So…which wins your heart, and more importantly, your vote?
OT: The reader winner for Best of Victoria – Evening is…her 2010 Nobel ensemble! Runners up: Bid Red and Maddie’s Wedding. Stay tuned for the next entry, and thanks!
For our next face-off we’re going with tiaras that were gifted to the brides by their new in-laws. These can either be from the vaults, as today’s is, or newly purchased. Let’s jump in!
Not a great shot of the tiara, I know, but c’mon…that’s a fab pic!
Better? 🙂
The History
This one entered the Danish vault around the turn of the last century courtesy of Queen Alexandrine. We’re not sure of the exact provenance, some saying it was made in Paris around 1912, others saying it was Alexandrine’s own 18th birthday tiara, but there’s no solid evidence either way.
What we do know is that when Queen Alexandrine passed away in 1952 this tiara was inherited by her son, King Frederik IX. Six years later Frederik presented the tiara to Princess Margrethe as her 18th birthday tiara.
As usually happens, after King Frederik’s death and Margrethe’s accession this tiara was chosen less and less as the new Queen had access to the entire jewelry vault. But it was given new life in 1995, when Prince Joachim married Alexandra Manley. Alexandra wore this tiara on her wedding day, and for all tiara events afterward, as it was her only tiara.
The Case for the Tiara
OC: I like this piece on craftsmanship alone. In another community I had mentioned I thought it looked like water droplets on spider webs and I imagine it’s difficult to achieve that using rocks. I appreciate its symmetry.
The Handbag: I love this. No one can tell me it isn’t a beautiful, twinkly thing. I think it must be nestled in the hair, and when Alex was a princess she obliged us by doing so, often. It cannot be perched. That ruins it.
The Case against the Tiara
LiL: Not a fan. I mean, it’s okaaaay, but there are others out there that do a much better job of looking like water droplets on spider webs.
LG: It’s pretty enough, but once I read “water drops on spider webs” I was done… Any tiara described as looking like spider webs is no tiara for me. Although, Alexandra wears it extremely well.
Back to Sweden this week, with our featured tiara being one of the favorites of Princess Madeleine – The Modern Fringe Tiara.
Maddie is anxiously awaiting your thoughts.
The History
There’s no real history known for this one, only that Queen Silvia of Sweden began wearing it in the late 1980s. That led many to believe that it was a 10th anniversary present from King Carl Gustaf in 1986 (nicely done if so). It is usually referred to as a “private tiara,” and has actually been gifted to Maddie by her parents.
What we do know: this one is a modern take on the classic fringe, the accent diamonds that flare off the main fringe almost seem to interlock around the smaller pieces between each fringe. Added to that you’ve got some round diamonds on top of the fringes and down below on the base. This one is also a tiara/necklace convertible, and one of the few that actually makes that change quite often.
The Case for the Tiara
LG: The design is delicate, but diamond heavy. I like the similarities in the design between the larger and smaller fringe elements, as well as the diamond toppers on the larger fringes. And surprisingly for a tiara/necklace combo, this one looks good as a necklace as well.
LiL: I love it. I really do. One of my very favorite Swedish tiaras. And on Maddie? Perfection.
OC: I am here for this piece. Simply put? She’s pretty.
The Case against the Tiara
The Handbag: You know what I am going to say, right? It’s fine for a fringe that isn’t a WALL OF DIAMONDS THAT YOU WEAR ON YOUR HEAD. Actually, this isn’t a “case against” at all. Maddie looks very pretty in that photo, and the delicacy of this one is actually more pleasing to me than the Baden.
Ok, it’s that time. I’ve taken on some of your favorite tiaras in this series (sorry, still don’t like the Girls…). It’s time to put my all time fave on the line – The Baden Fringe Tiara.
You knew I’d pick a photo with Big Red.
The History
This tiara traveled to Sweden in 1881 with the first Princess Victoria, a wedding present from her parents, Grand Duke Friedrich I and Grand Duchess Louise of Baden. Victoria married Crown Prince Gustaf on September 20 in Karlsruhe. The tiara is made up of 47 diamond rays, with smaller spikes in between the larger rays. As with most fringes, it is also designed to be worn as a necklace, which Victoria of Baden did on her wedding day, but the current Swedish ladies have kept it in tiara form.
The Case for the Tiara
LG: To me this is perfection. The diamond design of the fringes to look like rays of sunlight, to the smaller spikes in between filling up the negative space at the bottom of the diamond. The difference in height between the front and the back makes it fun for the Swedish hairdressers (who are amazing) to play with, and just how far it wraps around the head. It’s the first thing I think of when someone says “tiara.”
LiL: I’m going to hop on here with you, even though it’s not my favorite fringe tiara by a long shot. I said the other day that I like my fringes to be just this side of lethal, and this one has always reminded me of the faces drawn onto the airplanes during WWII. You know, with the teeth? All lethal looking? No?
The Handbag: It’s perfectly fine for a fringe that isn’t a WALL OF DIAMONDS THAT YOU WEAR ON YOUR HEAD.
The Case against the Tiara
OC: It’s too solid. It’s too angular. Nope. I can’t even pretend to like this tiara. I love it.
What do you guys think?
If you like Swedish fringes, stick around. We’ve got something fun coming up…
To round out a thoroughly British week here at the Handbag, lets discuss another of Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite tiaras – Queen Alexandra’s Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara.
The History
This tiara was created for Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII and daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria, in 1888 for Edward and Alexandra’s 25th anniversary. It was designed at Alex’s request after a tiara of her sister’s, Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia (born Princess Dagmar of Denmark, and mother of the future Nicholas II). The tiara was a gift of The Ladies of Society, a collection of the 365 peeresses of the realm.
The tiara was created by Garrard, and was made of 61 platinum bars containing 488 diamonds, the largest two weighing in at 3.25 carats each. Upon Alex’s death in 1928, the tiara passed to Queen Mary, and then to Elizabeth II upon Mary’s passing in 1953.
The Case for the Tiara
The Handbag: It’s a wall of diamonds. A WALL OF DIAMONDS THAT YOU WEAR ON YOUR HEAD. I rest my case.
The Case against the Tiara
LG: While I appreciate a straight up wall of diamonds on someone’s head, the bars of this one remind me of popsicle sticks on a good day, and tongue depressors on a bad one.
LiL: I have to agree with LG. This is just too clunky/chunky/ ice-lolly-sticky for me. Zero personality.
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