The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

The Cartier Indian Tiara

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Photo generously shared by reader Javier

The Duchess of Gloucester, wife of a cousin of the British monarch, has a jewelry collection that outshines those of some entire royal families. Many of her pieces came from Queen Mary via the current duke’s mother, Princess Alice. But today’s tiara, the Cartier Indian, arrived in the Gloucester collection from a different, lesser-known branch of Queen Victoria’s family tree.

Portrait of Princess Marie Louise by Josefine Swoboda, ca. 1890 (Wikimedia Commons)

The tiara was originally owned by Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Marie Louise, who was born a princess of Schleswig-Holstein. Marie Louise’s parents were Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, one of the daughters of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Princess Marie Louise on her wedding day, 1891 (Wikimedia Commons)

Princess Marie Louise had a rather complicated marital situation; she was married to Prince Aribert of Anhalt, but the match was a poor one. The reasons why are debated — many think that Aribert was gay — but whatever the problems were, Marie Louise’s father-in-law, the Duke of Anhalt, apparently decided that he should use his ducal prerogative to annul the marriage without adequately notifying his daughter-in-law or the British royal family. Not exactly the tidiest of endings.

Princess Marie Louise, ca. 1910 (Bain Collection/Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons)

While Princess Marie Louise lost her spouse, she did maintain a rather stupendous collection of jewels, even after her marriage ended. She remained a part of the extended British royal family for the rest of her life, wearing her jewels for major family occasions. This continued even after the great culling of German titles among the Windsor clan in 1917. Unlike others who took wholly new titles, the territorial distinction was removed from Marie Louise’s title, transforming her from Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein to simply Princess Marie Louise. (She also wrote a highly entertaining memoir!)

The Duchess of Gloucester wears the tiara at the State Opening of Parliament, November 1998 (Fiona Hanson/PA Images/Alamy)

Perhaps the most impressive tiara in the princess’s collection was this pearl, diamond, and sapphire sparkler, which was made for her by Henri Lavabre at Cartier. It was constructed in the early years of the twentieth century, perhaps in the years following the annulment of her marriage; Lavabre’s tenure at Cartier dates the piece from between 1906-1921. The tiara is called the “Indian” tiara not because of any specific connection to that nation but because it mimics traditional Indian design motifs.

The tiara was displayed in an exhibition in Canberra, 2018 (Photo generously shared by reader Javier)

Princess Marie Louise wore the tiara at major royal events, including the 1953 coronation. After her death in 1956, the tiara was inherited by her godson, Prince Richard of Gloucester, who eventually (and unexpectedly) inherited his father’s ducal title. Today, it is worn by Richard’s wife, Birgitte, who occasionally brings out the piece at state banquets or at the Guildhall banquets which traditionally make up a part of a state visit to the United Kingdom. It was also “worn” by the Gloucesters’ younger daughter, Lady Rose, in a 1981 Norman Parkinson portrait. In recent years, the tiara has also been exhibited, notably as part of the landmark Cartier exhibition held in Canberra in 2018.

Note: This is an expanded and updated version of an earlier post.

The Wurttemberg Ornate Pearl Tiara

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Beatrix wears the tiara, 2013 (Pool/Getty Images)

As March draws to a close, we’ve got a closer look today at a tiara worn by a famous royal March bride: the Württemberg Ornate Pearl Tiara.

Wilhelmina wears the tiara, 1898 (Grand Ladies Site)

The Ornate Pearl Tiara was created for the young Queen Wilhelmina in 1897, a year ahead of her enthronement festivities. The piece, which is set with diamonds, 35 round pearls, and 11 pear-shaped pearls, was likely made by Royal Van Kempen en Begeer. Some have speculated that the tiara was actually a remodeled version of a diamond and pearl tiara from the collection of Queen Sophie, possibly an unseen diamond and pearl tiara inherited by her son, Prince Alexander. That’s why the tiara is generally known as the “Württemberg Ornate Pearl Tiara” — even though the connection between Queen Wilhelmina’s tiara and that earlier piece has never been firmly established.

Beatrix wears the tiara, 2004 (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The 1897 tiara can be worn in four separate settings. Setting #1 includes all eleven of the pear-shaped pearls attached to the top of the tiara in two rows: five pearls on the highest elements and six pearls on the lower ones. Setting #2 features just the 5 pear-shaped pearls on the highest elements. Setting #3 features just the 6 pear-shaped pearls on the lower elements. Setting #4 is just the tiara without any of the pear-shaped pearl toppers — this is the setting shown in the photo above.

A portrait of Wilhelmina wearing the tiara is featured on a Dutch postage stamp

In 1898, Queen Wilhelmina wore setting #2 of the tiara for some of her first official portraits as queen. One of the portraits from the session was featured on a stamp used throughout the first quarter of the twentieth century in the Netherlands. The tiara was apparently not a great favorite of Wilhelmina’s; these appear to be some of the only images available that feature her wearing the piece.

Juliana wears the tiara in London, 1950 (BNA Photographic/Alamy)

After her abdication in 1948, the tiara was worn by Wilhelmina’s daughter, the new Queen Juliana. She chose the piece for numerous important occasions, including state visits to the United Kingdom and Denmark. (She’s wearing setting #1 of the tiara in London in 1950 in the photograph above.) In the 1960s, Juliana decided to place the family’s  jewelry collection in a family foundation, ensuring that it cannot be sold and will not leave the family through marriage or inheritance. The pearl tiara is one of the pieces in that foundation.

Beatrix wears the tiara on her wedding day, 1966 (Anefo/Nationaal Archief/Wikimedia Commons)

In the 1960s, the tiara also found a new wearer. Princess Beatrix, Juliana’s eldest daughter, wore setting #1 of the tiara with her bridal veil when she married Claus van Amsberg in March 1966. The embroidery on her gown was designed specifically to mirror the intricate design of the tiara.

Beatrix wears the tiara at the Danish royal wedding, 2004 (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Beatrix wore the pearl tiara for state occasions during her mother’s reign, as well as her own, which began in 1980. She generally preferred to wear setting #4 of the tiara for these gala events. She also memorably wore setting #4 of the tiara for the wedding of Crown Prince Frederick and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark in 2004.

Beatrix wears the tiara, 2013 (Robin Utrecht – Pool/Getty Images)

After more than three decades on the Dutch throne, Beatrix abdicated in favor of her son, Willem-Alexander, in 2013. At a gala dinner held the night before the abdication, Beatrix wore setting #2 of the tiara.

Maxima wears the tiara in Japan, 2014 (SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI/AFP via Getty Images)

Since Beatrix’s abdication, the tiara has been worn several times by her daughter-in-law, Queen Maxima. She has also preferred setting #4 of the tiara, wearing it for diplomatic occasions like the 2014 state visit to Japan.

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

The Koch Aquamarine Kokoshnik

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Christie’s

As we celebrate the month of the aquamarine, today we’ve got a look at a rather mysterious royal tiara that recently resurfaced in Tokyo: the Koch Aquamarine Kokoshnik.

This striking diamond and aquamarine tiara was originally part of the Russian imperial jewelry collection. There don’t appear to be any photographs of any of the Romanovs actually wearing the tiara, and the provenance information we have on the piece is a little bit murky. For years, it was frequently speculated that the tiara dated to around 1900 and was perhaps made by Fabergé. (As the firm often supplied jewelry to the Romanovs, it wasn’t an unreasonable possibility.)

Albion Art

But more recently, it’s been revealed that the tiara was actually made in Germany around 1910. The makers were the fantastic and innovative jewelers at Koch. They’re responsible for some of the most balanced and classic royal kokoshniks, including the Prussian Tiara and the Prussian Meander Kokoshnik, so it makes a great deal of sense that they’ve been revealed as the makers of this kokoshnik as well. The tiara features diamonds and rectangular aquamarines, making brilliant use of the natural shape of the gem, set in platinum and gold. You’ll sometimes see the tiara depicted beside a coordinating pair of earrings and a necklace; these were later creations, not made by Koch and not part of any original parure.

Alexandra Feodorovna photographed in the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo, ca. 1909 (Wikimedia Commons)

It’s long been said that the aquamarine kokoshnik came from the personal jewelry collection of Alexandra Feodorovna, the last Empress of Russia. She loved aquamarines, and her husband, Nicholas II, loved giving them to her. One of his engagement presents to her, after all, was a fantastic aquamarine brooch. But, as I said, we have no images of Alexandra wearing the tiara, and we don’t know exactly what would have happened to the tiara after the family was toppled from the throne. While many of the former imperial jewels were meticulously catalogued and photographed by the Soviets in preparation for public auction, the aquamarine tiara was not among them.

Christie’s

There are plenty of rumors, though, about where the tiara went next. Some have suggested that Wartski, a London jeweler that specializes in Russian jewels, acquired the aquamarine tiara in Russia about two years after the Romanovs were murdered. Others have claimed that representatives from the Soviet government brought the tiara to Paris in a suitcase and sold it there. We know for certain, though, that the tiara (or a very similar piece) was auctioned by Sotheby’s in Switzerland in the 1980s. It was subsequently sold privately by Christie’s in 2014. And in December 2017, Christie’s again offered the tiara (or a very similar piece) in a special private tiara sale in London, calling it simply “an antique aquamarine and diamond tiara,” and not mentioning any imperial connection at all.

An official portrait of Queen Carolyn of Ladonia wearing the tiara — or a replica?

Over time, the tiara (or, again, one very much like it) has popped up briefly here and there in public. Astrid Bernadotte, a granddaughter of Folke and Estelle Bernadotte, wore the tiara (or a very similar one) during her wedding reception in 2017. And — rather bizarrely — the tiara (or, quite likely, a close replica) has appeared on the head of a woman called “Queen Carolyn of Ladonia.”

Ladonia is a micronation: an entity whose members claim to belong to an independent sovereign state, but which is not officially recognized by world governments or institutions. (A “micronation” is different from a “microstate” — like Liechtenstein or Monaco, for example. Those small states are recognized as sovereign territories by the rest of the world.) Physically, Ladonia is a tiny bit of land within a Swedish nature preserve that surrounds sculptures made by Lars Vilks; he declared the area around the sculptures a sovereign nation in 1996 during a dispute with the local council. Ladonia has citizens but no residents, including said Queen Carolyn, who was born in America and still lives there with her husband and children. Anyway — there’s the tiara, or a replica, on her in the portrait above.

Albion Art

Although the tiara has been in the shadows for quite a long time, we recently learned that it has found a permanent new home. It has been acquired by the Japanese-based Albion Art Institute, whose president, Kazumi Arikawa, is the steward of one of the biggest privately-owned collection of historic jewels in the world. Arikawa’s eventual goal is to construct a major museum to house these pieces in Kyoto, but for now, the institute often lends its tiaras and jewels to exhibitions around the globe. Perhaps we’ll see the aquamarine kokoshnik on public display soon?