Tiara Thursday: The Chaumet Emerald Tiara

The Chaumet Emerald Tiara

It's been a while since we dipped into the expansive vault in Luxembourg for our Thursday discussion, and if there's a piece in there that deserves a discussion...well, this might be it. This is the Chaumet Emerald Tiara, a diadem which is probably better known by another name: the Wonder Woman tiara.

Grand Duchess Charlotte

Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg married Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma in 1919, and the tiara likely entered the Luxembourg vault either at that time or not long after (according to Crown Jewellery and Regalia of the World by René Brus, it was made in 1926 using stones from other jewels in the grand ducal collection). The tiara is set in platinum and was made by Paris jeweler Chaumet. It features one big egg of an emerald right in the center with an Art Deco diamond surround and one particularly large diamond sitting under the emerald. The shape is overwhelmingly triangular, and the piece culminates in a distinctive top point.

Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte (with Grand Duke Jean)

The tiara was worn by Grand Duchess Charlotte, who wore it across her forehead, bandeau-style, as was fashionable at the time the piece was made. It was next passed to Charlotte's daughter-in-law, Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte.

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa

Today, it is worn by Joséphine-Charlotte's daughter-in-law, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. She's worn it several times in conjunction with various other emerald pieces belonging to the family, but I think her success in wearing it has been mixed at best. The pointed top is a tricky thing to style; given the time frame in which it was likely made, it's probably best worn across the forehead as Charlotte wore it - but these days that would be the most Wonder Woman way to go about it! Still, I have an odd affection for this one. It's nowhere near my favorites list, but it's unique and that emerald is staggering, so it can't be completely disregarded.

What say you: Wonder Woman or wonderful? (Or...both?)

Photos: Getty Images/Cour grand-ducale

Wedding Wednesday: The Haga Princesses, Part 1

In their youth, they were known as the Haga Princesses: Princesses Margaretha (born 1934), Birgitta (1937), Désirée (1938), and Christina (1943) of Sweden, the four older sisters of King Carl XVI Gustaf. Born to Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla, they lost their father young - he died in a plane crash in 1947, returning from a hunting trip in the Netherlands - and grew up at Haga Palace, hence the nickname. (Haga Palace is now home to Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, who are raising a Haga princess of their own.) The princesses take a backseat to the King and his family these days, but this was not always the case. Their four royal weddings will span two of our Wednesday features.

HRH Princess Birgitta of Sweden and HSH Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern

May 25 & 30, 1961

Stockholm, Sweden & Sigmaringen, Germany

Birgitta was the first to marry. The pretty princess was said to have rejected a proposal from the Shah of Iran, who was on the hunt for a third wife, before accepting one from Prince Johann Georg. Birgitta and Hansi, as he is known, met while she was in Germany to polish her language skills and married in two ceremonies: one royal wedding for Sweden, and one for Germany.

The civil wedding

First came the civil ceremony, held at the Royal Palace in Stockholm with all the trappings of a regular one day royal wedding. Birgitta wore her wedding gown, a creation in thick pale ivory silk duchesse with a wide neckline, three-quarter sleeves, and a slim waist above a full skirt and a train of around 4 meters. The simple dress was made by Märtaskolan, a dressmaking school that also produced couture creations. In Sweden, Birgitta wore the Cameo Tiara, becoming the first in the line of modern Swedish brides that have used the interesting diadem as a bridal tiara. She paired this with a simple but voluminous tulle veil.

The civil wedding (left) and religious (right)

For the religious ceremony, held in accordance with the strict Catholic beliefs of the groom's family, the festivities shifted to Germany. Birgitta brought her wedding gown and veil with her - though transferring a bridal ensemble proved to be a stressful affair, as her petticoat was forgotten in Sweden and had to be rushed to her in time for the wedding. She switched to a Hohenzollern tradition for her diadem, wearing the family's bridal crown.

The religious wedding

The couple are still married, though they are open about the fact that they live separate lives - him in Germany, her in Mallorca where she focuses on her passion for golf. They have three children together and can be spotted in Sweden for big royal family events.

HRH Princess Désirée of Sweden and Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld

June 5, 1964

Stockholm, Sweden

Next to marry was Princess Désirée, whose beau was a member of the Swedish nobility. They wed in Stockholm Cathedral (Storkyrkan - recently, the location of Crown Princess Victoria's wedding). Interestingly, Désirée's wedding dress was in fact a repeat: she wore her sister Birgitta's gown.

She too wore the Cameo Tiara, but added a second family tradition in the form of Queen Sofia's lace veil, which has been worn by multiple Swedish royal brides. She wore the precious lace veil under another layer of veil, in simple tulle.

Désirée lost the styling of royal highness following her non-royal marriage, thanks to the rules of the royal house at that time (Princess Birgitta was the only one of the Haga Princesses to keep that styling following her marriage). She is known as Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld, and still lives in Sweden, though like Birgitta we see her primarily at larger royal family events. The couple has three children.

Which sister's take on this gown is your favorite?

Next week: the remaining two princesses.

Photos: Scanpix/TimeLife/Getty Images

Weekly Royal Fashion Awards: May 12-19

Best in Brights

Queen Máxima

Mathilde visiting IOC Headquarters and opening a new area of Technopolis; Letizia opening an exhibit at the Prado Museum; Máxima attending the annual CGAP meeting, at the Appeltjes van Oranje 2013 award ceremony, and attending a dinner for the International Day Against Homophobia

Bright week for three of our major players, no? Máx gets all my love here. Because Mathilde just had to extend her Kermit suit to those atrocious shoes, and Letizia, well, she's bright for her but she can't play at this glow in the dark level (they both had less bright appearances as well, but meh). Máxima wins both the tame color of the week in her lovely lace, and the brights with her...whatever you call that pink number. If it wasn't Gucci, I'd swear she stole the sleeves from her mother-in-law.

Best in National Pride

Crown Princess Mette-Marit

The Norwegian royal family celebrate on May 17th, Norway's national day

This day always rocks because we get to see Mette-Marit in her bunad (her national dress), and that's ten kinds of lovely. But this year, we also got to see her in purple, which as you know sends me right over the moon. Jumps and claps. 

Prettiest in Pink

Crown Princess Victoria

Opening an exhibit on Princess Estelle's birth and christening, at a concert, and at the publishing of the banns of marriage for Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill with the families

Victoria was so lovely this past week, in all her shades of pink, was she not? So much so that she outshone her sister at her own event - I mean, not literally outshone, because Madeleine's Pär Engsheden creation took care of that with the fabric choice, but still. (And yes, should you need some cute, on Monday Princess Estelle - and the rest of the Swedish royal family, but c'mon, we know who the star of the show is - welcomed their world champion ice hockey team to the palace. Click here for a gallery.)

And an Honorable Mention to...

The Danish Royal Family

A gathering was held this weekend to celebrate the confirmation of Prince Nikolai, oldest son of Prince Joachim and his first wife, Alexandra. Look how they all color coordinated in their blues - now that's teamwork.

Who was your best-dressed last week?

Photos: Getty Images/Photonews/Nieuwsblad/ANP/DutchPhotoPress/Stella Pictures/NTB Scanpix/BestImage/Steen Brogaard/Kongehuset

Flashback Friday: Madeleine's Recent Gowns

Just as I was starting to ponder what we might see Princess Madeleine wear for her wedding day (less than a month away!) and was starting to confuse myself with all the options - she's not overly attached to any specific designer, she has ample reasoning to wear an American or other international designer, and she's even been spotted in Paris recently - the rumors started to emerge. First, Expressen reports the commission has gone to Linda Nurk.

Linda Nurk is a Swedish designer who created two of Madeleine's memorable Nobel Prize gowns and is speculated to have made the frothy blue creation Madeleine wore to Crown Princess Victoria's wedding. I don't find the report hard to believe; certainly, a Swedish designer would be a smart move, and someone she's had experience with is an easy guess.

On the other hand, there's a rumor that Valentino has the job. The red gown above is Valentino in action on Madeleine, but still I find myself more convinced by the first rumor. I think a review of some of the evening gowns Madeleine's worn in the past few years is in order, just in case there's a hint (in designer, or in design) to be found.

Her Angel Sanchez gown actually comes from a bridal collection, so there's that. And though lace is eternally popular for bridal affairs, based on that Dolce & Gabbana number, I'm not a huge fan of the head-to-toe lace look for her.

From this row, I'd most like to see the fishtail silhouette on Madeleine, as seen in the black dress above, done in bridal.

I think the lilac Marchesa is my favorite from all the selections here - swishy and a little sparkly. (And lilac, obviously, but for the other reasons too, I swear!) Actually, my top guess for a non-Swedish designer for her wedding gown would have been Marchesa. She's clearly a fan.

After reviewing all these gowns, I think I have only one real wedding dress request: nothing anywhere near that bedazzled black Halloween castoff in the center there. That's all. Pleeeease.

What do you think we'll see on Madeleine on her wedding day?

Photos: IBL/Stella Pictures/Net-a-Porter/Reuters/Angel Sanchez/Getty Images/Abaca/Marchesa/Nordstrom/Jenny Packham

Tiara Thursday: The Duchess of Angoulême's Emerald Tiara

You remember the Duchess of Angoulême from last week, right? She was the only surviving child of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette who returned to France when the Bourbon monarchy was restored and, as first lady of the family at that time, had use of the magnificent stash of crown jewels. Last week we touched on her influence on the crown ruby parure, but this week our topic is a tiara which has an even stronger association with the Duchess and which bears her name.

The Duchess of Angoulême (wearing a different tiara)

The Duchess' emerald tiara, a gift from her husband Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, was made in 1819-1820 by Evrard and Frederic Bapst and was designed specifically to use unmounted stones from the crown jewels. There are 40 emeralds in total, all set in gold and totaling about 77 carats all together; 14 of those were the largest emeralds available from the crown stash and the rest were added to match. They were joined by 1,031 diamonds (176 carats in all) set in silver. The diamonds, all set on a curved base, form a pattern of scrolling foliage which surround and incorporate the various shapes of emeralds available.

The Duchess of Angoulême's Emerald Tiara

Though made for the Duchess, the tiara was part of the crown jewels and was not her personal property. Before she departed for exile in 1830, following the abdication of her father-in-law Charles X and (20 minutes later) the abdication of her own husband from the French throne, she returned the tiara to the treasury. It remained a part of the French crown jewels through various changes of power; in particular, it was said to have been a favorite of Empress Eugénie, who had a special preference for emeralds and used the tiara during the reign of her husband Napoleon III (1853-1870). (Despite this, no representations of the tiara in use by either the Duchess of Angoulême or Empress Eugénie are available, to my knowledge.) Along with the rest of the crown jewels, it was displayed at the third Paris World's Fair in 1878 and at the Louvre in 1884. In 1887, it was sold at auction by the Third Republic along with most of the crown collection.

Following the sale, the tiara made its way to Britain, where it surfaces in the 1960s in storage in the vaults of Wartski - where, according to Geoffrey Munn, managing director of Wartski and author of Tiaras: A History of Splendour, it was simply an emerald and diamond tiara, stored without knowledge of its provenance. Once its historical significance was uncovered, it was allowed to be displayed at London's Victoria & Albert Museum from 1982-2002. In 2002, the tiara's anonymous British owner decided it was time to sell.

At the Louvre

When the tiara went up for sale, the British government interfered and placed a temporary export ban on the diadem to give someone in Britain the opportunity to raise the required funds and keep it in the country. (Interestingly, this process has recently been in the news, as a similar ban has been placed on a gold and peridot set of jewelry with an association to the Prince Regent.) The Duchess of Angoulême's Emerald Tiara is considered by many to be a masterpiece, not only because of its superior design and craftsmanship, but because it is a rare example of those skills that survives in its original form today - most tiaras dating back to this time period have been altered or redesigned since their creation. The rarity of this untouched craftsmanship was cited as a reason for the additional effort to keep it in Britain, but the export ban expired without a successful British purchase. A happy ending was in store, though: the Louvre was able to negotiate a successful agreement and acquired the tiara for their collection. The diadem returned home to France, where it joins other re-acquired items from the French crown jewels on public display.

What do you say: masterpiece, or not?

Photos: Geoffrey Munn/Wartski/Louvre/Wikipedia

Wedding Wednesday: The Duchess of Vendôme's Gown

 HRH The Duke of Vendôme and Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart

March 19 and May 2, 2009

Paris and Senlis, France

By pure coincidence, we seem to be in a bit of a French mode around here: last week, a look at one of the parures that belonged to the crown jewels of France, and this week, what would have been the wedding of the heir to the French throne (under a specific set of circumstances, I suppose - there is more than one claim out there to that nonexistent throne). The Duke of Vendôme is Prince Jean of Orléans. His father is the Count of Paris, who is the Orleanist claimant to the French throne. Jean is his heir, and claims the title of Dauphin of France.

Jean was first engaged to marry Duchess Tatjana of Oldenburg, but their engagement was called off just a few weeks before their scheduled 2001 wedding (issues of religion - he is Catholic, she is Protestant - are often cited). But luck was on his side when he tried again, and he married Philomena de Tornos in 2009. They wed first in a civil ceremony in March in Paris, when the bride wore an intricate white day dress and embellished gold shoes.

Their religious wedding in May was the main event, though, with a gown to match. It was held in the ancient town of Senlis, and the bride's ensemble had a certain historic flavor to it. The Christian Lacroix dress bore similarities to a gown that walked the runway in the Spring 2009 Lacroix couture collection, and was made not long before the fashion house went bankrupt. The gown was made of ivory silk taffeta. It featured a slim bodice with pleated detailing and sparkling embellishment covered in tulle and a voluminous skirt with a ruched back leading into a train.

A runway version

This entire ensemble is one signature piece after another. The gown and all its volume could stand on its own, yet it's covered by a bolero jacket with enough detailing to steal the show. The floral brocade was inspired by the silks in the Queen's Bedroom at Versailles and featured mother-of-pearl and gold embroidery by the masters at Maison Lesage, the famous embroidery house. The colors of the jacket are accented nicely by the sweet bow of blue ribbon tied around the waist of the dress.

The dress was accessorized with yet more statement pieces, starting with the tiara. The turquoise, diamond, and gold diadem is a modern design and was borrowed from Philomena's aunt Maria del Mar de Tornos y Zubiria, wife of the Earl of Povoa. The substantial veil, made of blonde lace, also comes from the bride's family, and is around 200 years old. As is appropriate for such a delicate piece, it rested on top of another layer.

Lacroix said he wanted to create a look that was both historic and contemporary, and I think that's exactly what he achieved. The pieces from the bride's family - a turquoise tiara and a lace veil in a color other than pure white - could have been seen as obstacles to a traditional bridal gown, but instead they are seamlessly incorporated into the gown through the styling and the light use of color. It's a refreshing change from the white-on-white looks we see time and again.

The couple now have two children, Gaston and Antoinette, and we see them at big royal events from time to time. (They do have ties to other royal families - the Duke and Duchess of Brabant were among the guests at this religious wedding, for example.)

Do you think this change from the white bridal standard is a success, or not?

Photos: Getty Images/Hello/Point de Vue/Isifa

Readers' Ultimate Tiara Collection: Your Ruby Winner!

You know, I thought the vote for the ruby addition to your ultimate tiara collection would be closer than it was, but nope. We had a clear winner, and that winner is...

The Danish Ruby Parure Tiara!

The biggest set in Crown Princess Mary's collection has now joined yours, and I don't blame you - it made my ultimate list too! The extensive set, showcased well by and with added flexibility courtesy of Mary, is irresistible.

The Danish rubies may have ran away with the top prize, but there was fierce competition for the runner up slots.

2. The French Crown Ruby Tiara. This one offers a big ruby impression, but we're lacking in representations of it actually in use.
3. The Oriental Circlet. A favorite of mine too, this one has the superb design eye of Prince Albert behind it, but it is not very ruby-ish.
4. The Greek Ruby Parure Tiara. A lot of the same pros and cons as Mary's here, really.
5. Princess Ashraf's Ruby Tiara. Ditto the above, really - there are a few examples of Ashraf wearing this tiara, but not many.

Here's your ultimate tiara collection in full, so far:

The next poll is not too far away, so stay tuned!

Photos: Getty Images/Corbis/Christie's/Jewel Museum

Royal Trip Report: Everybody's Coming to America (Plus More)

All the royal peoples headed to the U.S. last week. To my great disappointment, it was not for the purpose of remaking any Eddie Murphy films. But we can look at what they wore anyway. I suppose.

We start with the obvious: HARRY. IN UNIFORM. RED (make that GINGER) ALERT.

Video: Day 1 of the Warrior Games

Harry was in D.C. and then Colorado, and there were 1) uniforms and 2) FLOTUS cuteness and 3) Olympian cuteness and 4) so, so much more. A+.

Of course, Prince Harry got the most fanfare, but we know better - other royals deserve some attention too:

Come on down, Haakon and Mette-Marit! On down to Texas, specifically, where the Norwegian crown princely couple started their tour (click here for your Haakon fix via video). Their five day tour also took them to California, where in addition to official engagements, they hit a rock concert for a Norwegian band, because why not. Mette-Marit was back on her best daytime form, I thought - simple and mostly white, with some pops of color for good measure. My favorite was the yellow Valentino with the white coat; least favorite...probably the Chanel with the long coat and pleated skirt, which she paired with some serious braids (click here for an overview with a look at some of the details, including that 'do).

Oh, and if that red Valentino coat looks familiar...see her coat for the Luxembourg wedding. Now that's bulk buying.

Paying a visit to the U.N. in New York City was Queen Máxima, who met with Ban Ki-Moon. It was the second occasion in the week (the first being a family outing to a concert) when she showed up with her hair up, which I think is some kind of record. Mark it on the calendars, kids. Her visit was pretty much an incognito one; actually, Crown Princess Mary was in New York prior to the Dutch inauguration, also an extremely quiet trip.

Queen Máx just missed another Queen in NYC - Queen Silvia and King Carl Gustaf started out a visit to America there, hanging out with Princess Madeleine and future son-in-law Chris O'Neill. (Silvia's Moschino jacket was previously worn by Madeleine - which allows me to dream up a scenario in which Madeleine critiques Silvia's tour wardrobe What Not To Wear-style before letting her leave New York, and this amuses me.) They've visited a few eastern locales, including a gala dinner in Delaware with the next best thing to actual tiaras: tiaras as necklaces, specifically the ruby and diamond tiara that once belonged to Crown Princess Margaret. (Rubies and diamonds made for a subtly red, white, and blue outfit for the Queen, I couldn't help but notice.)

With Europe practically emptied out, there isn't much "regular" activity to cover this week.

Mathilde at a conference; Letizia visiting Seville and at a Royal Guards ceremony

But a pretty good week for Letizia, no? I continue to like her her double strappy nude heels.

Which U.S. trip is your favorite?

Photos: Kongehuset/Scanpix/Getty Images/U.N./Kungahuset/Reuters/DelawareOnline/BestImage

Runway to Royal: The Dutch Inauguration

I said we were done with coverage of King Willem-Alexander's inauguration, but...uh...I lied. Because while we talked about the outfits, and the jewels, and a few of the designers (Jan Taminiau and Jan Taminiau!), we didn't talk about the rest of the designers. Today, a round up of some of the identified designers we haven't already covered in depth - and feel free to add additional designers in the comments!

Apart from Taminiau, Natan was the designer that got the most mentions during our previous coverage. A custom version of a previous look was provided for Queen Máxima for the abdication, and bespoke outfits (and capes) for the little princesses were made - the modifications to the basic design were picked out by the princesses themselves. Natan also provided couture looks for Princess Laurentien and Princess Mathilde for the inauguration, and both paired them with Fabienne Delvigne hats.

But Natan wasn't the sole dresser for these ladies: for the abdication, the princesses wore matching off-the-rack dresses from Pili Carrera. Princess Laurentien also wore dresses from Hardies in The Hague, and Olvi's brand.

Another Dutch designer who fared very well at the festivities was Addy van den Krommenaker, who did quite a few dresses for Queen Beatrix's sisters and their families. Modekoningin Máxima had great coverage of the festivities from a Dutch fashion perspective, including the eagle eyes for all these and Laurentien's designers.

Unsurprisingly, Princess Mabel stuck with her wedding gown designers, Viktor & Rolf. Her red gown is actually a repeat. Though it was reported that the bow on her inauguration dress came from the wedding gown, it looks like that's not true - though the inspiration for the selection seems clear.

Also unsurprisingly, Valentino made several appearances. Máxima repeated an older gown, while Mette-Marit (always a Valentino fan) and Sheikha Mozah had new couture to show off. The Qatari royal family actually bought the Italian fashion house a while ago, so I suppose you could say she was representing the home team.

The Duchess of Cornwall was dressed in bespoke Bruce Oldfield, and wore a repeated Philip Treacy fascinator to the inauguration. Princess Letizia was dressed by Felipe Varela, including a repeated navy gown. This is yet another un-shocker...I picture her closet as row after row of Varela garment bags with, like, some Mango bags stuffed in the back. Her hat - now that was something different, you can count on one hand the number of times we've seen her in a fancy hat - was from Maria Nieto.

Crown Princess Mary represented Denmark well, in bespoke Birgit Hallstein (thanks to the commenter that linked to Hallstein's Facebook page featuring shots of the gown in progress), Charlotte Lynggaard, and a repeated Jesper Høvring gown. Crown Princess Mette-Marit found her fix of long printed gowns at Giambattista Valli for the pre-inauguration dinner.

Elie Saab was represented by Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie and Crown Princess Victoria, who repeated an older gown. Victoria also threw in some Escada for the ceremony, paired with a Philip Treacy hat, and bejeweled Jenny Packham with a By Malina coat to wrap it up.

Who had the best designer-to-royal match?

Photos: ANP/Natan/Getty Images/NOS/Pili Carrera/DutchPhotoPress/PPE/Viktor&Rolf/Style.com/Jesper Høvring/Elie Saab

Tiara Thursday: The French Crown Ruby Parure

Last week I threw a ruby tiara from the French crown jewels in as a possibility for the ruby category of your ultimate tiara collection. It drew quite a bit of interest, so let's elaborate - starting with the Duchess of Angoulême. She was Queen of France for only 20 minutes in her lifetime, but she stamped her influence on the French crown jewels nevertheless.

The Duchess of Angoulême (wearing a different tiara)

Marie Thérèse of France (1778-1851) was the oldest and only surviving child of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. While in exile following the French Revolution, she married her cousin, Louis Antoine, the Duke of Angoulême, and became known as the Duchess of Angoulême. When the Bourbons were returned to the throne (in 1814, and then again in 1815), Marie Therese's widowed and childless uncle Louis XVIII reigned; in 1824, he was succeeded by her father-in-law Charles X, who was also widowed by that time. Marie Thérèse the first lady of the family, and thus the prime user of these luxurious jewels.

Replicas of the tiara and crown from the original French crown ruby parure - made of garnets and white sapphires.

When Marie Thérèse returned to France, the crown jewels (which, in France and other countries, are not necessarily just coronation regalia) included a ruby and diamond parure made in 1811 by Maison Nitot for Empress Marie Louise (1791-1847), the second wife of Napoleon I. This was an extensive parure, including items you'd expect to see in a parure - a tiara, necklace, earrings, bracelets - but also items such as a crown and a belt. The set used nearly 400 rubies and more than 6,000 diamonds in all. The tiara and crown shown above are replicas of the originals made for Marie Louise; these are made of garnets and white sapphires and belong to Chaumet, the jewelry firm once known as Nitot. Click here to see more of the replica parure.

The French Crown Ruby Tiara, in the version made for the Duchess of Angoulême which is believed to be in existence today

Once he reclaimed the throne, Louis XVIII had the crown jewels redone in the Restoration style instead of the Empire style. In 1816, the ruby parure was remade to suit the Duchess of Angoulême by Pierre-Nicholas Menière. The design came from Menière's son-in-law, Evrard Bapst, and kept some of the features of the original Nitot parure. The new parure was just as extensive as the old, including both a larger tiara (shown in color above) of rubies set in scrolling diamond foliage and a smaller comb/tiara.

The parure as it was prior to its sale

Marie Thérèse came and went (after the abdication of Charles X, the Duke of Angoulême was king for about 20 minutes before he abdicated in favor of his nephew) and power in revolutionary France continued to change hands, but as state property the rubies managed to stay safe and sound in the treasury and were worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Empress Eugénie after Marie Thérèse. They even remained in the design made for Marie Thérèse - Napoleon III and Eugénie had other pieces redesigned, but the rubies passed muster as they were. (Despite all this, I know of no representation of the tiara in use in its final form.) The parure was finally auctioned off along with much of the rest of the crown collection by the Third Republic in 1887.

Some pieces of the parure today, including the two bracelets on display at the Louvre, brooches, and the major necklace

The different pieces belonging to the crown ruby parure went in different directions following the sale, and some have popped up in subsequent sales here and there. The two bracelets were donated to the Louvre and have been on display there since 1973, but the rest of the rubies (tiara included) are in private collections. The tiara is said to be in the Niarchos collection. Some pieces may have been broken up; recently, a brooch made from part of the ruby belt came to auction. It would truly be a sight to see them all be assembled once again, but at this point that seems an impossible feat.

Voting for the ruby set is closed, and we'll have the winner and runners up next week. But I'll ask it anyway:

Does this meet your criteria for a great ruby tiara?

By the way...if you're thinking of a different tiara related to the Duchess of Angoulême...you should stay tuned.

Photos: Wikipedia/Chaumet/Christie's/Sotheby's/Louvre