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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Floral Tiara Tournament: Sirkit’s Floral Bandeau vs Burmese Ruby

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Two modern ruby floral tiaras are matched up in this round!

AFP via Getty Images, Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Queen Sirikit’s Ruby Floral Bandeau vs. The Burmese Ruby Tiara
AFP via Getty Images

This royal tiara from Thailand, as the name suggests, is a bandeau of stylized diamond flowers. The center of the tiara features a large, blossoming element, set with a central ruby. The bandeau was one of Queen Sirikit’s glittering companions during the lengthy foreign tour she undertook with King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1960.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images

When Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom needed a ruby tiara in the 1970s, she had diamonds from the dismantled Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara combined with a cache of Burmese rubies to create this distinctive sparkler. The piece features bold Tudor-style roses in its design, and the Queen often pairs it with various ruby and diamond pieces from her collection.

Floral Tiara Tournament: Week Three Results!

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The votes have been tallied in our third week of floral tiara contests!

Albert Nieboer/RPE/DPA Picture Alliance/Alamy, JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images

Daisies and roses met up in this tiara contest! Though the Douglas Floral Tiara was chosen by 29.04% of voters, Princess Dagmar’s Floral Tiara won the day with 70.96% of the vote.
Wikimedia Commons, Chris Ison/PA Images/Alamy

This British aristocratic match-up was a close one! The Strathmore Rose Tiara was the winner with 54.74% of the vote, but the Heathcote Tiara was close on its heels with 45.26%.
PAUL VICENTE/AFP via Getty Images, Wikimedia Commons

Would it be the chrysanthemums or the roses? The Imperial Chrysanthemum Tiara won a commanding victory in this round, bringing in 81.73% of the votes, while the Teck Crescent Tiara trailed with 18.27%.
KELD NAVNTOFT/AFP via Getty Images, Chris Jackson/WireImage

These Scandinavian bandeaux are close jewelry cousins. While 23.2% of voters selected the Turquoise Daisy Bandeau, the Diamond Daisy Bandeau won the round with 76.8% of the vote.
More tiara votes are coming your way this week!

Floral Tiara Tournament: Ruby Olive vs Bonaparte Olive

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Which Greek royal olive wreath is your favorite?

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images, Wikimedia Commons

The Ruby Olive Wreath Tiara vs. The Bonaparte Olive Wreath Tiara
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

This ruby and diamond tiara, designed to resemble an olive wreath, first belonged to Queen Olga of the Hellenes. They were later bequeathed to her son, Prince Nicholas, and worn by his daughters, Princesses Olga and Marina. After being bought back by King Paul, the tiara has stayed with the main line of the family, and is now worn by Queen Anne-Marie.
Photo generously shared by Javier. DO NOT REPRODUCE

This diamond tiara was designed around 1907 by Cartier for Princess Marie Bonaparte, who married a Greek prince. The wreath of pave-set diamond olive leaves is studded with eleven cushion-shaped diamond “olives,” which can be swapped for other stones. The wreath design, popular during the reign of Napoleon, and the olive motif, so connected to the Greeks, united Marie’s French imperial heritage with her new Greek royal status. Today, the tiara belongs to the Albion Art Institute.