Empress Eugénie’s pearl and diamond tiara tiara was commissioned by Napoleon III as a wedding present for his bride, the Spanish-born Eugénie de Montijo. Created by Parisian jeweler Gabriel Lemonnier in 1853, the tiara was made with 212 pearls and 1,998 tiny diamonds (totaling 63.3 carats) that already belonged to the French crown. These stones had been used in previous …
Tiara Tuesday: The Astor Tiara
The Astor tiara belonged to Nancy Langhorne Astor, a Southern girl who became the first woman to serve as an MP in the British House of Commons. The tiara, made by Cartier, holds the famous 55.23-carat Sancy diamond in its center. In 1906, the tiara was valued at $75,000 – without the Sancy. Go ahead and gawk. I’ll just wait …