Princess Olga’s Diamond Earrings

Happy Birthday to Princess Barbara of Yugoslavia, who turns 80 today! The Liechtenstein Princess married to the elder son of Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia and Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark, Princess Barbara wore many spectacular jewels, including Princess Olga’s Diamond Earrings!

Boucheron Diamond Tiara | Princess Olga’s Diamond Earrings | Crown Brooch

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But first, lets learn about Princess Barbara! The daughter of Prince Johannes of Liechtenstein (first cousin once removed to Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein) and Countess Karoline of Ledebur-Wicheln (aunt of Princess Marie of Liechtenstein), Princess Barbara married Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, son of Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia and Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark, in a civil ceremony in 1973, before a religious wedding in Oplenac in 1995. The couple had one son, Prince Dušhan, and resided in Paris, where the Prince passed away in 2016. Princess Barbara has since moved to Vaduz in Liechtenstein. We wish HH a very Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns!

A circle of six large collet diamonds suspended from another large diamond collet, these earrings were possibly created from a diamond rivière and began to be worn in the 1950s, when Prince and Princess Paul were living in exile at the magnificent Villa di Pratolino in Tuscany. Princess Olga notably wore the Earrings with her Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara for the Wedding Gala of her son, Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, and Princess Maria Pia of Italy in 1955.

Later the earrings were worn with her Boucheron Diamond Tiara for the Wedding Ball of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and her niece, Countess Helen zu Toerring-Jettenbach, in 1956, and for King Paul of Greece’s 60th Birthday Banquet at the Royal Palace of Athens in 1961.

At some point in the 1980s, Princess Olga passed the Diamond Earrings, along with her Boucheron Diamond Tiara, to Princess Barbara, the second wife of Prince Alexander, who wore them for a couple of occasions through the 1980s and 90s. Since they have not appeared at auction like other jewels, the earrings are likely one of the few heirloom jewels still in Princess Barbara’s possession, so lets hope we see this spectacular Heirloom worn soon!

Boucheron Diamond Tiara | Princess Olga’s Diamond Earrings | Crown Brooch

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