Atiara (from Latin tiara, from Ancient Greek τιάρα (tiára)) is ahead ornament adorned withjewels. Its origins date back to ancientGreco-Roman world. In the late18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women at formal occasions. The basic shape of the modern tiara is asemicircle, usually made ofsilver,gold, orplatinum and richly decorated with precious stones,pearls, orcameos.
Tiaras were extremely popular during the late 19th century and were worn at events where thedress code waswhite tie. AfterWorld War I, wearing a tiara gradually fell out of fashion, except for official occasions at a royal court. Interest in tiaras has increased again since the beginning of the 21st century. The wordtiara is often used interchangeably with the worddiadem.
The basic shape of the modern tiara is a semi-circle, usually made of silver, gold or platinum. Tiaras have also been made fromtortoiseshell,coral andquartz, and in the 20th century unusual materials such ashorn and aluminum were experimented with.[1]
Tiaras are usually richly decorated with precious stones, pearls orcameos, often arranged in symmetrical patterns. Common elements in these patterns are arcs, garlands, circles, stars, and stylised flowers or leaves. Occasionally, flowers, ears of corn, dragonflies or butterflies are depicted more or less "true to life" by using gemstones in different colours. A tiara can contain hundreds to thousands of gemstones of different sizes andcuts; almost always, tiaras incorporate a large number of diamonds. This puts tiaras among the most expensive and spectacular pieces of jewelry.[1]
Tiaras come in different models, including:
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Tiaras are worn on the head, but also around the forehead; this depends on the model of the tiara and the fashion of the day. Wearing a tiara can lead to headaches. To make it more comfortable to wear, a large tiara is often attached to a supporting frame that is cushioned by wrapping it with velvet ribbons.
Some tiaras can be disassembled into elements that can be worn individually as a necklace orbrooch. Tiaras are sometimes part of aparure: a matching set of, for example, tiara, necklace, earrings, brooches and bracelets.
It is sometimes thought that only titled women are allowed to wear a tiara, but that is not true. Any woman can wear a tiara to events where the dress code "white tie" applies. However, events in hotels are excluded.[1][2]
Traditionally, young women do not wear a tiara until they are married. On their wedding day, they would wear a tiara owned by their birth family. Once a woman was married, she should only wear tiaras that were owned by her husband's family, or her own personal property. There was an exception for unmarried princesses who were allowed to wear tiaras from the age of eighteen. In the 21st century, these rules are no longer strictly applied.[2]
There are special black tiaras made ofjet,onyx, glass or steel to be worn withmourning clothes. For the later stages of mourning (second mourning and half mourning), tiaras with purple stones (amethyst), white stones (diamond andmoonstone) or pearls were also considered appropriate.[1]
The words "tiara" and "diadem" both come from head ornaments worn in ancient time by men and women to denote high status. AsGeoffrey Munn notes, "The word 'tiara' is actually Persian in origin—the name first denoted the high-peaked head-dresses of Persian kings, which were encircled by 'diadems' (bands of purple and white decoration). Now, it is used to describe almost every form of decorative head ornament."[1] Ancient Greeks and Romans used gold to make wreath-shaped head ornaments, while theScythians' resembled a stiff halo that would serve as the inspiration for later Russian kokoshniks. The use of tiaras and diadems declined along with the fall of theRoman Empire and the rise of Christianity.[1]
From the early Middle Ages onwards, European princesses and queens were known to wear crowns, and brides wore special bridal crowns on their wedding day. In the 17th and 18th centuries, reigning queens began to wear head ornaments to indicate their special status. This custom did not catch on widely, partly because the enormous ladies' hairstyles of the eighteenth century made wearing a tiara difficult.[3]
In the late 18th century,Neoclassicism gave rise to a revival of tiaras, but this time it was a solely female adornment. Jewelers taking inspiration from Ancient Greece and Rome created new wreaths made from precious gemstones.[3]Napoleon and his wifeJoséphine de Beauharnais are credited with popularizing tiaras along with the newEmpire style. Napoleon wanted the French court to be the grandest in Europe and gave his wife manyparures which included tiaras. A number of tiaras made for Napoleon's first wife Joséphine are still in the possession of European royal houses, such as the Swedish cameo tiara.[1]
In the 19th century, the tiara quickly became popular among royal and noble women as a way of expressing status and attracting attention. The tiara became an essential part of women's attire for court ceremonies, balls, dinners and other gala occasions. Often, a bride received a tiara as a gift from her husband or father on her wedding day.
The height of the tiara's popularity lay between 1890 and 1914. Women from the highest — and richest — social classes often had several tiaras to choose from. Wearing a tiara was no longer something just for the nobility. In the United States, too, tiaras were common at gala occasions, especially in New York upper social circles.[1] Great jewelry houses likeGarrard,Fabergé,Chaumet,Cartier andVan Cleef & Arpels all produced tiaras for their clientele.[2]
In Paris great aigrette balls were organized by aristocratic families who were proud of their name and their past, such as the Duchesse de Gramount with her "Crinoline Ball" and Princess Jacques de Broglie with her "Gemstone Ball" of 1914. In distant New York, Philadelphia and Newport on the other hand, Mrs. William Astor, Mrs. George J. Gould, Mrs. W.K. Vanderbilt and Eva (Mrs. Edward) Stotesbury entertained with a degree of magnificence which made European balls appear almost insignificant. The moneyed classes of the United States, who had originally raised themselves above their bourgeois origins through their own hard work, set out to rival the historical aristocracy of Europe. In friendly competition with her rivals, the well-to-do American women refused to forgo any of the attributes sanctioned by society. These accessories included country houses imported from Europe complete with ancestral portraits and furnishings, as well as tiaras order from Cartier's in Paris and later New York.
— Cartier By Hans Nadelhoffer
With the advent ofJugendstil andArt Nouveau, the line between jewellery and art became blurred. Artists such asRené Lalique and the British architect and jewellery designerHenry Wilson created artistic tiaras that could not easily be worn in real life.
After theFirst World War, it became less fashionable to wear a tiara. This was due to social and economic changes (ostentatious display of wealth was considered less acceptable) but also to the fact that women cut their hair short and — after the introduction ofshampoo — washed their hair more often. Clean hair is smooth and soft, offering less 'grip' for a tiara. During theArt Deco period between World War I and World War II, tiaras were made using the rigid geometric patterns associated with this style; these were also often designed to be easy to wear with short hair. In the 1960s, the tiara briefly reappeared when the high-croppedbeehive hairstyle became popular.
Since the end of the twentieth century, tiaras are worn almost exclusively at state banquets, royal weddings and coronations.[3] At 'white-tie' occasions a tiara is no longer required. However, tiaras are still being made and some auction houses and jewellers are seeing an increased interest in tiaras since the beginning of the 21st century.[4][5] Fashion designerVersace made a tiara which was worn by pop starMadonna.[6] The Danish royal family has a tiara on loan that was designed in 2009 for an exhibition of classic and modern tiaras.[citation needed]
QueenElizabeth II was said to have had the largest and most valuablecollection of tiaras in the world, many of which are heirlooms of theBritish royal family. She was often seen wearing them on state occasions.Queen Mary purchased the Grand Duchess Vladimir tiara in the 1920s. It consists of numerous interlockingdiamond circles.Pearl drops oremeralds can be attached inside the circles. Queen Mary had a tiara made for theDelhi Durbar held in 1911 in India. It is now on loan for wearing byQueen Camilla, wife of KingCharles III. Queen Elizabeth II commissioned aruby and diamond tiara. A gift ofaquamarines she received as a present from the people of Brazil were added to diamonds to make a new tiara.[7][3]
Other queens, empresses, and princesses regularly wear tiaras at formal evening occasions. TheSwedish Royal Family have acollection as do theDanish, theDutch, andSpanish monarchies. Many of theDanish royal jewels originally came into the collection when PrincessLouise of Sweden married the future KingFrederik VIII of Denmark. TheRomanov dynasty had acollection up until therevolution of 1917.[8] The Iranian royal family also had a large collection of tiaras. Since 1955, they are housed with theIranian National Jewels at theTreasury of National Jewels inTehran.[9][10]
On rare occasions, usually when the actual tiara is exceptionally old and valuable due to its history and gemstones, realistic copies may be made and worn in place of the original due to insurance considerations.
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