Grand Duchess Maria Teresa’s Emerald Nobel Tiara

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg arrived at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, 2011, wearing evening dress and the Order of the Seraphim. They attended the celebrations in honor of Nobel laureate Jules A. Hoffman, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Hoffman was born in Luxembourg and spent part of his youth in the grand duchy. He was only the second Luxembourgish person to win a Nobel Prize, and the first in more than a century.

For the ceremony and banquet, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore a dark red gown with an elegant off-the-shoulder neckline and a large bow detail at the waist. She had worn the same dress a few months earlier in London for a gala on the eve of the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. While she wore diamonds and pearls with the gown in the UK, she accessorized with diamonds and emeralds for the Nobel appearance.

Maria Teresa selected a tiara for the occasion that is one of the most interesting in the Luxembourgish royal vaults. The Art Deco tiara, set with diamonds and a large emerald cabochon, was made by Chaumet. From a distance, the diamond tiara looks solid, but up close, it features an intricate pattern. The jewel was beloved by Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, the current grand duke’s grandmother, and it’s been used exclusively by both of the nation’s subsequent grand duchesses, Josephine-Charlotte and Maria Teresa.

With the Chaumet tiara, Maria Teresa wore diamond and emerald earrings from the family collection. Her necklace, also set with diamonds and an emerald cabochon, was a sentimental choice for the occasion. It comes from the collection of Queen Astrid of Belgium, Grand Duke Henri’s Swedish-born maternal grandmother. The piece, which can be worn as either a necklace or a bracelet, was a lovely little nod to Stockholm during the festivities.