Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Pink Gemstones)

A few weeks ago an antique pink gemstone necklace was purchased by the Crown Prince Imperial at auction. It was correctly suspected that it would be paired with the existing Imperial Topaz Tiara and a press photo was especially released for this blog confirming the fact. Today we will discuss that necklace and all the other pink gemstone jewellery in Royal Collections across Europa.

Queen Elizabeth of Britania's Imperial Topaz Tiara pictured above with its matching brooch and the above mentioned 19th Century Franconian necklace bought at auction to match the set. Imperial Topaz is the designation given to what is considered the rarest of Topaz varieties. The colour is a light almost champagne-like pink. 

In 2011 the Crown Princess Imperial wore the tiara once, of up until now, only twice times. It is apparently a cumbersome piece and difficult to wear.

This overwhelmingly massive parure of Pink Topaz is part of Queen Maria of Hispania's personal historic jewellery collection. The deep colour is very beautiful but far more readily available than Imperial Topaz and as such far less costly. Regardless of that, the vivid colour is very popular and when coupled with diamonds make for very beautiful and regal jewellery.

Another Imperial Topaz set belongs to the Duchess Di Giorgio, pretender to the throne of the former Kingdom of Romagna. It was made for the wedding of the Duchess' grandmother, Queen Elena the last Queen of Romagna. The set does not include a tiara.

The Duke of Marlboro Collection includes this tiara called the Renalda Pink Topaz Tiara. It was made for the 9th Duchess as a wedding anniversary present in 1936.

The Marlboro family own a necklace and earrings dating from the mid 1900's that is often worn with the Renalda Tiara but are strictly speaking not a matched set. 

Most of the Lady Arcwhite's jewellery collection is new and her own private property. However most of it is also made in keeping with the style of Royalty and as such exceptionally grand. Imperial Topaz of the highest quality is the feature of this set of earrings and necklace made for the Lady somewhere in 2011.

The Marquis D'Bacquemme has this necklace and tiara in his collection. This set has Pink Tourmaline as its featured gemstone. Pink Tourmaline is an entirely different chemical compound to Topaz and slightly more expensive than the normal Pink Topaz but cheaper than Imperial Topaz.

The D'Baquemme Demi Parure dates from the early 1920's Flapper era and is often worn by the ladies in the Marquisital Family. We have yet to see the Marquis' wife, Princess Oktavia, sport the pink set at a Royal event. 

The Franconian Royal Family in pretense have a Topaz parure dating from the late 1900's. The set was a part of a dowry brought into the D'Pont Du Lac Family by Miss Lilly Hancock, an Americanian department store heiress who married into the family, The whole set is designed around a 18th Century brooch that is said to have belonged to Queen Marie Antoinette of Franconia.

Here Princess Antoinette D'Pont Du Lac is pictured wearing the set in 2012.

The Queen Josepha Tourmaline Set is of a rich pink colour and has been in the Reichenthal Royal Collection for almost a century. It consists of only a tiara and necklace and has been worn several times by Grand Duchess Azantha.

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Yellow Gemstones)

We have done a previous feature on coloured diamonds in which yellow diamonds were mentioned but today we will discuss other yellow coloured gems like Topaz and Citrine. It seems that yellow diamonds are far more popular than other yellow gemstone varieties. This probably due to yellow diamonds being far more affordable than other diamonds and that yellow coloured semi-precious stones tend to be so common that they are often overlooked for the fine quality jewellery worn by Royals and other A-listers. Regardless of these generalizations top quality yellow coloured gems have found their way into some of the most prestigious Royal Jewellery Collections.

The Imperial Collection includes a set of Citrine Jewellery. The King George V Citrine Demi Parure consists of a very large tiara of Art Deco inspiration off-set by a matching necklace. It was made in 1909 for Queen Alexandra as a birthday gift from her husband. Queen Alexandra left it in a safety deposit box on her last tour of Europa where it was forgotten after her death due to some paperwork mix-up. The tiara came to light in 2009 when the Crown Prince Imperial, as heir to the jewels was approached by the Switzer Bank who wished to return the forgotten jewels to its rightful owner.

The Yellow Quartz, known as Citrine is of exceptional quality and size and the square cut stones compliment the geometric design of the jewellery set.

The Sun Parure in the Swann Royal Collection is set with a large Yellow Topaz in the center front of the tiara and complimented by Yellow and white diamonds. It was a gift from the Kingdom of Scotney to the first independent Duke of Swann in 1888. 

The Citrine was repolished in 2010 allowing the stone a greater sparkle than the old oval cut. 

The Youssopoff Yellow Topaz  Tiara and matching Necklace was bought from the estate of Prince Felix Youssopoff in 2009 by the Duchess of Aragon. It is of a very similar design to the Swann Sun Parure mentioned above. This may be that they both date from the same era.

The Youssopoff Demi Parure is seen here worn by Donna Hernanda, daughter of the Duchess of Aragon.

As we mentioned these type of stones are a rarity and might deserve more honour than popular opinion affords them. We hope those that did make it to the top have been properly appreciated in today's post.

Tiaras and Trinkets Tuesdays (Jewellery available to the "Punk Princess")

Princess Oktavia Von Hohen und Silberstein as always has had a talent for attention grabbing. This has found great impetus in her having access to one of Europa's more impressive historic jewellery collections. Let us take a look at some of those jewels and also the Princess'unique way of wearing them in combination with very modern and sometimes controversial fashion. 

One of the iconic appearances of the Punk Princess as Oktavia has become colloquially become known can be seen in this photo. She is wearing the Von Hohen und Silberstein Princely Ruby Parure in tandem with a feathered glam rock ensemble by Madame Frumsetta. 

The rubies date from the early 19th century and consist of a tiara, bracelet, "De Resile" necklace and opera length "Sautoire" necklace. The set is lavishly set with extremely large and high quality square cut rubies embellished with diamonds and a king's ransom in pearls. It is rumoured that the tiara so impressed the Queen of Scotney that she immediately ordered a copy of her own after a visit to the Princely palace. 

Princess Oktavia has a very bold personality and does not shy away from period pieces that may seem impractical to wear in the new millennium. In this photo we see her wear a gigantic diamond choker made in the early 20th century when chokers were fashionable and seemingly all pain was endured for it. She does gain a lot of press for being so bold and we get to see jewels that otherwise would languish in dark vaults. We commend her for this "sacrifice". In the photo above she pairs the titanic choker with a contrasting small and delicate tiara as if to say on purpose; "look at the necklace". 

Deliberate in all she does, for a formal photo with her new husband, the Princess chose a far more elegant and regal dress coupled with cool sapphires. The edginess of the dress still alluded to her "street cred" but did foreshadow the calmer vibes of future family life. In this photo she pairs the Von Hohen und Silberstein Sapphires with earrings from her husband's D'Bacqueme Family Jewels. 

The Sapphire and Diamond Tiara and Necklace is of a more modern design and was made at the height of the Germanic Empire just before the Great War. The Von Hohen und Silbesteins are one of very few Noble Families to have survived the war and its aftermath due to their extensive business interests and industrial clout. 

Another set available to the Princess is this loose mix of Yellow Diamond and Topaz jewellery. All pieces were made separately at various times but with obvious intent on being worn in combination with each other or even jewels from entirely other sets. 

There are apparently more jewels in the Von Hohen und Silberstein Vaults and we cannot wait to see them on the red carpet along with all the D'Bacquemme jewellery availble to our Punk Princess. 

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Coloured Diamonds)

It has been very slow in publishing posts for the beginning to this year. So let's us get to it and also try to pick up the pace as 2015 promises to be very exciting for our Royals.

Coloured gems are common to us like Red Rubies and Green Emeralds. However we rarely encounter more exotic variants like Imperial Pink Topaz or Green and Pink Sapphire. Few people on the other hand realise that our more commonly spectacularly white friends called Diamond, may also come in coloured varieties. Today we will look at some of our Royal Jewels that incorporate these rarer manifestations of colour. 

This necklace and earrings belonging to Princess Augusta is of a very modern design and is set with light yellow and deep yellow diamonds of high quality. The black pearls only help to accecnt the yellow shade of the diamonds. 

One is sure to find coloured diamonds in only the most exceptional collections of jewellery as their rarity make them extremely sought after and by extension very costly. The Perlistani Royal Collection is one that includes coloured diamonds and in a very eye catching design. This parure couples deep yellow and pink diamonds in what may be considered a truly spectacular and expensive set of jewellery. 

One of the largest diamonds in the world is of a very intense pink variety. It can be seen above set in the Ruskian Crown Tiara worn by Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna. Not only is this diamond of a rare deep shade but it is also a historic treasure with a centuries old provenance. Pink diamonds may gain a very deep intense colour but none have ever been found to reach what one may refer to as a red diamond.

Diamond colours are actually caused by chemical impurities in the crystalline structure of the stones. these mixes of chemicals allow for many interesting colours but need to be in exact quantities to allow for gem quality colours. The wrong mixes may lead to stones that are merely insipidly off-white diminishing its quality or to dirty stones that are not fit for use in jewellery. This Van der Bilt Champagne Diamonds is just that, a subtle mix of light brown and pink making for nothing other than a champagne coloured diamond. 

This close up of the above mentioned diamond allows us to appreciate its colour. 

Brown Diamonds are the most common of coloured diamonds due to the fact that one step further in the chemical mix and the stones lose their beauty and fall outside the gem quality and become dirty fit for industrial use only. However, gem quality specimens are rigorously graded for quality and beauty making the much sought after. 

This brown diamond parure belongs to the Crown Princess of Ophiri and celebrates Africanian natural wealth and design. 

Lady Arcwhite is among a very few Royals who enjoy wearing black diamonds as can be seen in the photo above. For years black diamonds were seen like their dirty cousins as purely for industrial use. However in the last two decades it was considered to grade these for pure blackness and to thus use the best ones as gems in jewellery. They are thus the cheapest of all gem diamonds and are often selected for their distinctive look rather than for monetary value. They do strike quite a particular fashion statement that only some have the personality to enjoy. Don't get us wrong, they are not as cheap as any fake stones but they are more affordable and often coupled with top quality diamonds in jewellery of the highest quality. 

Blue diamonds are extremely rare and when found are not very large. The world's largest blue diamond is set in the cross atop the Imperial Consort Crown of Scot-Britania. The stone was a gift from the South Africanian government to Empress Crystobel on her coronation and has been part of the Imperial Collection ever since. 

For more on diamonds follow the "Diamonds" label at the bottom of this post or in the list of labels at the right side of the blog page. 

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Princess Augusta Sells Tiaras)

Her Imperial Highness, Princess Augusta of Scot-Britania has released a short press statement concerning rumours of her selling Imperial treasures. She did so exclusively to this blog as she is quoted as trusting it "...as the most authentic media source on Royalty in the world". The Princess has admitted to selling two parures of famous jewellery in private sales towards the end of 2014. However she was the legal owner in her private capacity and both sets' Royal provenance was not directly linked to the Imperial House of Aldarian. The Princess, as a world renowned art and antique jewellery dealer also stated that she often acquires pieces for their investment value with the intent on selling later at an opportune time. Her wearing of said jewellery in public does not make it the property or the historic heritage of the the Imperial Family. The Princess does act as custodian of many such Imperial pieces and would never dream of selling them on the open market. 

The first set Princess Augusta admitted she sold is the Bunting Emerald Parure. She acquired it in the United States in the late 90's from the exiled family of the last Baron Bunting and now with appreciated value sold it in a private sale to a buyer who's identity must legally remain confidential. 

The Princess wore the emeralds on several occasions to dazzling effect. She said that the right buyer came at the right time and thus we may never see her wearing emeralds again. We may of course keep on the lookout for the set as it may or may not have ended up in one of our other famous Royals' coffers. 

The spectacular Drop Sapphire Parure came to Princess Augusta from a collector who reputedly bought it from one of the fleeing Ruskian Noble Families after the Great War. The collector and the family who sold it still remains legally confidential but Princess Augusta being privy to the knowledge admitted to selling it back to its rightful owners when the opportunity arose. 

In this photo we see her wearing the sapphire which was apparently one of her favourites and very difficult to sells for that reason. However conviction and eventually profit got the better of her and the set returned "home". We look forward to seeing who ends up being the ellusive Ruskian Noble Family as a descendant wears it for the first time in almost a century. 

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Royal and Historic Jewellery in Museums Part 1)

Apart from the obvious Crown Jewel Collections that one may view in many exhibits open to the public, we find a category of jewels that is exhibited in museums and unlike Crown Jewels, serve no symbolic purpose. These historic jewels once belonged to famous historical figures but have since ended up in museums as records of history, artistic value and plain curiosities. The main difference between these museum display jewels and Crown Jewel exhibits is that the museum pieces have never been worn since they ended up in the museum nor will ever be worn again in the context they were designed for. They are now the property of the public and displayed for their pleasure and education. They are at least often displayed with photographs or paintings where they were worn. In this new short series of posts we will feature some pieces of Royal Jewels that find themselves trapped in time behind glass display cases around the world. 

The United States of Americania Museum of History in the Big Apple displays a famous historic parure that belonged to the Grand Duchess Georgiana, sister of Tzar Ivan X of Ruskiana. She married the Count Tolstoievski and after the Great War escaped to Americania where she had to sell the parure to a wealthy Americanian Industrialist. His wife left the historic set of jewels to the museum in her will. 

This contemporary pre-war photo shows, Grand Duchess Georgiana Alexandrovna, Countess Tolstoievski, wearing the awesome Garnet and Diamond Parure. What makes this set unique is the very rare size of the otherwise quite cheap garnet stones. Garnets are very durable and beautiful stones but quite common and therefor cheaply available. However they are rarely larger than 4cm in the rough making larger cut specimens extremely rare and costly. 

 This very recent museum archive photo shows the set of jewellery in detail. It is made, as per the era standards. from silver and set with diamonds and garnets. The craftsmanship is a testament of a bygone era and the level of "made-by-hand" skill that is scarcely matched today if ever.

We hope to do a couple more of these museum features so look out for them on Tuesdays. 

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (The Szanguscko Jewellery Collection)

The recent engagement of the Count Szanguscko to Princess Antoinette D'Pont Du Lac has brought to our attention the jewellery collection of the Comital House of Szanguscko. The Counts of Szanguscko have for centuries been considered the premiere Noble House in Normandia and as such own some historic jewels. With the restoration of the monarchy in Normandia, the Szangusckos played a pivotal role in cementing the rebirth of historic Royalty. The then head of the Noble House married the new Queen of Normandia and gave up his title in favour of his younger brother. 

Queen Gloria of Normandia has since not worn any jewellery that may be considered from the Szanguscko collection due to the fact that her officie as Queen has many official jewels expected to be worn and she also owns a vast collection of her own. As such, submitting her title to the lower title of her husband's family by the wearing of a Szanguscko Family Tiara, may be seen as strangely inappropriate. Yet it is appropriate for a wife to receive jewellery of a personal nature from her husband and to wear it publicly. Queen Gloria has done so in the form of a bracelet especially made for her as a gift from her husband the now Prince of Northwold. 

In 2011,Queen Gloria wore what has become known as the Szanguscko Bracelet on her right arm. This very personal piece of jewellery is seen as her personal property and the only part of what may considered a Szanguscko jewel in Royal possession.

This photo shows the bracelet in detail.

The unique circumstances surrounding the Szanguscko Family has led to a younger brother being head of the dynasty. The public haven't seen much of the family jewels for the same reason but upon the Count's engagement in 2014 the spectacular Szanguscko Tiara saw the light for the first time in decades. 

In the photo above, taken to commemorate the engagement of his Excellency the Count Szanguscko and Her Highness Princess Antoinette D'Pont Du Lac, we can see the Szanguscko Family Parure. It is made from rare grey pearls and set with diamonds and grey smokey quartz.

In this detailed archive photo we can thee the parure close-up and appreciate the subtle colour differences of the materials used. This tiara dates back from the early 1900's and was made in a mock medieval style. It is, due to its size and age considered to be the official Szanguscko Family Tiara worn by the Countess Consort.

Over the last few years the most often seen tiara from the Szanguscko Collection has been worn by the Count's younger sister Mercedes. She has at times accompanied other members of her family to important State Events and then worn a small diamond bandeau tiara very suitable to her age and rank. Not much is know of this piece except that its design helps us to guess its age. It may have been made in the 1920's for the then Countess.

Countess Mercedes Szanguscko can be seen very successfully wearing the small diamond tiara in 2011.

This detailed photo shows the small tiara with its matching earrings and a strand of quality pearls.

Most of the Szanguscko Collection seems to date from the early 1900's as is just the case of this flapper style coronet tiara. It also employs grey pearls and diamonds and is designed to sit A-symmetrically on the head. This "cheeky" design was typical of aigrette style tiaras from the flapper era.

The A-symmetrical Coronet Tiara is complimented by a two-tone necklace. This set was obviously designed to be used as swapping components fro the Szanguscko Family Parure as parts from both sets may be readily mixed and matched for variety.

It is very thrifty to design elements of new jewellery to be worn alone or to be mixed in with existing historic jewels. This necklace and earrings is made from pearls but includes diamonds and grey smokey quartz. It can thus be matched to any other parts of the Szanguscko Collection. We look forward to seeing it on the red carpet as to our knowledge it has never been worn but with the advent of a new Countess who also brings her own dowry to the Comital Family we may be in for a future feast.

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (The Duke of Swann's Top Ten Favourite Tiaras in the World)

As a Royal and a jewellery connoisseur I thought it may be interesting to list my personal favourite tiaras posted on this blog. Tiaras as a jewellery piece is my all time favourite type. My favourites will not be in order of preference as that is irrelevant but will be described for the reasons why I like them. So for frivolity's sake here are the top 10 favourites as dictated by my taste.

1.

The Arcwhite Icicle Tiara has to be on this list for the fact that it may be seen as the ultimate tiara in the world for many reasons. Its design is fairly simple yet supremely imposing. Monochromatic yet with an iridescent sheen. Its size make it almost appropriate for a goddess rather than human but it remains extremely wearable. I personally love these dynamics along with its almost legendary provenance. Finally the way it "emanates" from the wearers head makes this the most halo-like tiara I have ever seen.

2.

Sapphires are my favourite gemstones. This Ruskiana tiara from the Imperial Collection and indeed the whole parure is a special favourite of mine for the quality of the gems and the sleekness of design. It exudes simplicity matched by a grandiosity on a truly Imperial scale. This tiara may only be worn by an Empress and so also compliments its wearer to the hilt. This tiara never fails to leave me breathless.

3.

As far a "classic" goes in the realm of tiaras this would be it. If a Royal could have one tiara in the world for practicality, crown-likeness and general appeal this would be it. If you had this one and non other, it would be enough. The new diamond tiara was made especially for Princess Odeliah as a gift from her husband the Crown Prince Imperial.

4.

Light blue is one of my favourite colours, subtle yet intriguing. Therefore I was compelled to list an Aquamarine Tiara and decided on the Crown Tiara of Normandia as my favourite. The design is large yet elegant and the yellow off sets the light blue colour perfectly. The cross and arches strongly alludes to a crown lending the tiara a very regal appearance.

5.

This tiara also belonging to Lady Arcwhite has a large sapphire and a very unique and impressive design. It will always draw attention when worn but not in as much a gaudy manner as a majestic one befitting to its high ranked wearer. Those elements make it a winner in my eyes.
6.

Fringe tiaras as a specific design have a classic simple appeal. In this category, the Syldavian Fringe tiara  is my favourite and deserves to be on my list as whenever I see it I find myself staring at it for its clean lines and pleasing pitch.

7.

The Londonderry Amethyst Tiara has the best quality and largest amethysts in all Europa. I do enjoy the deep purple colour of the gems but this tiara makes my list for its design but more so for its pitch. The pitch is the angle at which it sits on the head and for some reason this one has a perfect pitch, if not the best, in my eyes.

8.

Another tiara that has me speechless for pitch but has the addition of my favourite sapphires and an overall very pleasing design, size and historic provenance is the D'Pont Du Lac Sapphire Tiara. It compliments its necklace and earrings perfectly and is just the right size to be very impressive without overdoing it. I love it.

9.

For innovation and spunk, this tiara promises to always be remembered regardless of any other tiara at any event. It is also very cheeky yet bears history as well as caratage. Aigrettes can be difficult to pull off but this one has never seen the light of failure. Princess Kirsten is a lucky girl.

10.

Rubies are a staple among high ranking Royals but I often find the tiara designs either try too hard or lack in originality. However, Ruskian Imperial Jewels never cease to impress and as far as design, size of stones and pitch goes, this is my favourite ruby tiara in the world. It hails from the collection of Princess Xenia Alexandrovna and whenever it is worn it makes one yearn for a restoration of the Imperial Ruskian Court.

Here follows 3 honourable mentions for very specific reasons stated in each description.

As the Duke of Swann, it is a shame that none of the historic jewels in my own collection made my list of favourites. So I thought sharing my favourite in my collection would be appropriate. The Swann Diamond Tiara boasts one of the largest diamonds in the world and the design is distinctly Ruskian and specifically leasing to my taste.

All lists of tiaras should at least include one set of emeralds and my list of favourites has none. So therefor I added what would be my favourite emerald tiara if I was forced to choose. The Imperial Emerald Tiara from the Crown Jewels of Perlistan has a very pleasing design, use of colour and pitch.

For shear impressive bling my eye has never been able to not stare at this parure and it makes my "mentions" list as being my favourite bling parure in the world.

Hope you all enjoy to see what I as the blogger prefer above all other tiaras featured on my blog. I estimate a total of roughly 400 tiaras are featured individually here, so feel free to choose your own list of favourites. Happy tiara viewing to all.