Diamond Tiara Tournament: Belgian Scroll vs Swedish Six Button

 

Important Luxembourgish and Swedish heirlooms face off in this contest!

This lovely, classic diamond tiara was a wedding gift to Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium on her marriage to the future Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg in 1953. The tiara was given to her by the Société Générale, a French bank. She wore the sparkler on her wedding day, and it’s been a key part of the family’s jewelry collection ever since. In 2009, it narrowly escaped the auction block, but today, it’s worn regularly by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.

This tiara, which features diamond buttons in two different patterns, is a relatively new creation; it was made in the 1970s, around the time that Princess Lilian of Sweden married Prince Bertil. The buttons, though, are much older. They were previously affixed to the crown worn by King Karl XVI Johan at his coronation in 1818. (Because of this, the family sometimes calls this piece the “Karl Johan Tiara.”) Today, the tiara has been worn by nearly all of the women of the Swedish royal family, especially Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Christina.