Why wearing a £195,000 tiara taught me it’s the Queen of ALL jewellery: With talk of a cut price Coronation and Camilla’s recycled crown, IRAM RAMZAN visits a royal jeweller and urges Charles not to hold back on the pomp
June 2, 1953 — a day of unrivalled pageantry with 8,000 dignitaries from around the world crammed into Westminster Abbey to watch the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Though the event was blighted by typically damp British weather, there was nothing typical about the bejewelled Maids of Honour, foreign royals displaying all their finery and noble gentry draped in ermine.
Glittering crowns, golden carriages, a diamond-encrusted gown, the finest silks — and, of course, the tiaras!
Because nothing says glamour and grandeur quite like a tiara. It is the ultimate statement piece, the queen of all jewellery.
So what a shame it would be then if this precious adornment was somehow off the menu at King Charles III’s Coronation this May. Worryingly, amid the cost-of-living squeeze, there have been whispers in some quarters of a cut-price ceremony and a guest list slashed to 2,000.
Crowning glory: Iram Ramzan’s princess moment in the Belle Epoque tiara
This week, Queen Consort Camilla broke with tradition as it was announced she will not have a new crown made for her (rather, she will wear a modified version of Queen Mary’s crown). Times really are tough!
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. While no official dress code has been announced for May 6, I for one am still keen to look the part, should I get an invite (note to His Majesty: there’s still time).
So where better to turn than Bentley & Skinner, an official jeweller to the Royal Family? This family-owned business in London’s Mayfair specialises in antique jewellery — including tiaras, earrings, necklaces and much, much more — many of which date back to the 1700s. There is even a display of Faberge’s famous eggs.
Bentley & Skinner holds not one, but two Royal Warrants — one from the late Queen and one from Charles when he was Prince of Wales — meaning that they have ‘regularly supplied goods or services’ to the Royals.
Warrants are granted for a maximum of five years at a time, after which they must be renewed. But the folk at Bentley & Skinner clearly know what they’re doing, having held one since the latter years of Queen Victoria’s reign.
Most recently, the Princess of Wales has been spotted wearing a dainty £14,500 art deco brooch by Bentley & Skinner — both at the Remembrance service and a Buckingham Palace State Banquet in November. It is believed to have been a 40th birthday present, though senior sales director Omar Vaja remains tight-lipped.
‘We can’t discuss what we do exactly for the Royal Family,’ says Omar, who has been working at the store since 1993. ‘They can talk about it but we won’t.’
What he does reveal is that the shop is already receiving requests ahead of the Coronation, largely for the cleaning of coronets — the small crowns worn by nobles and peers — which may not have had much TLC in the 70 years since our late Queen’s Coronation.
What a shame it would be then if this precious adornment was somehow off the menu at King Charles III’s Coronation this May
The shop is lined by glass display cabinets bursting with glittering delights — but my eyes are drawn to nine tiaras, costing between £32,500 and £195,000.
The company allows people to hire them — but you’ll need deep pockets even for that.
The cost per day is 1 per cent (plus VAT) of the value of the item. (That’s nearly £2,500 for the most expensive tiara). And a refundable deposit, which is the total cost of the tiara, must be paid in advance.
But Omar insists: ‘There’s something for everyone here. Even waitresses come here to hire a tiara.’
These showpieces have a long and illustrious history. First becoming accessories in Europe in the 18th century, they were worn as status symbols at formal occasions.
By the late Victorian era, tiaras were at the peak of their popularity in Britain. And today they are still worn at certain functions, such as State Openings of Parliament. But perhaps they’re most commonly seen at Royal weddings.
In a recording for a 2019 exhibition about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s 2018 wedding, the couple revealed they had gone together to select a tiara from the Queen’s collection for Meghan.
By now we’ve all heard far too much about the ensuing ‘Tiara-gate’ row, in which Harry allegedly told the late Queen’s dresser, ‘What Meghan wants, Meghan gets’, after a disagreement over her choice.
The prince has denied the claims and, in any event, Meghan turned up in a lovely diamond bandeau, formerly owned by Queen Mary.
There was also the stunning Cartier piece Kate chose for her wedding in 2011 — a delicate diamond and platinum halo originally designed for the Queen Mother. In 2020, Princess Beatrice opted for the late Queen’s wedding Fringe Tiara on her big day. And her sister Eugenie chose Her Majesty’s striking Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara two years earlier.
This week, Queen Consort Camilla broke with tradition as it was announced she will not have a new crown made for her (rather, she will wear a modified version of Queen Mary’s crown)
According to convention, tiaras should only be worn by married women or by brides on their wedding day. But, since I’m here — and I’m not planning on getting hitched any time soon — I’ve decided some rules are meant to be broken.
Fortunately, Omar agrees: ‘If you can afford it, just do whatever you want. I had one lady who bought a tiara for the sheer hell of it. She said, “I’m going to wear it in bed and my husband will bring breakfast to me!” ’ Now there’s a woman after my own heart.
First, we consider an exquisite piece from the turn of the 20th century, made of 329 diamonds set in silver and yellow gold. It can also be converted into a necklace. And, certainly, if you’re going to fork out more than £52,000, it makes sense to get two accessories for the price of one.
Others are slightly more unusual, such as the Hellenic gold myrtle leaf tiara which transports me back to Ancient Greece. Or the sumptuous coral and gold Spartan diadem. (Rumour has it that it was once worn by French Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon I.)
But I finally have my princess moment when Omar places the ‘Belle Epoque’ tiara on my head. This heart-shaped piece contains 800 rose-cut diamonds weighing 50 carats, all framed beautifully in a platinum wire. At £195,000 it’s the most expensive one in the showroom. Naturally. ‘The tiara should become part of you, not drown you,’ Omar explains. ‘If you have lighter hair, then something with pearls will work. But with your rich, dark raven hair, diamonds will look good on you.’ That’s music to my ears!
But it’s not just tiaras Bentley & Skinner are famous for. They manufactured the now famous platinum and diamond skull for artist Damien Hirst using 8,601 flawless diamonds and costing a whopping £12 million.
Bentley & Skinner also loan or sell pieces to Hollywood royalty —clients they actually can talk about. ‘We’ve had [singer] Gwen Stefani in here and [actress] Gwyneth Paltrow,’ says Omar. ‘We once had Madonna in here but I didn’t even recognise her!’
And they really do cater to all requests. ‘One woman wanted a portrait of all four of the family dogs on her husband’s cufflinks,’ says Omar. ‘When I asked about the children’s photographs, she said, “No, just the dogs will do.” ’
Some of Bentley & Skinner’s pieces have featured in movies such as Alice Through the Looking Glass and 2017’s Darkest Hour.
And how could we forget Downton Abbey? Omar says the jeweller loaned three pieces for the franchise’s first film: diamond tiaras worn by Maggie Smith, Laura Carmichael and Elizabeth McGovern.
‘Before the movie was released, all the tiaras featured in the drama were sold. Just before lockdown I sold 17 tiaras to one client,’ says Omar. ‘Although the sale is exciting, a part of you is sad because finding vintage jewels is hard.
‘Go anywhere in the world and you’ll see the same shops, the same decor. What draws people to Bentley & Skinner is the fragrance of a bygone, elegant era.’
Wearing this tiara, I can tell you that I feel fabulously elegant — in fact, I feel like royalty. All I need now is that invite.
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