The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

The Mellerio Ruby Parure Tiara

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The Mellerio Ruby Parure Tiara (Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

The Dutch tiara collection is so large that it includes not one but two major ruby tiaras. Today we’re going to look at the bigger of the two: the grand ruby tiara made for the family by Mellerio.

Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Mellerio dits Meller is a major French jewelry firm with a seriously glittering history. They’ve been making pieces for centuries, and this tiara is only one of several Mellerio tiaras in royal collections today. The Dutch ruby tiara was made by the company for Queen Emma in 1889 as a part of a larger ruby parure. The pieces were a gift from Emma’s husband, King Willem III. (The parure even includes a ruby-encrusted fan. How Victorian!)

Photo: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

All four of the Dutch queens since Emma have worn the tiara and at least parts of the rest of the parure; the piece has also been worn by many Dutch princesses. Queen Juliana reportedly loved this parure, so much so that she even chose the brooch to wear on the day she was inaugurated as queen. Above, Juliana wears the tiara and the accompanying pieces of the parure in 1976.

Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

The piece has a very classic tiara shape, with rows of diamonds suspended between the larger elements; that shape fits well with both Princess Beatrix’s retro bouffant and Queen Máxima’s sleeker hairstyles. Above, Beatrix wears the tiara at the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in 2010.

Photo: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images

Máxima even chose the tiara for her first official portrait as queen. She’s reached for it more than once for glittering occasions over the past several years; her appearance in the tiara at the wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden in 2015 (pictured above) was hailed as an especially major bejeweled triumph. And since it’s a part of the family’s jewel foundation, it will sit atop various Dutch royal hairstyles for years to come.

Note: This is an updated version of an earlier post, with new text and images.


This Week in Royal Jewels: September 16-22

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September 16-22, 2016
We’ve got some pretty stellar royal jewels on display this week — don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!
Photo: NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/AFP/Getty Images
10. In Brussels, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians attended Car Free Sunday with her family. She wore disc-shaped earrings for the event.

Photo: ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP/Getty Images
9. Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands wore floral earrings, a beaded necklace, and a glittering ring on Thursday at a human trafficking conference in The Hague.
Photo: BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images
8. At the Clinton Global Initiative in New York on Monday, Queen Rania of Jordan wore a modern pair of stud earrings with a radiating back piece.
Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Global Goals
7. Rania wore a pair of silver-toned pendant earrings on Tuesday for the Global Goals Awards Dinner in New York.
Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Global Goals
6. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden also attended the Global Goals Awards Dinner; she wore a modern suite of silver jewelry for the occasion. The circular pin on her blouse is the logo of the Global Goals.
Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
5. In Scotland, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom attended church on Sunday wearing her usual pearls, plus her golden Peranakan-style brooch.
Photo: VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images
4. Princess Caroline of Monaco attended a new exhibition at one of the principality’s museums on Thursday, wearing a pair of major statement earrings and a necklace with a cross pendant.
Photo: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for World Childhood Foundation
3. For the Thank You Gala in New York on Friday, Princess Madeleine of Sweden wore a stunning pair of modern baroque pearl earrings. (See jewel close-ups over here!)
Photo: KOEN VAN WEEL/AFP/Getty Images
2. At the opening of the Dutch parliament this week, Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands wore a borrowed pair of chandelier earrings and a major insect brooch. (More pictures and details from the event over here!)
Photo: SANDER KONING/AFP/Getty Images
1. Nobody could top Queen Maxima of the Netherlands’s jewels this week; she wore major diamonds and sapphires on her ears and at her waist on Prinsjesdag. (See close-ups over here!)