Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Exhaustive list of Crowns of the World)

In the last two years we saw many historic treasures thought lost to history, return. Many of these items recovered are crowns from actual crown jewels collections. Let's take a look at a complete list of existing crowns to date.

Crowns in our list will only include those associated/worn by a monarch and his/her spouse and the crown/coronet worn by the heir if any exists. No consort tiaras will be listed here as we are aiming at making an exhaustive list of only the crowns still in existence in Europa

The Crown of St. Christian is the Sovereign Crown of Scotney but also served as the Crown of Britania from 1488 till 1546 when King Daniel ruled both Kingdoms in personal union. The Crown was thought looted and destroyed during the 1996 Revolution but was rediscovered in pieces early in 2015 and fully restored.

The Nuptial Crown of Scotney which was used also as the Consort Crown of Scotney by its Queens. Made in 1759 for the wedding of Queen Charlotte it was also thought lost during the revolution but was actually hidden in the safety of the Reichenthal secret vault where it was discovered amidst many other treasures in 2014.

The Imperial State Crown of the United Empire of Scot-Britania was made in 1993 for the Coronation of Emperor Christian of the United Empire of Scot-Britania. It survived the 1996 Revolution and today is the centerpiece of the Imperial Crown Jewel Collection.

The small Imperial State Crown or Consort Crown of the United Empire of Scot Britania was also made in 1993 for the Coronation of Empress Crystobel, Co-Regent of the United Empire. 

The Crown Prince Imperial Crown of the United Empire of Scot-Britania is the altered Crown of the Crown Prince of Britania and served as the new Empire's Crown for the heir of the throne from 1993.

The Sovereign Crown of the Dukes of Swann has existed as the official Crown of the Realm since the inception of the Independent Principality of Swann.
It is the oldest platinum jewellery piece in the world

The Consort Crown of Swann is a recent addition to the Crown Jewels of Swann made just after the Great War for the wedding of the Duke of Swann to Countess Suzanna of Pinhaar. As such it has since become the official "crown" worn by the Duchess Consorts where before they wore tiaras of their choice.

The Royal Crown of the Kingdom of Hispania is a new crown made to replace the medieval one destroyed during the 1996 Revolution. It does however contain gems and gold components taken from a far older crown that had fallen into disuse. That deteriorated crown used to create this new one, was originally used to crown a relic in the Royal Cathedral of St. Bartholomeas.

The Crown of Cataljone is the original 15th Century Crown of the then independent Principality of Cataljone. When the Principlality was annexed/conquered as part of greater Hispania in 1589 it became the crown of the heir to the Hispanian throne as the title of Prince of Cataljone was then also perpetually bestowed on the heir as well. The Crown was thought lost in the 1996 Revolution but survived with many other treasures safely hidden in the Reichenthal vault.

The Imperial State Crown of Ruskiana made in 1789 by Court Jeweller Bolinovich exist today thanks to the efforts of the Duke of Swann's great grandfather who smuggled it and the Consort's Crown out of Ruskiana before the outbreak of the Great War. They were safely hidden in a trunk in Hanoveria where they were discovered in 2013. The Crown is made from gold, silver, rubies and exceptionally large diamonds

The Empress Crown of Ruskiana was saved along with its larger male counterpart. Both crowns were made in the same style and materials although this one is far smaller in size. 

The King and Queen's Crowns of Syldavia. The larger King's Crown is a medieval one known as the Crown of Ottokar I while the Queen's Crown is a new addition added by King Nikolas III at his private expense. 

The Royal Crown of Hanoveria is a testament to the down-toned and relaxed monarchy. The Crown is rarely exhibited for State occasions and never worn. It was made in 1830 when the prestige of having Crown Jewels reached a peak in Europa. Although the Hanoverians had no traditional requirement for a Crown as national symbol this one was made and has become the official Crown of the Realm.  

The brand new Crowns of Normandia were both made to replenish the ravaged coffers of the Normandian Crown Jewels. The smaller Queen's Crown was made in 2014 especially for Queen Gloria to wear tot the State Opening of Parliament. She had the Crown made at her own expense and has bequeathed it to the Nation as a permanent part of the National Crown Jewels.

The Grand Princely Crowns of Wallachia are of a very early medieval design and manufacture. Manufactured in the 1300's from pure Wallachian gold and set alternatively with pear cut aquamarines and square cut amethysts. There are also Fleur d' Lys topped with Caspian Sea black pearls for the masculine crown and white pearls for the feminine crown. It was made for the legendary Prince Vlad III who needed new regalia after his treacherous brother stole and sold the original Crown Jewels to finance his rebellion.

The Hereditary Prince's Crown was made at the same time as it's two larger counterparts. It is just far smaller and it has been known that a ruling Prince would wear it to less formal occasions although it is technically meant for the heir to the throne.

Romagna's Royal Crown was found along with many other historic treasure in the now famous secret vault of Reichenthal. It was originally made to replace the old medieval crown that was destroyed in a fire in the Royal palace in 1802.

Franconia has recently had a new replica of the Crown of King Louis XV made to match the original Consort's Crown that was also found in the Reichenthal Vault.

Fulco D'Este, although a modern democracy that has ousted its monarchy, has retained its national symbols of which this Crown is the main feature. The Crown is made of iron and is symbolic more of the people of Fulco D'Este's independence than the former monarchs.

The Perlistan Crown Jewels are very distinctive in their design reflecting the style of the region. The Crowns are made from solid gold and Perlistani indigenous sapphires, emeralds and citrines. The heron feather in the 18th century Crown of the Shah is a centuries old symbol only allowed to be worn by the Shah himself. The Empress Crown dates back a mere half a century. The reason being that in Perlistani traditional culture women had no public authority and where kept (culturally not physically) within domestic confines. As such the monarchy and Shah had no role for a consort seen in public. However, the old traditions made way for women to be allowed more public freedoms and thus the wife of the Shah gained a title, Shahbahnou and a crown in her role as consort.

The 1730 small Crown of Duchess Eleanore of Champagne is all that is left of the Crown Jewels of the Duchy of Champagne.

The 17th Century arched Crown of the Kings of Reichenthal rival any other in Europa and is a testament of the world famous Reichenthalian craftsmanship. 

This early 14th Century Crown was made for Queen Sarah of Reichenthal and was since then used as the Queen's Crown. It is the oldest Crown in the Reichenthal collection.

The Crown of Danielovich I  of Serbieski is a symbol of great historic pride and the oldest Crown in Europa. It was made in 1250 for Danielovich I and is considered a holy relic by the fiercely territorial people of Serbieski. It has served as the Crown of the first Krulls (tribal chiefs), Kings and now Grand Dukes of Serbieski. It was also thought destroyed at a stage but was recovered from the Reichenthal Vault where it was safely hidden.

Monagask has no crown per sé but a 2000 year old gold wreath was discovered by archeologists and is assumed to have belonged to rulers of the first settlers in the region.

The Islands of Arcwhite do not employ symbolic Crown Jewels per sé but they do have this Medieval Headpiece that is one of the oldest diadems in all of Europa and is worn during event of high formality in Arcwhite. 

Ophiri monarchs are considered crowned by the sun itself and so also share a dignity with all men

The Crown of Britania made in 1680 as a statement of independence by the Britanian "rebel" King John and used into the 20th Century is documented as destroyed by the 1996 Revolutionary government who sough to eradicate all things linked to the previous monarchy.

We hope this list has served to inform and inspire as we build up excitement towards the July 3rd Imperial Coronation.

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Royal and Historic Jewellery in Museums Part 2)

The Franconian State History Museum has received a Royal gift  to mark contemporary jewellery design. The gift was sponsored by Princess Augusta and donated to the museum as a record of design in jewellery for the first part of the new millennium. The piece, a tiara, was specifically made for exhibition purposes and thus has never been worn by anybody except posed by Princess Augusta for  this particular photo shoot commemorating the event. This is to at least allow the tiara its proper context once. 

The platinum and diamond tiara can be seen in this detailed photo. It is of obvious modern design with clean lines and an overall futuristic look that will make it look not out of place in a Sci-Fi epic. The piece was made by Franconia's top jewellery firm, Bartier and as such stands as testament of the pinnacle of Europan craftsmanship.

Here Princess Augusta poses with he gift.

Here the tiara can be seen in detail in its proper context for the first and only time. It will from now on be exhibited at the museum in its Contemporary Jewellery Exhibition Hall.

On the other hand a historic jewellery piece from the Franconian Royal Collection, the Goutte de la Mer Sapphire Tiara will be leaving the museum.

The sapphire tiara may be returned to join the newly established Franconaian Crown Jewel Exhibit at the Chateau Lafitte in Lyon which means we may see it worn by a meber of the Franconian Royal Family in pretense or in an official photo if Prince Louis of Franconia ever gets married.

The Goutte de la Mer Sapphire Tiara was originally made in 1804 for Princess Marie Louise, Duchesse D'Angelille upon her marriage to the Duke of Viletta. She was the only surviving female granddaughter of the last King of Franconia. She died childless and her jewellery was dispersed through her husband's family descendants until in 1990 the tiara was purchased by the museum.

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.