Tiara Thursday (on a Friday): The Wessex Aquamarine Necklace Tiara

The Countess of Wessex started out her marriage with one tiara to wear, her diamond Wedding Tiara on loan from the Queen. Six years later, we finally saw her in a second tiara.

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The Countess of Wessex wearing the Wessex Aquamarine Necklace Tiara,

2015

Debuted in 2005, her second tiara includes a central oval aquamarine stone with a scrolling diamond design to either side. It was first noticed at the November enthronement celebrations for Prince Albert II of Monaco; she may have worn it the previous month for a banquet held for an official visit by King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway as well - since Sophie's appearances at state banquets and the like often go fairly undocumented, it's hard to say what she's worn.

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Worn as a necklace,

2006

The tiara can be worn as a necklace in impressive fashion, and the Countess may also have used the aquamarine stone as a pendant on its own. It's most likely from G. Collins and Sons jewelers, which makes sense as they are the Queen's personal jewelers and their designs have been seen on multiple royal women. Sophie has also borrowed a few pieces from them, such as the necklace and earrings she wore to the pre-wedding dinner for William and Kate.

Carl Philip and Sofia's wedding, 2015
SVT

Given that the tiara is a modern design and that it has only been worn by the Countess of Wessex, it has usually been assumed to be her personal property. When she wore it to the 2015 wedding of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia of Sweden, however, the palace stated that her jewels were on loan from the Queen (as pointed out by Anna at the Countess of Wessex Blog). A curious statement, given that other pieces - her necklace, for example - were smaller and definitely modern. Yet another reminder, I suppose, that jewel ownership is a touchy question and one where confusion may be encouraged.

The Countess' second aquamarine tiara, the Five Aquamarine Tiara
Frankie Fouganthin via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

Anyway, I've always liked her aquamarine necklace tiara. She has three at her disposal now, having added the Five Aquamarine Tiara in 2012. With two of her three tiaras in aqua, I'm assuming this is her favorite stone - but even if it isn't, it certainly is one that looks fantastic on her.

Which is your favorite Wessex tiara?

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