I've been wondering why we don't see the saphire tiara the Queen inherited from her mother more often. It was worn a few times by her sister but has not been seen for ages. The tiara looked good on Queen Mary and might be a very effective choice for HM. I had hoped she'd loan it to the Duchess of Cambridge to go with her saphire pieces but with the scroll/halo tiara and the pearl papyrus tiara it's unlikely Catherine will be given the use of a third tiara any time soon.
--Previous Message-- : : What would I do to have photos of the 2 : others sapphire and diamonds tiaras owned : and not worn by her Majesty (from Field) : : Best regards, : : Franck : : --Previous Message-- : I understand your comment (no worry, I have : not perceived it as a personal negative : comment against me!). : : You are probably right when you stress that : the big central sapphire looks maybe too : massive in contrast to the delicate floral : garland arches. And the vertical position of : the (too close) three central sapphire drops : does not help either. I have edited my : message to introduce a photoshopped version : of the tiara, with the lateral drops : slightly bent diagonally, I think it can : improve the general look of the tiara. : : Anyway, I am happy that, when it was decided : to convert the necklace into a tiara (BTW, : we do not know if it was made before of : after the Queen acquired it in 1963), the : person in charge of the transformation : respected the original design to the maximum : and did not indulge in dismantling and : overhauling thoroughly the design of the : jewel: he/she respected the history and the : integrity of the necklace, and I appreciate : this. : : After, all is a question of taste, and I : know we can "agree on our : disagreements"... Personally, I like : this tiara - but I have to say I also like : Queen Elizabeth's Brazilian Aquamarine Tiara : or Burmese Ruby Tiara, though so many : posters here do not like them either... who : knows, maybe I have very weird tastes! : : : --Previous Message-- : Arthur, your politeness is much appreciated : and by no means my remark was meant as a : personal dig at your appreciation of the : parure. I do think though that apart from : personal taste there are objective criteria : for the success of a design. : : If a necklace is converted permanently into : a tiara and still awkwardly looks like an : upside down worn necklace something went : wrong. : : With today's hairdos airy arches in a tiara : are always a bit difficult to pull off, but : in this particular case the main problem is : that they don't correspond with the : (gorgeous) large rhombical sapphire in the : centre. That they seem to mirror the : wearer's eye-brows certainly doesn't help. : The two lateral square sapphires, which : could balance the centre stone, disappear in : the coiffure. IMO the most obvious fault is : the tin-soldier-like upright position of the : three central sapphire drops. : : All this has to do with the designer's lack : of talent and skills - or simply his or her : lazyness to deal with the particular : problems caused by a conversion of an : existing piece into something else - and not : so much with personal taste. I see the same : problem with the Countess of Wessex's : wedding tiara and frankly find it quite : surprising that neither the Queen nor : somebody in charge with her jewellery would : have higher demands regarding the (re)design : of prominent pieces. It's not that nobody : would be around who was able to meet these : challenges! : : : --Previous Message-- : Just a matter of personal taste, of course, : but I like this tiara. Of course, it still : looks like a necklace worn upside-down : rather than a "real" tiara, but : the tiara mounting has been cleverly made, : and the delicate pattern of the : necklace/tiara fits the Queen's face quite : well, I think. : : I just regret that it does not seem possible : to turn the tiara into a necklace and : vice-versa, at will. I would like to see it : worn in its original form, as a necklace. : : I remember someone (I do not remember who, : sorry) had posted some time ago a : photoshopped version of the tiara, on which : the two lateral central sapphire drops were : mounted diagonally rather than vertically. : Just a small (virtual) change, but the tiara : looked better that way. Has someone saved : this picture? : : --Previous Message-- : : The sapphires have a lovely colour, but : whoever created the tiara should not be : allowed to come even close to any major : piece of jewellery ever again. : : : : : : : : : :
on July 22, 2014, 9:46 am, in reply to "