Weekend Bonus: The Princess Ingeborg Star Tiara

Crown Princess Märtha of Norway (1901-1954) wears the Princess Ingeborg Star Tiara (click here for provenance info)

Weekend Bonus: The Teck Turquoise Tiara

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (1901-2004) wears the Teck Turquoise Tiara (click here for provenance info)

The Ogilvy Tiara

All photos: Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy


Let's wrap up our week of Kent tiaras with a sparkler owned by one of my favorite British princesses, Princess Alexandra. This is her diamond and pearl tiara, which can also be adapted to take other stones.



The tiara was made out of a series of diamond floral hair ornaments that Alexandra wore before her marriage. Around the time that

The Kent Aquamarine Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top): tiara detail; the Duchess of Kent; tiara detail; the Duchess of Kent


Along with the Kent Pearl Fringe Tiara and the current incarnation of the Cambridge Sapphire Tiara, the Duchess of Kent's tiara collection is rounded out with today's piece: the Kent Aquamarine Tiara.



Made in 1908 by George Fouquet, the tiara was originally an enamel and diamond kokoshnik that

The Kent Sapphire Necklace Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Lady Nicholas Windsor; Lady Nicholas Windsor (as necklace); tiara detail


They may not be the most prominent members of the extended British royal family, or even the most prominent members of the Kent family, but Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor actually find themselves at white-tie events more than you might expect. And for a woman with a fairly slim jewel

The Kent Pearl Fringe Tiara

Photos (clockwise from left): the Duchess of Kent; tiara detail; Lady Helen Taylor; tiara detail


Today's Kent family has three branches: the families of each of George and Marina's three children, Prince Edward (the current duke), Princess Alexandra, and Prince Michael. Today, let's have a look at the tiara that is currently in the hands of the current duke and duchess: the Kent Pearl Fringe

The Kent Russian Pearl Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): tiara/necklace detail; Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent; Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy; Princess Nicholas of Greece and Denmark; Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy


They may not sit on the British throne, but of all the branches of the Windsor family tree, it's actually the present-day Kents who can boast of the greatest royal ancestry. This

Weekend Bonus: The Mellerio Shell Tiara

Queen Sofia of Spain, then Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark (born 1938), wears the Mellerio Shell Tiara (click here for provenance info) at the ball held prior to her wedding to the future King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 1962. As an extra bonus, Sofia wears another of her wedding presents, the Spanish Floral Tiara (click for provenance info), as a necklace

Weekend Bonus: The Aosta Knots and Stars Tiara

Princess Claude of Orléans (born 1943), wears the Aosta Knots and Stars Tiara (click for provenance info) at her wedding to Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta on July 22, 1964

The Queen Wilhelmina Wedding Gift Tiara

Photos (clockwise from left): Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands; tiara detail; Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands; Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands; Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands


To wrap up our final week of sapphire tiaras on the blog, let's look at one of the biggest of them all: the sapphire tiara which formed a part of a parure gifted to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.

The Orléans Diamond and Sapphire Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Bárbara Cano y de la Plaza; Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz; Laura Ponte y Martínez; Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz; tiara detail


Another day, another chance for us to delve into the tangled web of Spanish royal genealogy via a diamond and sapphire tiara. The piece in question this time is owned today by the king's sister, Infanta Pilar, Duchess of

The Harewood Diamond Scroll Tiara

Photos (clockwise from left): Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood; Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood; Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood; tiara detail


During her lifetime, Princess Mary -- daughter of George V and aunt of the current queen -- had several tiaras at her disposal. We've already looked at one of her sapphire tiaras (the

The Maria Alexandrovna Sapphire Parure Tiara

Photos (clockwise from left): Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia; necklace detail; Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia; necklace detail


For today's sapphire tiara, let's peek once more into the collection of the Edinburgh women: Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, Duchess of Edinburgh (and later Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), and her daughters, Alexandra, Marie,

The Calabria Chaumet Tiara

Photos (clockwise from left): Infanta Alicia of Spain, Dowager Duchess of Calabria; tiara detail; Infanta Alicia of Spain, Dowager Duchess of Calabria; tiara detail


We've seen lots of tiaras this year from the royal family of Spain, both the main line and its various branches. Today, let's travel through the family tree of the House of Bourbon to have a look at the tiara once owned by the

Weekend Bonus: The Prussian Tiara

Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, Princess of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick (1892-1980) wears the Prussian Tiara (click here for provenance info)

Weekend Bonus: The Cartier Halo Tiara

Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom (1930-2002) wears the Cartier Halo Tiara (click here for provenance info) with her coronet and robes at the coronation of her sister, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, on June 2, 1953

The Queen Sophie Diamond Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Queen Sophie of the Hellenes; Queen Sophie of the Hellenes; Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece; Queen Friederike of the Hellenes; Queen Friederike of the Hellenes


Without a doubt, the biggest surprise return of a long-lost tiara recently was the reemergence of one of the most impressive diadems belonging to the former royal family of Greece: the diamond

The Argyll Tiara

All photos: Iona, Dowager Duchess of Argyll


Today's tale of a lost-and-found tiara nearly didn't include the "found" part. Word to the wise: if you own a tiara like the Argyll, and you're going on a trip, pack it in your carry-on bag.



The diamond tiara in question is a nineteenth-century heirloom that belongs to the Campbells, a noble Scottish family with historic connections to the

The Brunswick Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Princess Victoria Louise of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick; Princess Caroline of Monaco, Princess of Hanover; Princess Victoria Louise of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick; Princess Victoria Louise of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick; Princess Caroline of Monaco, Princess of Hanover


The Ancona Tiara wasn't the only showstopper piece to appear at the 2004 wedding of

The Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Princess Sibylla of Sweden; Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler; Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler, Princess Sibylla of Sweden; Baroness Sibylla von Dincklage 


Royal weddings offer a great opportunity to royals to really dig around in their jewelry boxes and give a public airing to goodies that many jewel lovers feared had perhaps been broken up or sold. One

The Ancona Tiara

Photos (clockwise from left): Princess Camilla of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Castro; Lydia d'Arenberg, Duchess of Pistoia; Lydia d'Arenberg, Duchess of Pistoia; tiara detail


So often on this blog, we hear tales of gorgeous royal tiaras that have graced various regal heads before ultimately being sold at auction. Happily, today's tiara is something of a reversal of that tale: the Ancona

Weekend Bonus: The Pearl and Diamond Choker Tiara

Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein [right] (born 1957) wears the Pearl and Diamond Choker Tiara (click here for provenance info) without the upright pearls. As an extra bonus, her sister, Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria [left, with her husband, Archduke Carl Christian] (born 1954) wears the Emerald Peacock Necklace Tiara (click here for provenance info)

Weekend Bonus: The Dutch Aquamarine Tiara

Princess Irene of the Netherlands (born 1939) wears the Dutch Aquamarine Tiara (click here for provenance info) in 1962. As an extra bonus, Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands (born 1938) wears the Antique Pearl Tiara (click here for provenance info)

The Queen Alexandra Amethyst Tiara

Photos (clockwise from left): Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom (colorized version); detail of coordinating necklace; Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom; detail of coordinating necklace


Our final "lost" British tiara of the week is another tiara that once belonged to the Danish-born Queen Alexandra: her amethyst tiara.



To my knowledge, Alexandra was only photographed in this diamond

The Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara

Photos (clockwise from left): Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom; Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom; Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom; tiara detail


Unlike her beloved granny, the current British queen doesn't tinker extensively with her jewel collection. That is, except for one rather big example: the dismantling of today's sparkler, the Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara.



This

The County of Surrey Tiara

Photos (clockwise from top left): Queen Mary of the United Kingdom; necklace detail; Queen Mary of the United Kingdom; Queen Mary of the United Kingdom; tiara detail


Today's "lost" tiara is another sparkler that met its fate at the hands of Magpie Mary, the most innovative of all royal tiara wearers. And like yesterday, the piece was another of her wedding gifts, this time from the County of

The Ladies of England Tiara

All photos: Queen Mary of the United Kingdom


If nothing else convinces you that Queen Mary of the United Kingdom had one of the most impressive collections of diadems around, consider this: it's November in this year-long tiara journey, we've already seen an entire week dedicated to her tiaras, and I'm still posting about pieces from her inventory. Today's tiara was one of the first sparklers

The Queen Alexandra Wedding Gift Tiara

All photos: Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom


For many years, one of the biggest tiara mysteries surrounding the British royal family had to do with a showstopper tiara associated with one of the family's matriarchs, Queen Alexandra. But in recent years, much more has been revealed about the piece, which Alexandra received as a wedding gift, and its eventual fate.



Most of you will

Weekend Bonus: The Mike Todd Tiara

Dame Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) wears the Mike Todd Tiara (click here for provenance info) in a portrait taken at the premiere of Staircase in October 1969. In her left hand, she clutches La Peregrina, the famous pearl that has belonged to many royals, including Philip II of Spain and Napoleon III of France; Richard Burton reportedly outbid a member of the Spanish royal family when he

Weekend Bonus: The Empress Eugénie Pearl Tiara

Princess Margaretha of Thurn and Taxis (1870-1955) wears the Empress Eugénie Pearl Tiara (click here for provenance info) with coordinating pieces of pearl and diamond jewelry