Diamond crowns tiara of famous people

Dec.09, 2011 in Wedding crown

Marie-Louise who originated from the “House of Hapsburg” of Austria, was the eldest daughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria and Maria Theresa, and was a niece of Marie-Antoinette, the unfortunate queen of France who was guillotined at the time of the French revolution. She married Napoleon Bonaparte on April 1, 1810, after the annulment of his childless previous marriage to Empress Josephine.
The word “diadem” is derived from the Latin and Greek word “diadema” which is derived from “diadein” meaning “to bind around.” It is synonymous with the word “crown.” The word “tiara” which is of Persian origin means a decorative, jeweled or flowered head band or semicircle, usually worn by women in the front of their hair on formal occasions. Thus the difference between a diadem and a tiara is, that while a diadem is circular going round the head, a tiara is usually semi-circular going only partially round the head in the front. The “Marie-Louise Emerald and Diamond Diadem” had been variously referred to as a diadem and tiara by different websites. But, in keeping with the above definitions we would prefer to call it a diadem and not a tiara. as it is a circular ornamental headdress like a crown.

Nothing much is known about the origin of this tiara and during whose period it entered the royal treasury. But the design of the tiara gives an indication as to the possible period of its origin. The design of the tiara depicts a sunburst, with the rays of diamond blossoms ending in an emerald or pearl. This design can also be seen in the aigrettes produced in the second half of the 19th century, and therefore we can safely predict that this tiara too originated during that period. This roughly corresponds to the period of Nasser-ed-Din Shah who ruled between 1848 and 1896. It is well known that after most of the crown jewels of Iran were stolen after the assassination of Nadir Shah in 1747, two of the subsequent Shahs who did their best to build up a respectable collection of crown jewels were Fath Ali Shah and Nasser-ed-Din Shah. Thus we can safely conclude that the emerald and diamond tiara may have originated during the period of Nasser-ed-Din Shah, and perhaps may have been worn by his Shahbanou, the queen consort.