Exquisite Diamond Tiara

In our upcoming sale of Antique & Modern Jewellery on the 18^th September, we are very fortunate to be able to offer for sale an exquisite diamond tiara.

Lot 341 is a mid-20^th century diamond tiara, with graduated knife-edge bars, supporting old and rose-cut diamonds, old-cut diamond foliate spacers and a similarly-cut diamond line. It has an estimated total diamond weight of 15 to 17cts, H-tinted colour and SI1-P1 clarity.

The tiara will be sold complete with its original silk-lined box, which has allowed us to identify that it was originally purchased from the prestigious Burlington Arcade, near Bond Street. The Burlington Arcade originally opened for the ‘sale of jewellery and fancy articles.’ This is a statement that still rings true today; the whole area is a shopping destination for all luxury items, including jewellery.

This prestigious tiara also converts to a necklace, as the picture below demonstrates. Therefore, it has a clear dual purpose and the lucky wearer will, in a way, have two new beautiful pieces of jewellery, instead of one.

It is likely that this tiara was handcrafted to the original customer’s specifications. This makes this piece all the more exciting because it is unique and handmade, representing the kind of quality and attention one rarely finds today.

This tiara also represents a significant time in history. The tradition of presenting debutantes to the reigning monarch, so popular in Victorian times, almost ground to a halt during the First and Second World Wars as the practice became increasingly irrelevant. The last presentation of debutantes took place in 1958 at Buckingham Palace. If indeed worn by a debutante, this tiara would have been among the last to be made and worn during the formal introduction to the monarch.

It is relatively rare to be able to offer a tiara of this age for sale at auction; so many of these opulent pieces have been broken up to create other pieces of jewellery. While not an everyday piece of jewellery, we at Fellows always see a high level of interest for these high end items of fine jewellery. This shows the benefits of purchasing a timeless classic design of high quality and craftsmanship.

This beautiful tiara will be offered for sale at our auction of Antique & Modern Jewellery on 18^th September. The full auction catalogue is available to view online.