Crown Princess Mary received a convertible diamond tiara as a wedding present from her parents-in-law in 2004, but many royal watchers were disappointed with the size and presence of the piece. Mary’s already made some changes to the piece, adding a set of removable pearls. If you could make additional changes, how would you redesign the sparkler?
Redesign It: The Wessex Wedding Tiara
Time to tap into your inner court jeweler, everyone! On her wedding day, Sophie Rhys-Jones wore a new diamond tiara, given to her by the Queen. Although it’s never been confirmed, most believe the piece was cobbled together using spare elements from a circlet that belonged to Queen Victoria. If you could make changes to this tiara, what would you do?
Redesign It: The Swedish Diamond Four-Button Tiara
Crown Princess Victoria wears the tiara, 2004
Of all the sparklers in the vast Bernadotte tiara collection, the family’s tiara featuring four diamond buttons is perhaps the least-loved of the bunch. (I’ll admit it, I’ve been rude about this one in the past, too — I call this one “the Jeep.”) If you could make changes to this tiara, which was designed in the twentieth century using antique diamond button elements, what would you do?