Queen Wilhelmina’s Diamond Haircomb

Patrick van Katwijk/DPA Picture Alliance/Alamy

The Dutch royal tiara collection is full of enormous sparkling diadems, but the royal vaults also include more petite pieces. Today’s tiara is a small (but mighty!) diamond haircomb that belonged to Queen Wilhelmina.

Grand Ladies Site

Wilhelmina was, appropriately, the first recorded wearer of the comb; the photographic portrait above shows her wearing the piece around 1903. The piece is a delicate, petite diamond hair ornament featuring a dotted diamond base topped by small diamond clovers. At some point, it was placed in the family’s jewelry foundation.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Wilhelmina wore the piece for several decades, after which it was relegated to the depths of the family vaults. But in June 2010, then then-Princess Maxima surprised everyone during a pre-wedding gala for Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

For the gala, Maxima placed the comb at the back of her head, nestling it into a curly ‘do. She paired the comb with a major pair of diamond statement earrings.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Another view from the gala shows the petite comb sparkling away.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

And one more angle from the pre-wedding dinner allows a clearer view of the comb’s placement.

Patrick van Katwijk/DPA Picture Alliance/Alamy

Three years later, Maxima brought out the comb again, this time during a state visit to Singapore. In January 2013, she wore the comb as a small tiara for a state banquet at Istana Palace. She paired the comb with the same diamond earrings from their previous outing, as well as a bracelet from her tutti frutti suite and another diamond bracelet from the family vaults.