Readers' Favorite Tiaras, The Rematch: #7. The Poltimore Tiara

This tiara entered into the Tiara Hall of Fame thanks to just one royal wearer, and even though it has now left the royal spotlight, it's still holding strong as your seventh favorite tiara - both last time and this time.

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The Poltimore Tiara

The Poltimore Tiara, made of diamonds set in silver and gold, with cushion-shaped and old-cut stones in clusters and scroll motifs, was made by Garrard in the 1870s for Florence, Lady Poltimore, wife of the second Baron Poltimore.

The Poltimore in its necklace and brooch formats

It's a thoroughly convertible piece: the large scrolls can be worn individually as brooches, and the long rows of clusters form a necklace when taken off the tiara frame. (The tiara comes in a blue leather case with brooch fittings and a special screwdriver included, of course.)

Lady Poltimore and her tiara

The tiara entered the royal spotlight in 1959, when the fourth Baron Poltimore sold the tiara at auction for £5,500. It was acquired for Princess Margaret and she began wearing it that same year in its necklace, brooch, and tiara formats. She wore the tiara during a state visit from the Shah of Iran in 1959, which may have been its public debut.

Princess Margaret on her wedding day, 1960

The following year, Princess Margaret married Antony Armstrong-Jones wearing a Norman Hartnell wedding gown topped with the Poltimore Tiara. The detail of the tiara was well showcased by the divinely clean lines of her wedding ensemble, and the tall tiara both added inches to the petite bride's height and balanced the width of her veil and skirt. The tiara and the bride, at least, were a match made in heaven. From its iconic bridal outing to the end of Margaret's life, the Poltimore Tiara was the diadem with which she was most strongly associated.

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Wearing the necklace and one of the brooches with the Lotus Flower Tiara

The Poltimore is, of course, no longer with any member of the royal family. Princess Margaret's children, the Earl of Snowdon (then Viscount Linley) and Sarah Chatto staged an auction of her jewels and other possessions at Christie's in 2006 in order to pay the inheritance taxes on her estate following her 2002 death. The sale was headlined by this tiara.

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The press surrounding the sale and the royal addition to the tiara's history worked some serious magic: the Poltimore Tiara had an estimated value of £150,000 - £200,000 but it sold for £926,400 ($1,704,576). It was said at the time that the new owner was a private Asian buyer.

Wearing the Teck Circle Necklace

Princess Margaret wore a few different tiaras in her youth but was down to just three she wore in her later years, including the Poltimore. The second was the Lotus Flower Tiara, which went to the Queen and has been loaned to the Duchess of Cambridge. The third was the Persian Turquoise Tiara, which hasn't been seen since Margaret died. Meanwhile, her children are still set should they have any future tiara needs: the Teck Circle Necklace - which was used as a tiara by the Queen Mother and just as a necklace by Margaret - is with the Countess of Snowdon (who also has a wooden tiara, a playful take on tradition by her husband, whose company makes bespoke furniture and other luxury items), and the brooches that make up the Snowdon Floral Tiara have been worn by Lady Sarah. But as for the Poltimore, it has disappeared. For now.

If the Poltimore was still in the royal family, who would you want to see wear it?

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