Which of Crown Princess Mary’s tiaras do you like best?— Ella Kay (@courtjeweller) April 7, 2016
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Which of Crown Princess Mary’s tiaras do you like best?— Ella Kay (@courtjeweller) April 7, 2016
Crown Princess Mary wears the Midnight Tiara at the Swedish royal wedding, June 2013 (Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) |
While the Danish royal jewel collection includes a number of antique heirloom tiaras, the women of the family also have a few contemporary diadems at their disposal. This modern sparkler, the Midnight Tiara, is worn exclusively by the nation’s future queen.
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images |
Crown Princess Mary wears four tiaras: today’s sparkler, her wedding tiara (in both all-diamond and diamond-and-pearl configurations), her Edwardian necklace/tiara, and the historic Danish Ruby Parure Tiara. Of the four, the Midnight is the only one that she doesn’t personally own. It was created in 2009 by Charlotte Lynggaard and craftsmen and women of the Ole Lynggaard workshop. The piece features diamond and moonstone “berries” nestled among leaves of rose gold, white gold, and oxidized silver. It was originally displayed alongside historic Danish royal diadems as a part of a tiara exhibition at the Amalienborg Palace Museum.
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images |
The tiara, which also has a coordinating brooch and pair of earrings, was designed with the crown princess’s Australian heritage in mind: the leaves and berries are said to have been made to resemble the Golden Wattle, a symbol of the nation. Mary first wore the tiara in public in 2009 at a party in honor of the 75th birthday of her father-in-law, Prince Henrik. Since then, she has worn it at several other high-profile occasions, including Queen Margrethe’s 70th birthday celebrations and the wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden in 2013.
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images |
But although she is the only person who wears the tiara, Mary doesn’t actually own the piece. Rather than purchasing the tiara, which is valued at nearly $300,000, a deal was made that gives Mary the exclusive right to wear the tiara, while the Ole Lynggaard company is the actual owner.
Crown Princess Mary wears the necklace and earrings at Aarhus on 8 Apr 2015 (Photo: Henning Bagger/AFP/Getty) |
Questions have been floating around about the cost of Crown Princess Mary’s new jewels, which were purchased at Bruun Rasmussen in 2012. The auction house’s records reveal the final prices of each piece.
Image from the Bruun Rasmussen auction catalogue |
Mary’s Edwardian necklace/tiara and earrings were sold as a set (Lot #289). The pre-sale estimate for the suite of jewels was 4,000-5,350 euros (about $4500-$6000 USD at today’s exchange rate). The suite sold for about double the initial estimate, bringing 8,050 euros (about $9100 USD today).
Image from the Bruun Rasmussen auction catalogue |
The diamond and morganite pendant was sold at the same auction (Lot #311). The pendant was estimated to sell for about 535 euros (about $600 USD today). The final sale price of the piece also easily bested the estimate, selling for 1,350 euros (about $1500 USD today).