tiara Thursday: The Medinaceli Art Deco Tiara

The Medinaceli Art Deco Tiara
Sotheby's

This tiara puts an Art Deco twist on motifs frequently represented in tiaras: palmettes, acanthus leaves, and floral clusters. The nine openwork plaques of graduated size are pierced and millegrain-set with single-cut, circular-cut, and rose diamonds.

The tiara, removed from the frame
Sotheby's

The tiara can be removed completely from its frame and laid flat. It’s likely that this jewel was designed also to be a choker-style necklace, though the tiara frame is the only fitting it has today. Regularly attributed to Chaumet, the tiara dates from the 1920s and has French assay marks.

As worn by a Duchess of Medinaceli

The Spanish ducal house of Medinaceli – a title dating back to 1479 that has been held by dukes as well as duchesses in their own right – owned this unusual tiara. It was worn by Ana Fernandez de Henestrosa Gayoso de los Cobos, wife of the 17th Duke, for a painting in 1926 (above), probably not long after the tiara’s creation. It was also used as a bridal tiara in later generations.

As a bridal tiara
via/via

The tiara was sold at Sotheby’s in July 2011 for $442,020. It was marked as the property of a ducal house. In the auction notes from the sale, the tiara was likened to the Lotus Flower Tiara and the Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara, both using similar motifs and both belonging to members of the British royal family. In terms of the overall impression of the piece, I see a likeness to another tiara, one also hailing from a Spanish noble house: the Alba Russian Tiara, which puts a geometric spin on a similar sort of layered design effect.

The centerpiece
Sotheby's

The Medinaceli Art Deco Tiara is a large and imposing jewel in use. It was probably best suited to use as a wedding tiara, with a veil as a background to balance things out. As used by one of the brides pictured above, it even takes on a bit of the feel of a peineta and mantilla. And yet, again like the Alba Russian Tiara, it’s not hard to see how it came to sale.

How do you rate this unusual piece?

Tiara Thursday: The Bedford/Tavistock Amethyst Tiara

The Bedford/Tavistock Amethyst Tiara

This tiara tends to be referred to by either the Bedford or Tavistock names; the Marquess of Tavistock is the courtesy title for the heir to the Duke of Bedford, so both ultimately refer to the same family, the Russells. The tiara's largest oval Siberian amethyst was set into a diamond honeysuckle motif surround around 1810. That piece later became the center of this tiara, which adds six more oval amethyst stones of graduated size and diamond vine leaves to either side. In his book Tiaras: Past and Present, Geoffrey Munn highlights the cleverness of adding vine leaves to the grape stones, noting that "the word 'amethyst' derives from the Greek amethustos, literally meaning 'not drunken', referring to the belief that an amethyst placed in a glass of wine would allow one to drink without fear of intoxication." (You gotta love a tiara that comes with a built-in wink.)

Lydia, Duchess of Bedford, wearing the tiara and necklace in the 1950s

The tiara has an accompanying amethyst necklace featuring large amethyst stones in diamond surrounds and an amethyst pendant. This type of simple necklace design is a favorite in parures of colored stones. (The Bavarian royal family had a similar amethyst necklace and earrings, a set they auctioned in 2013.)

The amethyst bracelet
Betteridge

There was also an amethyst bracelet, a hinged bangle with three large oval amethysts and approximately 10 carats of diamonds in a leaf and flower design, set in silver and gold and made around 1890. This piece came up for sale in 2009. The bracelet belonged to Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford (1865-1937), the wife of the 11th Duke. She was a fascinating figure, a vocal suffragette and noted ornithologist who founded four hospitals and decided to take up flying at the age of 63. That passion for aviation ultimately led to her death in a plane crash at sea in 1937.

Dazzled by these tiaras created in 1830 - one commissioned and the other acquired, both for one lucky lady, the Duchess of Bedford. #ImperialSplendours #ChaumetArtOfJewellery #ChaumetPalaceMuseum #ChaumetinBeijing @chaumetofficial

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The tiara is still with the family. It was displayed earlier this year alongside their larger tiara, the Bedford Floral Tiara, in an exhibition for Chaumet in Beijing. The Bedford Floral Tiara is a Fossin design commissioned in 1830 from Chaumet. Both can be seen glittering away at the exhibition in the Instagram video above.

Nicole, Duchess of Bedford at the State Opening of Parliament in 1969 (left, just behind the row of entering ladies of the royal family)

Good amethyst tiaras seem hard to come by (unfortunately, says this ardent fan), but I think this one cracks the code of a great amethyst tiara design. The purple stones are large, they look good enough to eat, and they're nicely complemented by the floral diamond motifs. As a matter of fact, it may just be my current amethyst favorite. 

Is this an amethyst fave for you, too?

Tiara Thursday: The Chaumet Pansy Tiara

The Chaumet Pansy Tiara

The pansy flower symbolizes remembrance, or thoughts; its name comes from the French pensée, or "thought". With a meaning either romantic ("thinking of you") or memorial, pansies have been regularly used in jewelry designs, especially during the Victorian and Edwardian eras when the language of flowers was popular. But the flower doesn't seem to have caught on in the world of tiara design, making this example of a pansy tiara an instant standout among diamond floral tiaras.

The Chaumet Pansy Tiara is a Fossin design dating from around 1850, an example of the themes of romance and nature produced during Jean Baptiste Fossin's ownership of the esteemed French jewelry house. The tiara features three pansy flowers with surrounding foliage, made of pavé-set diamonds, silver, and gold. The three large flowers are detachable for use as brooches.

The tiara worn on the cover of ¡HOLA!

The tiara is usually listed as part of a private collection; Tiara by Diana Scarisbrick credits ownership to the Hon. Mrs. John Hastings Bass. It's a piece that has been regularly featured by Chaumet, appearing in their exhibitions and publicity materials. It's also been modeled in photoshoots, as shown here.

A model wears the tiara for a photoshoot

Symbolism aside, the pansy's irregular shape may make it a tough one to incorporate into a successful tiara design. The Chaumet tiara in use seems a bit top heavy, despite the leaves used at the bottom to even things out. I still find it a nice break from the usual diamond floral tiara designs - a distinctive entry in a deep field.

What say you: A successful floral design, or no?

Tiara Thursday: The Wellington Tiara

From the time of its creation through today, the title of the Duke of Wellington has been one of the most recognizable in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was just one of several European titles and other decorations gathered by the 1st Duke, Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), in the course of an active political career and a celebrated military career that included the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

The Wellington Tiara

The Duchesses of Wellington have, for several generations now, worn a tiara grand enough to suit this prominent family title. The tiara features intricate, large diamond scroll motifs dotted with large single diamonds and interspersed with smaller knotted diamond scroll motifs, again with several large single diamonds included.

Elizabeth, Duchess of Wellington
NPG

The diadem dates back at least to Elizabeth Wellesley (née Hay, 1820-1904), the wife of the 2nd Duke. She was depicted wearing the tiara in 1859. The couple both held prominent court positions in Queen Victoria's household, with the 2nd Duke serving as Master of the Horse and the Duchess serving as Queen Victoria's Mistress of the Robes for several years.

Kathleen, Duchess of Wellington
NPG

Kathleen Wellesley (née Williams, 1848-1927), the wife of the 4th Duke, wore the tiara in a couple of portraits. Above, she's also shown wearing a magnificent diamond necklace that is still with the family. And the tiara, of course, is also still with the family. The current Duchess of Wellington (born Princess Antonia of Prussia) first wore the Wellington Tiara for her 1977 wedding to the Marquess of Douro, as the current Duke was titled at the time. He succeeded to the Wellington title in 2014.

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Antonia, Duchess of Wellington (left) wears the tiara at the Duke of Wellington's Waterloo Banquet in 2015

The Wellington name was brought back to the forefront in 2015, for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. Hosting a splendid formal Waterloo Banquet at Apsley House, the Duchess wore the Wellington Tiara and the same diamond necklace the 4th Duchess paired with the diadem.

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The Duchess greets the Duchess of Cornwall

You can see above how the tiara forms a complete circlet around the head - well, you can see it provided that you're not totally blinded by the sparkle on the Duchess of Cornwall at that banquet. (We covered that appearance over at the Jewel Vault; Camilla wore the Greville Tiara and all five strands of the Greville Festoon Necklace.)

The Duke and Duchess were attendees at the recent Spanish state banquet at Buckingham Palace, where the tiara may or may not have had another appearance; regrettably, they were not spotted in the state banquet coverage. (The Duke of Wellington is also the Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, Grandee of Spain 1st Class, another title picked up by the 1st Duke, and they have a Spanish estate. The Duke and Duchess' daughter, Lady Charlotte, married Alejandro Santo Domingo in Spain last year with King Juan Carlos and the Duchess of Cornwall in attendance.) There appears to be least one other tiara option at the Duchess' disposal:

Lady Charlotte in a different tiara

Lady Charlotte and her husband were guests at last year's Colombian state banquet, where she wore a different family tiara.

The Wellington Tiara seems to be the main headliner, though. For a grand tiara with so many big stones, it manages to keep a certain lightness to the design. I think it's a success on every level.

How do you rate this big gun tiara?

Tiara Thursday: Countess Alice’s Diamond Floral Tiara

The Swedish royal family said goodbye to a friend and longtime advisor when Countess Alice Trolle-Wachtmeister died on Monday at the age of 91. Countess Alice served the Swedish royal court for nearly 40 years, serving as First Lady of the Court from 1978 to 1993 and then afterwards serving as Mistress of the Robes to Queen Silvia until illness forced her to retire in 2015 at the age of 89. She was a close friend to Queen Silvia, having helped her adjust to life in Sweden after her marriage, and served as a mentor to the younger family members. So essential was Countess Alice to the Swedish royal family and court, the King refused her resignation several times.

Countess Alice Trolle-Wachtmeister at Princess Madeleine's wedding, 2013
By Frankie Fouganthin - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Countess Alice Trolle-Wachtmeister may be familiar to you if you follow the Swedish royal family closely; the delicate diamond floral tiara which was her constant companion at gala events may also be familiar to you, if you’ve ever camped out with us on tiara watch during Swedish royal events. A closer look seemed an appropriate tribute for our weekly tiara feature.

Countess Alice's Diamond Floral Tiara
[Cropped] By Frankie Fouganthin - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Her diamond floral tiara features a central large flower with 16 petals and a single diamond center. To the sides sit two slightly smaller flowers, each also displaying 16 petals and a single diamond center. The floral buttons are surrounded by diamond foliage.

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Wearing the tiara (and a kicky pink dress) in 2010
for Crown Princess Victoria's wedding

Some have noted the similarity between this tiara and the Strathmore Rose Tiara in the British royal collection, both jewels nestling floral buttons into a diamond leaf pattern. Perhaps an even better comparison can be made to Japan’s Imperial Chrysanthemum Tiara. The 16-petal chrysanthemum imperial seal is repeated here, making Countess Alice’s tiara something of a petite version of the tiara worn by Japanese empresses.

At the Nobel Prize Ceremony, 2011
SVT screencap

The tiara may be a family heirloom, though (to my knowledge) its precise history is unconfirmed. Alice herself was a member of the Tornérhielm family and she married within the Swedish nobility, to Count Hans-Gabriel Trolle-Wachtmeister in 1949.

As a member of the Swedish royal court, Countess Alice had ample occasions to use this tiara, and use it she did: at Nobel Prize ceremonies and banquets, royal weddings, state banquets, and more. She wore it with evening gowns and with her court dress uniform, a distinctive navy velvet dress with puffed sleeves featuring a white ribbon lattice. (The same uniform can be spotted today on Queen Silvia’s ladies-in-waiting and on the head of Crown Princess Victoria’s household. These ladies will also wear tiaras if they have them for gala events.) Her diamond floral tiara was the perfect accessory for the position and the perfect fit for Countess Alice, whose presence will be much missed.

Where does this rate on your floral favorites list?

Celeb Style Twins of the Day: Kate's Dress on the Red Carpet

While the Duchess of Cambridge herself was pulling an appropriate suit out from the back of her closet for a visit to King's College Hospital yesterday, another one of her dresses got another appearance - on someone else, somewhere else.

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Welcome back, Preen Finella dress! The dress so nice Kate bought it twice now has an electric blue version, modeled by actress Mandy Moore last week at an event promoting This is Us. Have we now seen all the main Finella styling choices? We've got this red carpet styling, with a strappy heel and a little more sass to the strap positioning...

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The original royal styling in red from the Cambridge's September Canadian jaunt, with an heirloom brooch, matching red pumps, and an updo...

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And the remixed royal styling from November's Place2Be Awards, in black with an added belt, diamond earrings, and a half updo. I have to give Kate credit, actually, for doing her best to style her twin dresses as differently as possible, which is something I didn't really notice until now.

Preen by Thornton Bregazzi dresses

In the race for the best Preen, either vibrant color leaps right over the black, which was hampered by the clunky belt clasp. Knowing Kate's fondness for blue, I'm surprised she didn't get to that one first. Maybe she can work an exchange. (Three of the same cocktail dress would truly be a new level of hilarity.) And maybe throw in some metallic strappy shoes while she's at it. Keep the diamonds, though. Obviously.

What's your preferred styling combo here?

Tiara Thursday: An All Diamond Lover's Knot Tiara

Several readers have drawn my attention to this recent auction find, a twist on a design we know well from the royal spheres. Let's take a look:

Christie's

Sold at Christie's Hong Kong on May 30, 2017, this tiara features a series of graduated diamond inverted arches topped with heart-shaped and floral designs. Suspended inside each section is a dangling pear-shaped diamond pendant. The diadem is set in gold and platinum and has a curved baseline, molding it to the head of its potential wearer. Also included with the tiara are a pair of matching earrings, each with a lover's knot stud and a diamond pendant.

Christie's

There are over 180 carats of circular and pear-shaped diamonds, ranging in color from D to E, in this tiara. The largest five pear-shaped stones weigh in at 7.78, 5.14, 4.73, 3.71, and 3.60 carats each. The pre-auction estimate for the set was $644,774 to $1,031,638; the jewels sold for $967,160 ($7,500,000 Hong Kong dollars).

A post shared by Christie's Jewelry (@christiesjewels) on May 23, 2017 at 2:56pm PDT

The heart and floral motifs at the top of the tiara and earrings are interpretations of the lover's knot motif known from several other tiaras throughout history. Much like diamond fringe tiaras, more than one tiara exists in this basic design. The classic model features diamond lover's knots atop a diamond structure, with pearl drop pendants dangling inside each segment.

Classic lover's knot tiaras: the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara (top left), the Bavarian Lover's Knot Tiara (top right), a sketch of the Yusupov Lover's Knot Tiara (bottom)

The best known example is, of course, the one popularly known as the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara or Queen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara, which itself was a copy of another lover's knot tiara. In addition to a handful of nearly identical examples of this design, other tiaras have placed slight twists on the design, such as the Pearl Poire Tiara in Denmark.

Christie's

What's unique about this tiara is, obviously, its use of diamonds as the pendants. It's a design feature not seen as often as drop pearls (other examples with different designs include the Fife Tiara and the diamond and pearl combo of the Leeds Cartier Pearl and Diamond Drop Tiara). I don't know if it's just because I expect pearls with a lover's knot design, but - and I can't really believe I'm saying this, because I'm not that much of a pearl fan - I actually miss the contrast of a pearl drop. I'm sure the sparkle in motion of a tiara like this would change my mind right quick.

Diamond or pearl pendants for you?

and...

Which royal would you like to see in this diamond version?