Tiara Thursday: The Chaumet Bowknot Tiara

The Chaumet Bowknot Tiara

I have a particular fondness for tiaras with pink stones, and it’s a fondness I have indulged several times already on this site: the flowery Savoy Pink Tourmaline Tiara, the imperial Russian Nuptial Tiara with its central pink diamond, the stately Württemberg Pink Topaz Tiara, the extravagant Bagration Parure with its pink spinels, and the flexible Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara with its optional pink topaz centerpiece.

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Tiara close up on display in 2011

Another member of that rare pink tiara group is the Chaumet Bowknot Tiara. Chaumet’s tiara-making roots go back to 1780 and its founder, Marie-Etienne Nitot, whose name is tied to several of the great parures from the French empire. The Bagration Parure also has ties to the French maison, as it is attributed to J.B. Fossin, another who shaped the beginnings of the firm.

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A model wears the tiara for an haute couture show in 2010

The Bowknot Tiara comes from Joseph Chaumet and was made around 1900. Swags of diamond ribbons are tied into bows between pink topaz stones with additional collet-set diamonds and leaves in this Belle Époque tiara, which is set in gold and silver. It seems to have a slightly smaller scale compared to the aforementioned pink tiaras, which suits the delicate design well. (It was also shown in Spanish Vogue, where the difference in model and hairstyle gave it a slightly larger, feel. Click here to see.)

The tiara is in Chaumet’s own collection today, so exhibitions and the occasional modeling appearance mean we get to see it in action. You can see it in person now, as a matter of fact: it is included in the Une Education Sentimentale exhibition at Chaumet’s Place Vendôme boutique in Paris, which runs through September 24.

(Special thanks to Kaaren for the heads up!)

Photos: Chaumet, via Getty Images