Saturday Sparkler: The Luxembourg Vine Leaves Tiara

Today, the grand ducal family of Luxembourg will gather for the christening of their newest member: Princess Amalia of Nassau, the daughter of Prince Felix and Princess Claire. What better day, then, to have a look at the lovely diamond tiara that Princess Claire wore on her wedding day last year? When Claire Lademacher married Prince Félix, she got her first crack at the family’s vast collection of tiaras, and the one she chose was today’s sparkler: the larger of the family’s two floral tiaras.

As the lovely ladies over at Luxarazzi have observed, this tiara is “floral” largely because it includes natural elements and not because it specifically includes flowers in the design; we learned during Felix and Claire’s wedding festivities that the family refers to the piece as the “vine leaves” tiara. The all-diamond sparkler, set in yellow gold and silver, includes leaf and berry motifs.

The tiara was made in the second half of the nineteenth century, but the palace has never confirmed by or for whom it was created. It’s possible, given its stated creation date, that it entered the collection around the same time as the Marie-Adélaïde tiara, which also features diamond leaves and berries in its design.

It’s also possible, however, that the tiara was acquired by the family at a later date, perhaps during the reign of Grand Duchess Charlotte, the grandmother of the current grand duke. The statement released by the royal court noted that Charlotte never wore the tiara herself, although other family members wore it during her tenure as grand duchess. Her daughter-in-law, Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, apparently only wore the tiara once. The current grand duchess, however, has worn the tiara on a number of occasions.

Like the smaller floral tiara, this one has been worn at a number of Nassau family weddings. The information released by the royal court also mentioned that it was worn by all four of the daughters of Grand Duchess Charlotte at their weddings: Princess Alix in 1950, Princess Marie Gabrielle in 1951, Princess Elisabeth in 1956, and Princess Marie-Adélaïde in 1958. (You can see photos of all the brides wearing the tiara at Luxarazzi.)

The tiara also made a significant appearance during the 2012 wedding of the hereditary grand ducal couple; Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie chose to wear the tiara at the gala held the night before her religious wedding ceremony. It was the first tiara from the Luxembourg collection that she wore.

Claire followed in her sister-in-law’s footsteps, choosing this sparkler for her own royal wedding in September 2013. Given Felix and Claire’s current occupation — managing a vineyard in the south of France — a tiara with vine designs was an especially appropriate choice!