Tomorrow, Tamara Falcó, Marchioness of Griñón will marry Iñigo Onieva in a grand ceremony in the El Rincón Palace. The daughter of the late Carlos Falcó, Marquess of Griñón and socialite Isabel Preysler, in 2020, Tamara became the VI Marchioness of Griñón, a title created by Queen Isabella II in 1862. As a granddaughter of the Duke and Duchess of Montellano, from one of the most prominent Spanish aristocratic families, Tamara has several heirloom tiaras to choose from for her big day, which we are featuring today!
Diamond and Pearl Tiara
Archivo De Joyas
One of the most imposing pieces from the Montellano’s collection is this Diamond and Pearl Tiara with delicate foliage elements that come together as if they were hearts. The piece was brought into the family in 1891 by Carlota Maximiliana de Escandón y Barrón, the daughter of a rich Mexican industrialist and banker, when she married Felipe Falcó y Osório, VIII Duke of Montellano and IX Marquess of Castel Moncayo. The bride inherited it from her late mother, Catalina Barron Añorga, who commissioned it from a Parisian jeweller. Her maternal inheritance also comprised “five Louis XVI antique tapestries, a diamond rivière, a pearl necklace, a pearl choker, a ruby and diamond butterfly, several diamond hairpins, a ruby and pearl brooch, and various bracelets, rings, and old English and Venetian lace”. The Duke served as King Alfonso XIII’s Gentilhombre con ejercicio y servidumbre and the Duchess was one of Queen Victoria Eugenie’s ladies-in-waiting.
On a later date, as fashion changed, the Tiara was slightly opened and the large pear-shaped pearls and diamond solitaires that crowned it were removed. Since then, this piece has been worn as a bridal tiara twice: in 1988 by Alejandra ‘Xandra’ Falcó, Marchioness of Mirabel, when she married Jaime Carvajal, and in 2022 by Isabelle Junot when she married Álvaro Falcó, Marquess of Cubas.
Turquoise Parure
On her marriage to the Duke of Montellano in 1891, Carlota Maximiliana was also the recipient of a marvellous corbeille de marriage created by Maison Chaumet. This casket, which was meticulously described by the press, comprehended dozens of pieces of jewellery given by the bride and groom’s relatives and friends. From Queen Isabella II, she received a mirror with a silver frame, from Infanta Eulalia, a fan with diamond figures, from Infanta Paz, an ancient silver cup, from her maternal aunt, Dolores Barrón, several combs and a ruby and diamond suite, which included an elegant esclavage that is currently owned by the Duchess of Castro, the bride’s brothers gave her a pearl necklace, from the groom she received a diamond and pearl bracelet and a butterfly brooch set with turquoises, the Duke and Duchess of Alba gave her a sunray brooch set in diamonds and centred by a large ruby, the Marquess de la Mina a diamond and sapphire bracelet, and the list goes on and on.
Her parents-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Fernan-Nuñez, gave her a parure, comprising a tiara, a necklace and brooch representing ribbons and plumes, made of turquoises and diamonds set in gold. The Turquoise Parure was worn by Carlota’s daughter-in-law, Hilda Fernandéz de Córdoba y Mariátegui for the Debutante Ball of her only daughter, Rocio Falcó, in 1950.
Despite having been subject to some alterations, the parure is still in the family, as the Tiara and Necklace were loaned for the ‘Chaumet en Majesté’ exhibition, that took place in Monaco in 2019.
Art-Deco Diamond Tiara
The Montellano Family also owns a much smaller Art-Deco inspired tiara. This petite triangular-shaped piece, which originates from Tamara’s grandmother, Hilda Fernández de Córdoba y Mariátegui, 12th Marchioness of Mirabel, 3rd Countess of Santa Isabel and 10th Countess of Berantevilla, can be first spotted adorning the head of a young Rocio Falcó y Fernandéz de Córdoba for her Debutante Ball in 1950.
This piece has been worn as a bridal tiara by several family members. In 1966, when Carlos Falcó y Fernandéz de Córdoba, Marquess of Griñón, married Janine Girod, his mother, the Duchess of Montellano, loaned the Art-Deco Diamond Tiara to the bride. Years later, in 1981, it was also loaned by Doña Hilda to her granddaughter, Carla Falcó Medina, the current Duchess of Montellano, for her marriage to Jaime Matossian.
This delicate tiara also adorned the head of Amparo Corsini, when she married Manuel Falcó Girod, the Marquess of Griñón’s first-born son and the elder brother of Tamara, in 1999.
UPDATE: Tamara Falcó, Marchioness of Griñón wore the heirloom Art Deco Tiara from her grandmother, the late Hilda Fernández de Córdoba y Mariátegui, Duchess of Montellano, for her Wedding to Íñigo Onieva at the Palacio El Rincón!
Chaumet Diamond and Pearl Floral Tiara
In 1922, Maison Chaumet also created for the family a stunning garland of wild roses or eglantine buds made of diamonds and pearls mounted in platinum. This masterpiece is also linked to the Ducal House of Montellano, to whom it still belongs. It was worn by the two daughters of the X Duchess of Montellano, Carla Falcó Medina, for their respective marriages: Clara Matossian Falcó in 2014 and Cristina Matossian Falcó in 2019. The tiara has also been loaned by the family for the ‘Chaumet en Majesté’ exhibition in 2019.
Art Deco Cartier Diamond Tiara
It is highly probable that the family possesses some more tiaras that have remained out of the public radar. In 2011, Hilda Armada Falcó, a niece of the current Duchess of Montellano, completed her bridal look with a stunning diamond tiara set in platinum worn low across her forehead. This Art-Deco tiara features stylised fountains, a design widely used by Maison Cartier in the 1920s, of which several examples remain.
Unfortunately, the piece was stolen some time after the wedding and seems to have been broken down. After the ceremony, it was kept in a safe inside the family’s summer property in Asturias, where the ceremony took place. It appears that the Bolivian couple who looked after the house during the family’s absences brought four members of a gang specialised in luxury burglars, who opened the safe and stole a watch, 35.000 euros, various antiques and the tiara. Five people were arrested, but a sixth managed to flee back to Bolivia reportedly bringing the tiara with him. In 2014, the Police concluded that it might have been dismantled, and the diamonds sold separately.
