At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the tiara was a precious fashionable object. Napoleon, seeking to further enhance the grandeur of his court, favored the Empire style with costumed women adorned with tiaras. On the day of her coronation, December 2, 1804, Empress Joséphine, kneeling before her husband, wore a voluminous tiara decorated with amethysts. Two centuries later, empresses are rare but royal series like The Bridgerton Chronicles Or The Crown, have revived the fashion for head jewelry. Dior stands out with a necklace that can be transformed into a delicate tiara, for a two-in-one piece of jewelry. This double-row bib necklace adorned with a 3.03-carat kite-cut diamond easily transforms into a headband, recalling the tradition of the Belle Epoque, when jewelers created day necklaces capable of transforming into head accessories to accompany evening outfits. This tiara is part of the “Dior Délicat” collection signed Victoire de Castellane and inspired by haute couture work. This complex piece includes two sparkling braids composed of round, square and marquise diamonds, woven like precious embroidery. A sculptural feat for a neo-empress style.
Among the oldest tiaras, some date from 300 BC. Made mainly of fabric, sometimes embellished with gold or braids of fresh flowers, these ornaments of Greek art were worn by both men and women, without distinction of gender. By adorning the head, the tiara imposes a particular posture and status on the wearer, giving them a certain power. On the catwalks of the 21st century fashion shows, placed on the heads of models, it becomes a symbol ofempowerment feminine. Cartier nicknamed by Edward VII “jeweler of kings, king of jewelers” unveils a tiara necklace called “Spina”, one of the centerpieces of its high jewelry collection “Le Voyage Recommence” which evokes the undulatory nature of light. It will give strength and power to those who adopt it. This necklace, as supple as fabric, is made up of broken lines, alternating diamonds, sapphires and openwork. In the center, we find an alignment of two cushion diamonds totaling 4.56 carats and a Ceylon sapphire weighing 29.16 carats. Pivoting on itself, thanks to an ingenious construction system, the choker transforms into a majestic tiara.
The Nitot house, the ancestor of Chaumet, founded by Marie-Etienne Nitot in 1780, was the jeweler-goldsmith of the emperor, a fervent fan of head jewelry, symbols of power. Since 1780, the Chaumet house, which has produced more than 2000 tiaras for monarchies and great aristocratic families, has constantly reinvented this adornment. The manufacture of a tiara requires a specific technique, using a volume model called “nickel silver”, which allows the creation to be adjusted to the shape of the head and to wear. Chaumet thus keeps around 700 models of tiaras in its museum, witnesses to the history of its creative know-how. Each tiara then goes through multiple stages, explains the master jeweler: shaping, dismantling, preparation of the setting, polishing, recutting of the diamonds, setting, application of master and state hallmarks, Chaumet engraving, final assembly and final finishes of the tiara. This season, the house is offering an original set deploying brushed rose gold feathers alternating with white gold set with diamonds, which draw a bird in full flight. The room is illuminated by a 2.30-carat pear-shaped diamond, the favorite size of Empress Joséphine, an early tiara influencer. Transformed into a brooch, the jewel rests on the chest like a wing letting itself be carried by the wind, offering a demonstration of transformability. High aerobatics.
New York jeweler Tiffany & Co. has been making custom crowns and other tiaras since the 19th century, but it is certainly the cinema icon, Audrey Hepburn, who earned its reputation in the field. In the famous film, Diamonds on sofa, the actress wears a diamond head jewel, which illuminates her black dress by Givenchy. Always at the forefront of fashion, the jeweler will make for American rapper Kendrick Lamar, for his concert at Glastonbury in 2022, a crown adorned with 50 thorns of various shapes and more than 8,000 diamonds set in pavé. This year, the jeweler presents a precious necklace that transforms into a tiara, using a discreet mechanism. While a diamond tiara can appear as an extravagant piece worn on rare occasions, it is more easily worn as a neck adornment. This opus comes from the “Rayon de soleil” collection, inspired by the old brooches of the jeweler Jean Schlumberger evoking the golden bursts of the sun. This tiara necklace features a magnificent drop-shaped pendant, adorned in its center with a pear-shaped red spinel weighing more than 4 carats, forming a precious halo. Let us not forget that the diadem was first linked to the divine, representing a luminous circle around the head of God, angels, saints or even certain emperors, a symbol of grace and light.
Head jewelry is of unlimited fantasy and luxury. These facial garments brighten the complexion and gracefully enhance the posture of the head. Like this tiara signed Gucci high jewelry, worthy of the most beautiful fairy tales. This piece, with a very princess look, comes from the “Allegoria” collection of the Italian house which evokes the metamorphoses and the ephemeral beauty of nature throughout the seasons, a poetic inspiration very fashionable in Art Nouveau, period during which jewelers represented very dreamlike colored landscapes in their tiaras. At Gucci, precious stones and intricate designs illustrate a glorious, not to mention regal, transformation of nature. Because the entire collection exudes royalty. Precious stones in rich, bold tones, here mandarin garnets and rubellites, crackle the joys of nature, like when flowers begin to bloom in spring. The European-sized stones, unique in their kind and from old mines, give the “Allegoria” collection a refined vintage style, evoking a time when precious stones were cut by hand. Like this magnificent rubellite, in the shape of a stylized heart.
The London jeweler Graff also stands out in the art of head ornaments, offering a wide range from tiaras to barrettes decorated with flowers. “Every woman wants a ring, needs earrings, craves a necklace, but a tiara is the final piece of the adornment puzzle. It’s the piece of jewelry that transforms the wearer into a princess or queen,” explains Martin Leggatt, director of the Graff salon on New Bond Street in London. And for this centerpiece which must be breathtaking, Graff pulls out all the stops. Here is the “Infinity” tiara which bears the name of its exceptional diamond. Certified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) for its superior color and total carat weight of 157.80, the “Infinity” diamond is one of the largest heart-shaped diamonds in the world. For the house, it is both a “miracle of nature and the pinnacle of romance.” A 373-carat rough diamond was discovered in the Karowe mine in Botswana, its impressive size immediately attracted the attention of Laurence Graff, founder of the house. The latter brought together his team of expert gemologists to examine every millimeter of the raw stone. The team mapped its precise structure and discovered that hidden inside was a heart-shaped diamond, of a magnitude unique in the world. This is how the “Infinity” tiara was born, the magic stone accompanied by 18 diamonds also in the shape of a heart, suspended in diamond arabesques.
