Queen Margrethe wears the Danish Emerald Parure (Photo: Jens Nørgaard Larsen/AFP/Getty Images)

Queen Margrethe of Denmark once remarked that royal families measure their jewels by centuries rather than by carats. This is particularly true for one of the most magnificent tiaras in the Danish royal collection: the tiara from the country’s emerald parure.

The tiara dates from 1840, when King Christian VIII commissioned an anniversary present for his wife, Queen Caroline Amalie. C.M. Weisshaupt created the parure, including the tiara, using emeralds that had already been in the family for a century. Many of the emeralds were originally given by King Christian VI to his wife, Queen Sophie Magdalene, in 1723; others were previously owned by Princess Charlotte.

The tiara is today a part of the Danish crown jewels, a distinction that means several things. For one, you can visit the tiara and see it in person, because it is on display at Rosenborg Castle when it’s not in use.

Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Another is that Queen Margrethe never takes the tiara out of Denmark — the crown jewels do not leave the country. You’ll usually see her wear the tiara at major in-country events, like the New Year’s courts, royal weddings, or birthday celebrations. And, finally, only queens (and queens consort) wear the tiara. In fact, it is so historically significant that every Danish queen since Caroline Amalie has worn the piece. Plenty of centuries — and carats — to measure in this sparkler, indeed.

Crown Princess Mary’s Edwardian Tiara (Photo: MATHIAS LOEVGREEN BOJESEN/AFP/Getty Images)

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has been slowly adding to her own small collection of tiaras since becoming a part of the Danish royal family. First, her husband presented her with his grandmother’s rubies; next, she received a diamond tiara from her in-laws; and then, she began wearing an innovative modern tiara that’s on long-term loan. Recently, she added another piece: a convertible tiara made during the Edwardian period.

Photo: Henning Bagger/AFP/Getty

The tiara is made of diamonds, rubies, and spinels, and it’s set in gold and silver. It can be taken off its frame and worn as a necklace; in fact, that’s how Mary wore it in public for the first time (at Aarhus in April 2015).

Image: Bruun Rasmussen auction catalogue

The Danish magazine Billed-Bladet reported that Mary purchased the tiara (and a pair of coordinating earrings) herself at auction. Both the tiara and earrings were sold by Bruun Rasmussen in Copenhagen in May 2012. You can read more about the auction notes for each piece in our post here, and here’s our post with information about the auction prices.

Image: Bruun Rasmussen auction catalogue

The tiara had to be repaired before it could be worn in public, as it was missing at least one gemstone. It’s possible that a new frame also had to be made for the piece, as one was not described in the lot notes.

Mary wore the piece as a tiara for the first time in March 2016 when she attended a banquet at Amalienborg Palace. She wore the tiara again in April during a state visit from the President of Mexico. And in July, she was photographed in the tiara for Vogue (see the image above), so the new piece is definitely a major part of her current rotation.

The Naasut Tiara (Photo: Danny Martindale/Getty Images)

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is one of the most interesting and artistic monarchs in Europe, and her jewelry is often as intriguing and modern as she is. Today we’re focusing on one of the newer additions to Margrethe’s royal jewel box: the set of jewelry given to her by the people of Greenland to mark her Ruby Jubilee. The Naasut tiara and earrings, which make up a tidy little demi-parure, are modern pieces of jewelry that are especially suited to this innovative queen.

Photo: Danny Martindale/Getty Images

Made of bright yellow gold, the tiara is designed with several modern floral motifs. The gold that the tiara and earrings are made of actually comes from melted-down coins, all of which were originally made with gold mined from Greenland. Appropriately, the demi-parure was Greenland’s gift to the queen on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of her reign. The set was designed by Nicolai Appel, a Greenlandic goldsmith, and was presented to Margrethe in June of 2012 by a member of Greenland’s parliament.

Photo: Danny Martindale/Getty Images

While gold is the overwhelming element in the tiara’s construction, there are also diamonds and rubies scattered amid the flowers that make up the piece. The name of the tiara, Naasut, translates roughly to “flowers from Greenland.” It’s never been officially said, but I think I can detect a small link to one of Margrethe’s other tiaras in the design of this diadem: there appear to be small golden poppies in the design that look an awful lot like the poppies in the tiara designed for Margrethe by Arje Griegst. I also think I see a few daisies in the design, which is especially appropriate for Margrethe!

Photo: Danny Martindale/Getty Images

The tiara made its first official appearance at the New Year’s Levee in Denmark in 2013. Margrethe was reportedly delighted by this new set of jewelry, and I’m hoping we’ll see her wear it again soon. The tiara manages to be modern (in design and materials) and traditional (in shape and motif) all at the same time, and I think it suits its wearer particularly well.