Happy Birthday to Empress Farah of Iran, who turns 85 today! The Shah’s third wife who became an influential global fashion Icon and the last Empress of a 2,500 year-old Empire, Empress Farah once possessed a spectacular historic jewellery collection, the highlight of which was the Noor-ul-Ain Tiara!
Noor-ul-Ain Tiara | Princess Soraya’s Emerald Tiara | Empress Eugenie’s Emeralds | Iranian Royal Tiaras
The Tiara takes its name from the Noor-ul-Ain (Eye of Light) Diamond, one of the largest pink diamonds in the world. It was mined at the Golconda mines in India, and in its original form, known as the Great Table Diamond, used to decorate the famed Peacock Throne of Emperor Shah Jahan. The Peacock Throne and other jewels, including the Koh-i-Noor Diamond, were plundered by Nader Shah from Delhi in 1739 and taken to Persia. At some point, the Great Table Diamond as cut into the 182 carat Darya-i Noor Diamond and the 60-carat Noor-ul-Ain Diamond, and both remain in the Iranian Crown Jewels to this day.
Ahead of the Wedding of the Shah of Iran and Farah Diba in 1959, the Shah had the Noor-ul-Ain Diamond set into a striking modern Diamond Tiara along with 324 pink, yellow, and white diamonds by Harry Winston.
The new Noor-ul-Ain Tiara was ready by the time of the Wedding of the Shah of Iran and Farah Diba at the Golestan Palace in Tehran in December 1959, with the bride pairing the Tiara with a massive pair of yellow diamond earrings.
Right after her marriage, Empress Farah began alternating between the Noor-ul-Ain Tiara and her Seven Emerald Tiara, wearing it for Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko’s visit to Iran in 1960, the British State Visit to Iran in 1961, the Iranian State Visit to Norway in 1961, and the Iranian State Visit to France in 1961, in addition to several portraits.
Empress Farah also wore the Noor-ul-Ain Tiara for the Iranian State Visit to the United States in 1962, during the Danish State Visit to Iran in 1963, the Dutch State Visit to Iran in 1963, and also the Iranian State Visit to Thailand in 1968.
Ahead of the Coronation of the Shah of Iran and Empress Farah in 1967, the Imperial Couple posed for a series of Official Portraits, with Empress Farah wearing the Noor-ul-Ain Tiara, that made a striking combination with the spectacular mirrored walls of the Marble Palace.
Empress Farah’s most striking appearance in the Noor-ul-Ain Tiara came on her Birthday in 1971, when she wore it for the spectacular Banquet celebrating the 2500th Anniversary of the Persian Empire in Persepolis in 1971.
Empress Farah continued to wear the Noor-ul-Ain Tiara for several portraits and banquets during the 1970s, remaining her most spectacular Diadem throughout her entire tenure as Empress, with one of the last major appearances coming during the last Nowruz Celebrations held at the Iranian Royal Court in 1978.
When the Shah of Iran and Empress Farah fled Tehran in 1979, as part of the Iranian Crown Jewels, the Noor-ol-Ain Tiara was left behind in Tehran, where it remains on display at the National Treasury of Iran in the Central Bank in Tehran.
Noor-ul-Ain Tiara | Princess Soraya’s Emerald Tiara | Empress Eugenie’s Emeralds | Iranian Royal Tiaras
Empress Farah’s Seven Emerald Tiara
Princess Soraya’s Emerald Tiara
Empress Farah’s Art Deco Diamond Tiara
