THE HEIGHT OF GLAMOUR
Once the preserve of a regal few, the tiara is enjoying a glittering resurgence in the chapel, on the catwalk and atop chic chignons across the country
‘Atiara is the single most flattering piece of jewellery a woman can wear – it makes you stand taller, move more elegantly and feel beautiful,’ says Daniela Mascetti, Sotheby’s European chairman of jewellery, who has personally tried on almost every example the auction house has handled over the past four decades, including one previously owned by Princess Henckel von Donnersmarck that holds the record for the highest price ever fetched in a private sale. ‘Wearing something so precious makes you feel magnificent. Surely that’s what every bride wants for her big day?’
Tiaras have a centuries-old history, having evolved from the golden wreaths awarded to Greek and Roman athletes, and the diadem-encircled headdresses worn by ancient Persian rulers, into mediaeval symbols of betrothal. They came to prominence during the 17th and 18th centuries, when high-ranking women wore them as a display of social and marital status – traditionally, a new bride would don her family tiara for the first time at her wedding, and thereafter it was the job of her husband and his relatives to furnish her with jewels.
Their popularity among noblewomen soared under the
reign of Napoléon Bonaparte and Empress Joséphine, who saw luxury as a way to boost local industry, with opulent head ornaments becoming de rigueur for European courtiers. Later, the American ‘robber barons’ emulated such courtly traditions by buying diamond coronets for their wives, while the UK reached peak ‘tiara mania’ just before the 1937 coronation of George VI. The storied house of Cartier produced 27 designs that year alone, most of which were worn to the ceremony.
Yet as fashions changed over the decades, the tiara fell out of favour (the 1920s bob haircut, for example, put paid to the popularity of heavy, complicated models, which required voluminous updos to stay in place). ‘When I first started at Sotheby’s in the Eighties, most tiaras sold were sadly dismantled for their gems because there was little demand for them intact,’ says Mascetti. ‘Nowadays, they generate a lot of excitement. We recently had one client purchase a vintage piece at auction for her unborn granddaughter to wear one day.’
This resurgence of interest can partly be attributed to the tiara’s starring role in Royal and society weddings, including those of the Duchess of Cambridge – who wore Cartier’s historic ‘Halo’ design – the Duchess of Sussex, Gabriella Windsor, Zara Tindall, Charlotte Casiraghi, Rose Astor and Pippa Middleton. The runaway success of dynasticthemed box sets such as Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey and The Crown may have also played a part, as has a wave of sparkling catwalk appearances: Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Simone Rocha and Preen have all featured shimmering headpieces on their runways. These factors, along with the growing number of wealthy buyers from the Middle East and Asia, have all contributed to an increase in tiara sales at the world’s finest jewellers.
The Japanese brand Tasaki, which opened its first UK flagship store on London’s Bond Street last year, now offers 20 different pearl and diamond tiara styles, with plans to expand the range already underway. In Tokyo, the jeweller will even lend them to prospective brides who order their wedding rings in the boutique – a service used by one in four couples. Meanwhile, the House of Garrard, a Royal Warrant-holding brand responsible for many famous regal diadems (including one of the Queen’s purported favourites, the ‘Girls of Great Britain and Ireland’ design), launched a ready-to-wear line of ‘Princess’ tiaras in 2018; its newest addition, the ‘Catherine’, features white diamonds, five sparkling aquamarines and a central section that detaches to form a pendant.
Lightness and versatility are key for clients of Cartier, too, which famously created Princess Grace of Monaco’s ruby-studded ‘Bains de Mer’ tiara as a gift for her 1956 wedding. ‘Most of our special orders are intended to be worn in many different circumstances,’ notes Pierre Rainero, the brand’s image, style and heritage director. ‘We have a great demand for bandeaux, instead of bigger tiaras, because they can be divided into bracelets, or the central motif can be separated to become a brooch.’ The latest example is a platinum and white gold circlet from the Magnitude high-jewellery collection, with two cushioncut sapphires totalling 15.47 carats, that can be placed low on the hairline or transformed into a drop necklace.
Tiaras also represent a growth market for the French jeweller Chaumet, which has produced more than 2,000 since 1780 and recently published a lavish coffee-table book, Tiaras: Divine Jewels, on the subject. Its CEO Jeanmarc Mansvelt says that the house’s VIP clients regularly commission pieces to be worn outside the chapel or registry office, with two or three orders always in production. He even has a client who orders them ‘to wear from time to time on business occasions… like an empress’.
The current vogue for coronets has, furthermore, prompted designers to create ranges of bejewelled hairpins, combs and aigrettes, all of which look beautiful beneath a bridal veil. Boucheron’s high-jewellery ‘Feuilles d’acanthe’ brooch, inspired by the architectural columns of the Place Vendôme, can be adapted into a shimmering hair clip, while David Morris and Jessica Mccormack both make delicate diamond hairslides – perfect for pinning into plaits or artfully tumbled chignons. ‘They’re a more contemporary, irreverent take on the trend,’ says Mccormack.
Still, nothing epitomises sophisticated glamour quite like the real thing. ‘I fully believe that absolutely everyone looks better in a tiara,’ declares the Chelsea-based jeweller Kiki Mcdonough, who is currently designing a one-of-a-kind headpiece that clients will be able to borrow later this year, in exchange for charitable donations. It seems that kind hearts and coronets may go hand in hand after all…