The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

The Noor-ol-Ain Tiara

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Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and Farah Diba on their wedding day, December 1959 (AFP via Getty Images)

The Treasury of National Jewels in Iran holds a stunning collection of gems and jewels from the Persian imperial past. Today, we’ve got a closer look at one of the nation’s most important treasures: the Noor-ol-Ain Tiara.

The Noor-ol-Ain Tiara, ca. 1967 (Wikimedia Commons)

The tiara was commissioned by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, in 1958. The piece was made by Harry Winston and set with white, pink and yellow diamonds. The largest stone in the tiara is one of the largest pink diamonds in the world: the 60-carat Noor-ol-Ain Diamond, brought to present-day Iran from India in the 18th century by Persian soldiers. The diamond’s name means “the light of the eye.”

The Shah and Farah Diba on their wedding day, December 1959 (Central Press/Getty Images)

A year after the tiara was made, it was worn for the last major royal wedding ever held in Iran. The bride, Farah Diba, was the Shah’s third wife. He had been married and divorced twice before, and his third marriage was motivated in part by his need for a male heir. His only daughter, Princess Shahnaz, helped coordinate his relationship with Farah, who was a twenty-one-year old architecture student in Paris when they met. They were engaged in November 1959, and their wedding was held that December.

Farah Diba on her wedding day, December 1959 (AFP via Getty Images)

On her wedding day, Farah paired the tiara with a diamond necklace, a diamond bracelet, and earrings with large, pear-shaped yellow diamond drops. Her wedding gown was designed by Yves Saint Laurent, who was working at the time for Dior. The heavily-embroidered gown was sleeveless but featured a matching coat.

Queen Fabiola of Belgium, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Farah Pahlavi, and King Baudouin of Belgium at the Marble Palace in Iran, November 1964 (AFP/Getty Images)

Farah wore the tiara regularly for gala events during her husband’s remaining years on the throne. Above, she wears the tiara during a banquet given at the Marble Palace during an official visit from King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgium in 1964.

Farah Pahlavi wears the tiara during the Belgian royal visit, November 1964 (AFP/Getty Images)

Here’s a closer look at Farah in the tiara on that particular occasion.

Farah Pahlavi wears the tiara, October 1971 (AFP/Getty Images)

When the Pahlavi family was exiled from Iran in the late 1970s, this tiara stayed behind. It is state property, and today, it’s held in the Central Bank in Tehran with the rest of the national jewel collection.

This Week in Royal Jewels: October 11-17

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October 11-17, 2019
It’s been an absolutely banner week for royal jewels, and we’ve got one of the biggest reviews we’ve ever seen here at TCJ! Don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!
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35. For the Spanish royal family’s arrival in Oviedo on Thursday for the Princess of Asturias award festivities, Queen Letizia wore a pair of delicate black and white earrings.

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34. As the British royal tour of Pakistan continued on Thursday, the Duchess of Cambridge chose her Catherine Zoraida fern hoop earrings for a visit to the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore.
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33. On Wednesday, Kate wore gold earrings from Missoma (and some traditional local headwear) for a visit to a settlement of the Kalash people in Chitral.
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32. Kate repeated green beaded earrings from Zeen for a visit to the official residence of Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Tuesday. (More here!)
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31. Kate also chose another pair of beaded earrings from Zeen for a pair of engagements in Pakistan on Monday and Tuesday. (More here!)
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30. Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway chose a pair of ultra-modern geometric drop earrings for Sunday’s presentation of her Norwegian anthology, Home: What It Means to Be Norwegian, in Berlin.
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29. On Monday, Mette-Marit wore a necklace with silver and red pendants aboard the Deutsche Bahn literature train traveling from Berlin to Frankfurt.
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28. The Duchess of Sussex sparkled in classic cluster-style stud earrings for the WellChild Awards in London on Tuesday.
DIRK WAEM/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images
27. Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg chose earrings with dark purple drops for an academic seminar in Massenoire during the Belgian state visit on Wednesday. (More here!)
DIRK WAEM/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images
26. For Wednesday’s seminar, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians wore a pair of her signature gold earrings. (More here!)
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25. Kate chose a custom pair of glittering earrings from O’nitaa for Tuesday evening’s reception hosted by the British High Commissioner in Islamabad. (More here!)
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24. Green and gold earrings complemented Queen Mathilde’s green ensemble as she arrived for the start of the state visit to Luxembourg on Tuesday. (More here!)
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23. For the train ride from Brussels to Luxembourg on Tuesday, Mathilde wore earrings with pink gemstone drops. (More here!)
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22. To celebrate Spain’s National Day on Saturday, Queen Letizia wore a pair of pink earrings previously worn by her mother-in-law, Queen Sofia. (More here!)
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21. The Duchess of Gloucester wore pearls and Art Deco brooches on Monday to watch her grandson serve as a page of honor during the State Opening of Parliament. (More here!)
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20. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wore a turquoise necklace belonging to her husband’s grandmother, Queen Juliana, to see a traveling Rembrandt exhibition at a Mumbai museum during this week’s state visit to India. (More on the necklace here!)
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19. The Duchess of Cornwall, who is president of Wine GB, wore her offset black pearl necklace for a wine tasting event Bolney Wine Estate in Haywards Heath in Crawley on Thursday.
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18. For the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair on Tuesday, Crown Princess Mette-Marit wore glittering button-style earrings.
INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images
17. Queen Maxima dipped into her extensive collection of jewels with orange-hued stones, including citrines, topazes, and orange diamonds, for the first official engagements in Mumbai on Thursday during the Indian state visit.
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16. For Wednesday’s return concert during the Belgian state visit, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie wore gold statement earrings. (More here!)
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15. On Wednesday, Camilla wore a bejeweled butterfly brooch for a reception and tea party for the “Poetry Together” initiative in London.
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14. Camilla’s literary week also included a reception at Grosvenor House on Tuesday honoring the birthday of Oscar Wilde; she wore her pearl necklace with the amethyst and diamond clasp for the occasion.
PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images
13. For the official welcome ceremony in New Delhi on Monday, Queen Maxima wore pieces from the family’s impressive collection of aquamarine jewels. (More here!)
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12. Queen Mathilde chose diamond fringe earrings for the return concert in Luxembourg on Wednesday. (More here!)
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11. On Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore her late mother’s Australian Hibiscus Brooch for a service marking the 750th anniversary of the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey. (More on the brooch here!)
JACK HILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
10. Queen Elizabeth II chose one of her longest-tenured brooches, the Sapphire Chrysanthemum Brooch, for Friday’s visit to a new housing development for veterans at the Haig Housing Trust in Morden. (More on the brooch here!)
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9. Queen Letizia sparkled in earrings set with white and black diamonds on Thursday evening for the 28th annual Princess of Asturias Awards Concert in Oviedo.

8. For a dinner on Thursday with the authorities from the State of Kerala, Queen Maxima wore pieces from the Dutch royal family’s emerald suite. (More on the emeralds here!)
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7. On Thursday, the Queen wore the Duchess of Cambridge’s Pearl Pendant Brooch for a reception at Buckingham Palace for trustees and staff from The Queen’s Trust. (More on the brooch here!)
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6. Queen Maxima dazzled in diamonds for Monday evening’s state banquet in India, including the Dutch Diamond Bandeau, earrings made of clusters from the Stuart Tiara, and part of the family’s large diamond and pearl devant de corsage. (More here!)
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5. Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie sparkled in the tiara and earrings from the Luxembourgish citrine and pearl suite for the Belgian state banquet on Tuesday evening. (More here!)
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4. Camilla sparkled at the State Opening of Parliament on Monday in the Greville Tiara and her favorite pearl drop earrings and diamond and pearl choker necklace, plus an interesting brooch at her shoulder. (More here!)
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3. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa paid tribute to her royal guests at Tuesday’s Belgian state banquet by pairing the Belgian Scroll Tiara with diamonds and emeralds. (More here!)
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2. Queen Mathilde chose the Nine Provinces Tiara and Queen Fabiola’s pearl drop earrings, both jewels with sentimental family connections, for Tuesday’s state banquet in Luxembourg. (More here!)
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1. You just can’t top the Diamond Diadem, the Coronation Necklace, and Queen Mary’s Cluster Earrings! (More here!)
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(But I do have an honorable mention this week! It goes to Wafia Remain, a seven-year-old patient at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore, who supplied the Duchess of Cambridge with an extra tiara so they could have a proper tea party during the royal visit to her bedside on Thursday. Wafia is both a very brave kid and a fantastic magpie in the making!)