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| The Persian Turquoise Tiara |
The Persian Turquoise Tiara is often known as the Triumph of Love Tiara thanks to all the symbolism at hand: the turquoise - Persian, known for its high quality - stands for love, and it studs a delicate diamond structure of gold and platinum composed of laurel wreaths for triumph, true lovers' knots, and torches of love. The tiara is part of a parure including a necklace, earrings, and a brooch.
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| The Duchess of York, the future Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother |
It was made around 1900 by Garrard, and was given as a wedding gift to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923 from her father-in-law, King George V. The tiara
originally included an additional row of diamonds along the top, which was later removed. The bride did wear her gift, but it doesn't seem to have been a favorite. She eventually gave it to her daughter, Princess Margaret, as a 21st birthday present.
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| Princess Margaret, in the full parure and parts of it |
Though this would not become a signature piece like
the Poltimore Tiara in her collection, Princess Margaret did make good use of her turquoise jewels. She wore pieces of the set without the tiara and added other turquoise jewels to her jewel box over the years. Princess Margaret passed away in 2002, and while some of her other turquoise pieces were sold at auction after her death, the Persian Turquoise Parure was not. We can assume, then, that it is probably with one of her children, Viscount Linley or Lady Sarah Chatto, unless other arrangements were made.
Video: The tiara in use on Princess Margaret as she meets a few other famous faces
This tiara won the vote for
your ultimate turquoise tiara, and I can see why: it's a nice even shape, and it features turquoise well while not including a tremendous amount of that polarizing stone. (And certainly the lasting glamour of Princess Margaret didn't hurt its chances!)
Did you vote for this one? Why?
Photos: Geoffrey Munn/Getty Images/TimeLife
