The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Scandi Sparkler Spectacular: Danish Rubies vs Norwegian Emeralds

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This one’s a battle of early nineteenth-century jewels!

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The Danish Ruby Parure Tiara vs. The Norwegian Emerald Parure Tiara
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This tiara began its life as a series of hair combs, purchased by Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte for his wife, Desiree, to wear at Napoleon’s coronation in 1804. When Bernadotte was elected King of Sweden, the rubies became royal jewels. The combs were made into a bandeau by Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, who had received them from her mother-in-law, Lovisa of Sweden. Queen Ingrid turned the bandeau into a grand wreath tiara, which is now worn by Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
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The most historic set of jewelry in the Norwegian vaults, this diamond and emerald parure has its roots in the earliest part of the nineteenth century. They were handed down from Princess Augusta, Duchess of Leuchtenberg, to her daughter, Empress Amelie of Brazil. She in turn bequeathed the set to her sister, Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway, who left them to her daughter-in-law, Queen Sofia of Sweden. In 1931, Sofia passed the emeralds down to her own daughter-in-law, Princess Ingeborg of Sweden. She gave them to her daughter, Crown Princess Martha of Norway, to use as an insurance policy during her World War II exile. Happily, the family survived the war, and the emeralds remain with the main branch today, worn exuberantly by Queen Sonja.

Scandi Sparkler Spectacular: The Elegant Eight Results!

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The results are in from this week’s tiara contests!

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Okay, everybody — this was a wild ride. After two users attempted to stuff the ballot box (!) in this poll, I had to remove hundreds of fraudulent votes from the tally and change the security settings on the software we use to count the votes. (To reassure those who are convinced there’s some sort of agenda here: I do not care which tiaras/jewels win these polls. I do this for your entertainment. I’m working for accuracy in tallying your votes here, not angling for some pre-determined outcome, okay???) Anyway! The Danish Ruby Parure Tiara pulled off a win in this round, bringing in 59.12% of the vote, while 40.88% of you selected the Danish Floral Aigrette.
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This was our only “upset” of the week! While Queen Josefina’s Diamond Tiara brought in 43.62% of your votes, the Norwegian Emerald Parure Tiara was the victor in this contest, chosen by 56.38% of voters.
JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images, Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

This was a seriously close one! Though the Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik was picked by 48.96% of you, the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure Tiara triumphed with 51.04% of the vote.
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Our final Wild Card round of the tournament was a runaway! The Khedive of Egypt Tiara dominated the competition, bringing in 74.52% of the vote, while Princess Benedikte’s Floral Birthday Tiara was preferred by 25.48% of voters.
No break between rounds this week: the votes for our Final Four candidates will begin bright and early tomorrow!

Scandi Sparkler Spectacular: Khedive of Egypt vs Floral Birthday

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It’s time for our final tiara contest of the week!

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The Khedive of Egypt Tiara vs. Princess Benedikte’s Floral Birthday Tiara
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The diamond scroll tiara, made by Cartier, was Crown Princess Margareta of Sweden’s wedding gift from Khedive Abbas II of Egypt. The gift was especially sentimental, because Margareta and her husband, the future King Gustaf VI Adolf, had fallen in love in Cairo. The lovely jewel was able to be worn as a traditional tiara, or taken off the frame and worn as a corsage ornament. When Margaret died, the tiara was inherited by her only daughter, Queen Ingrid of Denmark. All three of Ingrid’s daughters, as well as three of her granddaughters, have worn the tiara on their wedding days. When Ingrid died in 2000, the tiara was bequeathed to her youngest daughter, the former Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. She continues to wear the jewel (and lend it to other family members) today.
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This classic diamond floral tiara was made using a brooch that belonged to Queen Alexandrine of Denmark. In the 1960s, Queen Ingrid had the brooch supplemented with additional gemstones to form an eighteenth-birthday-gift tiara for her second daughter, Princess Benedikte. (The brooch is also still detachable.) Benedikte has worn the tiara throughout her life, and she’s also loaned it to her daughters, Princess Alexandra and Princess Nathalie.