Floral Tiara Tournament: Sirkit’s Floral Bandeau vs Burmese Ruby

Two modern ruby floral tiaras are matched up in this round!

This royal tiara from Thailand, as the name suggests, is a bandeau of stylized diamond flowers. The center of the tiara features a large, blossoming element, set with a central ruby. The bandeau was one of Queen Sirikit’s glittering companions during the lengthy foreign tour she undertook with King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1960.

When Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom needed a ruby tiara in the 1970s, she had diamonds from the dismantled Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara combined with a cache of Burmese rubies to create this distinctive sparkler. The piece features bold Tudor-style roses in its design, and the Queen often pairs it with various ruby and diamond pieces from her collection.