Bold Diamond Tiaras

A Chaumet diamond tiara, with a central element of a fleur-de-lis.

A diamond Russian tiara-bandeau, dating from 1910.

A simple, emerald-cut diamond tiara.

A diamond and platinum mesh tiara.

A diamond necklace/tiara combination.

The parure of Queen Therese of Bavaria, made of diamonds and rubies.

Pearl, diamond, and sapphire kokoshnik-style tiara of Princess Marie-Louise of Great Britain.

A Romanov diamond tiara.

Treasury of Diamond Spike Tiaras

A diamond spike tiara from 1890, which can be converted for wear as a necklace.

A pearl-topped diamond kokoshnik-style tiara.

A diamond spike tiara which sits high on the wearer's head.

A Faberge drawing of a diamond spike tiara.

A slightly different spike tiara, where the smaller diamond elements are round-cut diamonds, rather than square cut, as in the Princes Marina spike tiara, pictured below.

The diamond spike tiara of Princess Marina, the Duchess of Kent. It is now in the possession of Princess Michael of Kent.

The diamond spike tiara of Queen Elizabeth II, and which she wore on her wedding day. It had formerly belonged to her grandmother, Queen Mary.

An interesting tiara composition, where a diamond spike tiara has been fused to the top of a diamond bandeau tiara.

A full-crown diamond spike tiara, which is shown here as a necklace, off of its tiara frame.

Halo and Kokoshnik Tiaras

A diamond halo tiara

The diamond halo tiara of Loelia, Duchess of Westminster. The tiara can be heightened with the addition of a diamond strand around the outer edge of the tiara.

The diamond and cabochon emerald tiara of the Grand Duchess Yelisaveta of Russia. It later belonged to the Russian Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Younger, who was a first cousin to Tsar Nikolai II. She was forced to sell all her jewels after the Russian revolution, and she eventually settled in New York City.

A Cartier "diademe russe", a tiara in the Russian Kokoshnik style.

A unique diamond kokoshnik tiara, in which blue enamel has filled in the spaces in the floral design. This is by far my most favorite tiara.

A diamond mesh tiara.

A sunray style tiara, with a large gray pearl at its center.

A black steel, ruby and diamond tiara.

A large diamond sunray tiara, with a central sapphire stone.

One of my all-time favorite tiaras. This is a beautiful diamond floral style kokoshnik with a nice, openwork design. Unfortunately, it was unsold and taken apart in the early 20th century.

Fabulous Fabergé Tiaras

 A tall and grand diamond Faberge tiara, belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Westminster.

 An emerald and diamond tiara sketch. Many Faberge tiaras must have been disassembled or lost during the years, as there doesn't seem to be that many left these days.

 Another Faberge drawing of an elaborate diamond and emerald tiara.

 A more delicate design, a diamond and emerald tiara sketch.

 A very sharp and angular tiara of diamonds and emeralds.

 A large diamond and cabochon sapphire tiara belonging to the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the last empress of Russia.

 The preliminary drawing for the tiara pictured above, that belonged to the Empress Alexandra of Russia.

 A page out of one of Faberge's catalogues. There is a diamond tiara, two necklaces, a brooch, and two other accessories.

 A delicate little Faberge tiara. The base looks to be a pale blue ribbon, but it is actually a patterned and textured blue enamel.

 A diamond floral wreath, very similar to the one that the Crown Princess Mathilde of Belgium often wears.

 A Faberge tiara in its original box.

 A sketch of a diamond and pear-shaped Sapphire tiara.

A kokoshnik-shaped tiara, with cabochon sapphire elements which are redolent of flowers, and a matching brooch.

Spike, Halo, and Kokoshnik Tiaras

Many tiaras are convertible to wear as necklaces, and many others come apart to form brooches, earrings, and bracelets. It was a way for ladies to change up their jewels, making it appear as if they owned far more pieces than they actually did.

A simple spike tiara with diamonds and seed pearls.

Most diamond spike tiaras convert for use as necklaces.

Nearly every royal family owns at least a couple of spike tiaras, as the design is so attractive. This necklace, if converted into a tiara, would make a lovely spike-style tiara.

A large pearl and diamond necklace. It probably came with a matching tiara, but the design itself could easily be converted into wear as a large diadem.

A tiara similar to the one that Princess Madeleine of Sweden often wears.

Tiaras are often raised up off of the frame, so that the hair does not cover the delicate features of the tiara. The band is usually wrapped in a soft velvet that matches the wearer's hair color, but sometimes this is not so. Search for images of Princess Victoria of Sweden, and one sees that she often wore tiaras in the past where the velvet covering the band was a blond color, when her hair color is a dark brown.

These types of halos are copied after the Russian kokoshnik headdress worn by peasant women.

A tiara that converts for wear as a necklace.

The tiara above, shown as a necklace.

A beautiful diamond necklace and brooch.

Another necklace that would make a lovely spike tiara.

This tiara flawlessly converts for wear either as a tiara or necklace.