Happy Birthday to Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, who turns 52 today! One of the many illustrious brides to marry into the Grand Ducal Family in recent years, since we have already featured her Art Deco Tiara, today we are taking a look at Queen Victoria Eugenie’s Aquamarine Parure.
Fleur-de-Lys Tiara | Chaumet Tiara | Mellerio Shell Tiara | Cartier Pearl Tiara | Empress Eugenie’s Emeralds | Aquamarine Parure | Turquoise Tiara | Cartier Diamond Bandeau | Joyas de Pasar | Diamond Earrings | Diamond Bracelets | Cartier Stomacher | Emerald Brooch | Spanish Royal Tiaras
The Aquamarine Parure consists of a Diamond Circle Tiara set with pear-shaped Brazilian aquamarines, an Art Deco sautoir with a large aquamarine pendant, a pair of earrings, a brooch set with a large faceted aquamarine and a massive briolette aquamarine pendant, a bracelet, and a ring.
In the 1900s, Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain received a Tiara made by Ansorena from her husband, King Alfonso XIII, after she has seen a similar diadem and dropped a few subtle hints.
The original Tiara was set with drop pearls, which Queen Victoria Eugenie had reset with Brazilian Aquamarines in the 1920s, which she wore with her Art Deco Aquamarine Parure.
In 1935, Queen Victoria Eugenie gave her Aquamarine Parure as a Wedding Gift to her daughter Infanta Beatriz when she married the Prince of Civitella-Cesi. Finding the original Tiara too fragile for the large aquamarines, Infanta Beatriz had the stones reset by Bulgari to create the Diamond Circle Tiara we see today, similar to the Vladimir Tiara in the British royal collection.
In 1954, Infanta Beatriz attached the Aquamarines from Queen Victoria Eugenie’s Aquamarine Parure upright on her Bulgari Diamond Necklace as a Tiara for the 18th Birthday Ball for her elder daughter, Princess Sandra Torlonia, at the Palazzo Torlonia.
Infanta Beatriz notably wore the Aquamarine Parure at one of the Balls that took place in Athens days before the Wedding of her nephew, the Prince of Asturias, to Princess Sofía of Greece in 1962.
The following day, she used the Tiara without the Aquamarines with her Bulgari Diamond Necklace for the Wedding Ball of her nephew, Prince Juan Carlos of Spain, and Princess Sophia of Greece at the Royal Palace of Athens in 1962.
Infanta Beatriz wore the Bulgari Diamond Necklace and the Bulgari Tiara for an audience with the Pope.
In 1967, Infanta Beatriz wore the Aquamarine Parure for her niece, Infanta Pilar’s, Pre-Wedding Ball in Estoril.
The Tiara was worn by Infanta Beatriz’s daughter, Dona Olimpia Torlonia at her wedding in 1965, and the Aquamarine Parure was worn on numerous occasions before it was inherited by her and her elder sister, Countess Sandra Lecquio di Assaba after the Infanta’s death in 2002.
Dona Olimpia wore the Tiara at the Wedding of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in 2004 and the late Countess Sandra wore the Parure at the Crown Prince Felipe’s Pre Wedding Dinner the following week.
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After some rumours that King Juan Carlos had been inquiring about buying the Parure from his cousins, in 2012, Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, daughter of Dona Olimpia, wore the Tiara, Earrings, Brooch, and Bracelet, with a large diamond riviere, at the Pre-Wedding Gala of her nephew, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume.
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In recent years, the Tiara has gone on display at the Bulgari exhibition at the Kremlin in Moscow. As the most high profile of Infanta Beatriz’s grandchildren, it is expected that Princess Sibilla will inherit the parure, though the eventual fate remains unknown.
In 2023, Princess Sibilla wore parts of the Parure for the Wedding Gala of Infanta Maria Francisca de Bragança.
Fleur-de-Lys Tiara | Chaumet Tiara | Mellerio Shell Tiara | Cartier Pearl Tiara | Empress Eugenie’s Emeralds | Aquamarine Parure | Turquoise Tiara | Cartier Diamond Bandeau | Joyas de Pasar | Diamond Earrings | Diamond Bracelets | Cartier Stomacher | Emerald Brooch | Spanish Royal Tiaras
Well, whatever the fate of the tiara, I hope it is not the auctioneer’s block. That would only mean either a museum which means it’ll never get used again or some private collector which means we’ll never get to see it again. I hope it passes on to Princess Sibilla so that she can continue wearing it as well as her descendants and relatives. I think these beautiful jewels deserve to be worn and not just exhibited!
Oooh, how I really wish the original tiara setting was kept 💔 They could have still made the 2nd Vlad wanna be setting and switched the aquamarines out for light weight pearls or even diamonds if the original tiara was indeed too fragile for the large aquamarines. The original tiara reminds me so much of the Connaught Diamond Tiara belonging to the Swedish Royal Family. I’d love to see the two up close and side by side. The first tiara was just so romantic, airy and delicate looking despite it being a very tall and substantial piece. I love the balance of the original tiara. I do think I like the Aquamarine drops with the newer Vlad wanna be, more then I like the Vlad with the pearls or the emeralds. It was my fav emerald tiara until Eugenie’s wedding kikoshnik. I think the aquamarines would have actually brought out qe2’s eyes, but the cambridge emeralds are glowing facets of kryptonite regardless if they make the queens eye color pop. I would love to see another tiara made to look more like the original to switch the aquamarines out