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Tiara Tuesday: The Mountbatten Tiara

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The Mountbatten tiara belonged to Edwina, Countess Mountbatten. Made around 1910, it features borders of channel-set diamonds in platinum with scrolls and thirteen trefoils in between. There’s a similar design in Chaumet’s archives, but the maker’s mark on the actual tiara is said to be “unclear.” It was last seen in a Cartier case, though, and Cartier did some fantastic work …

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Surprise Romanov Connections from Tiara Tuesday

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In this week’s Tiara Tuesday post, I wrote about Princess Helena Victoria and Princess Marie Louise, two granddaughters of Queen Victoria. Turns out that each of them had surprise Romanov connections. I did not see this coming, you guys. Helena Victoria Romanov connection: Helena Victoria, or “Thora” as she was called, was very close with her cousin, Princess Alix of …

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Tiara Tuesday: Princess Helena Victoria’s Tiara

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Princess Helena Victoria’s tiara is a diamond neo-classical tiara decorated with a central honeysuckle motif and eighteen graduated ribbon scrolls. Helena was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, born a princess of Schleswig-Holstein (say that five times fast). She never married, which is when most royal women receive their tiaras, so she probably inherited this one from her mother, also conveniently …

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Tiara Tuesday: Princess Marina’s Fringe Tiara

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Princess Marina’s fringe tiara was a gift from the City of London when she married George, Duke of Kent, son of George V and Queen Mary, in 1934. It’s made of diamonds set in gold and silver. The City of London chose wisely. This design is inspired by traditional Russian kokoshniks, and Princess Marina was the daughter of Prince Nicholas of …