Sophie, Countess Of Wessex Jewellery

[ldmemail]

I am afraid that Sophie's tiara is a Queen Mary heirloom which was slightly altered to Sophies's personal taste. Not all of Queen MAry's tiaras were huge - note the V shaped tiara set with a sapphire, bought from the Romanov estate and left to the Queen Mother - who loaned it to Princess Margaret.

[bluebess]

I think they could make Sophie's tiara look alot better if they added a couple of elements to it to fill out those big huge gaps. Someone here said it made them think of stag horns and I have to agree:) . No matter the size of a tiara, the proportions must be paid attention to. This looks like a very careless throw together designed by someone who really didn't know what they were doing and I don't think that was the jeweler, sounds more like it was Sophie.
Sometimes things should be left to the experts.

[RubyPrincess168]

I have to agree that Sophie's aquamarine tiara is one of my all time favorites! It's so pretty and it looks fabulous on her (by far better than her other two). I'd like to see the aquamarine be interchangeable with other stones, but a ruby, emerald or sapphire of that size would cost a fortune!

[auntie]

I wish the Queen was as generous as Queen Mary, the jewells she bestowed on her children are more than enough for her great grandchildren! look at the Kents, The Duchess and Princess Michael have lovely jewel collections!

[Hans]

Originally Posted by RubyPrincess168

I have to agree that Sophie's aquamarine tiara is one of my all time favorites! It's so pretty and it looks fabulous on her (by far better than her other two). I'd like to see the aquamarine be interchangeable with other stones, but a ruby, emerald or sapphire of that size would cost a fortune!

A ruby, emerald or sapphire of that size would be too expensive, but what about an opal

[Incas]

When you've got all those diamonds in the tiara, a nice sized ruby or sapphire would hardly add that much to the cost.

[HMQueenElizabethII]

But with Sophie now has cut short her bair back similar to before, do you think she still has great look on tiara such as like the aquamarine?

[wymanda]

Originally Posted by Hans

A ruby, emerald or sapphire of that size would be too expensive, but what about an opal

... and the Queen has a sensational Opal that was given to her by the Australian government in the 1950's.

[Duke of Marmunster]

Would someone please post a site or a photo of the tiara that HRH The Countess of Wessex wore to the Danish Royal Wedding in 2004. From some of the articles that I read, it did her no justice, and Her Majesty was faulted for not lending her a more "regal" one.

[rebbevb]

I think with her hair style it worked for her

[GillW]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmunster

Would someone please post a site or a photo of the tiara that HRH The Countess of Wessex wore to the Danish Royal Wedding in 2004. From some of the articles that I read, it did her no justice, and Her Majesty was faulted for not lending her a more "regal" one.

It was the same one she wore to her own wedding - but without a veil it looked even more odd! Sorry I can't find a site for it, to point you to.

[GillW]

Originally Posted by wymanda

... and the Queen has a sensational Opal that was given to her by the Australian government in the 1950's.

But that particular opal is 3 or 4 times the size of the stone in Sophie's tiara - and I don't think Austraila would be very happy at HM carving up their gift to make it fit!

[Warren]

Originally Posted by GillW

It was the same one she wore to her own wedding... Sorry I can't find a site for it, to point you to.

Sophie's three tiaras can be seen in this thread at posts:

1 - Wedding and Norway
28 - Denmark
47 - Monaco

[HRH Queen Mary]

Originally Posted by kelly9480

BP said that Sophie's wedding tiara was from the vaults, an old one of Queen Mary's. But people have always commented on how strange it was the QM had something so small and dinky when she was so grand, so there's thought that part of the tiara had been dismantled.

I think the new tiara is something Edward bought her, rather than something EIIR gave her.

I discovered a stamp from Newfoundland advertised in Scott's Stamp Catalog showing Queen Mary wearing the Wessex Wedding Tiara.




It looks PREETY similar to me

[Warren]

The stamp image above shows a modified version of the Rundell Tiara.

Sophie's wedding tiara is made from the four anthemions that were detachable from Queen Victoria's Regal Circlet.

[jcbcode99]

Warren, that is what I had read somewhere, too. Any pictures of the circlet in its original form?

[Warren]

Originally Posted by jcbcode99

Warren, that is what I had read somewhere, too. Any pictures of the circlet in its original form?

There are no pictures of the Regal Circlet with anthemions, just descriptions.
The evidence of the provenance of Sophie's tiara came from the Regal Circlet's case, where the indentations match the shapes of the four detachable anthemions.

[Elspeth]

Sorry to go off topic, but since you mentioned the Rundell tiara, I'd love to know if it still exists. A tiara that was a wedding present to a Princess of Wales shouldn't just disappear like some unwanted tawdry gift.

[Warren]

Originally Posted by Elspeth

Sorry to go off topic, but since you mentioned the Rundell tiara, I'd love to know if it still exists.

No doubt it's languishing in the fabled vaults along with other known and unknown pieces. A treasure-trove indeed. Pic here.