Let’s talk about the late great Surrey Fringe, or County of Surrey, tiara. I almost can’t do it without sobbing. It was a wedding gift to Queen Mary from the – surprise! – county of Surrey, and it was dismantled in 1913. Granted, thirteen of the larger diamonds went toward enhancing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland and some to the Gloucester Honeysuckle tiara, both favorites. Still, it was a beautiful thing. So let’s celebrate its short but glorious life, and mourn it at the same time.
Other than the sheer sparkle and beauty of this piece as a tiara, it had the benefit of being convertible. Mary is pictured below wearing it as a necklace.
Here are the tiaras the Surrey gave its life up for. Beauties, yes. Worth it? You tell us.
