Tiara Thursday: The Mike Todd Diamond Tiara

Tiara Thursday: The Mike Todd Diamond Tiara

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The Mike Todd Tiara

Most of the tiaras we cover here are known for their association with royalty or nobility, but this one's a little different: it's known because of its association with Hollywood royalty. It was given to Elizabeth Taylor by her third husband, Mike Todd, in 1957. The tiara dates from around 1880 and is made of old mine-cut diamonds mounted in platinum and gold in a design that includes central scroll motifs topped by single diamonds and separated by latticework.

Mike Todd was a theater and film producer who was married to Taylor for just over a year - from February 1957 to March 1958, when he tragically died in a plane crash in New Mexico. Taylor later wrote that when he presented her with the tiara the year they married, he said, "You're my queen, and I think you should have a tiara." He lavished jewels on Taylor during their time together, from the 29.4 carat diamond engagement ring she referred to as her "skating rink" to the Cartier ruby and diamond set he gave her while she was lounging in the pool wearing this very tiara.

More gifts from Todd: Diamond earrings, and a ruby set from Cartier

She wore them all, sporting the tiara for the first time at the 1957 Academy Awards, where Todd's film Around the World in 80 Days won Best Picture. She also wore it at the Cannes Film Festival that same year and at events after Todd's death as well. It didn't matter that tiaras weren't particularly fashionable at many of the events she would attend - she wore it, and she made it look right at home.

Video: Taylor in the tiara at the Oscars with Mike Todd. At the end, footage from his funeral is shown.

The Taylor jewelry collection was auctioned after her death, with a portion of the proceeds going towards her AIDS foundation. The now-famous auction was held in December 2011, and included the Mike Todd Diamond Tiara. It carried an estimated price of just $60,000 - $80,000, but bidders were enthusiastic throughout the sale and in the end the tiara sold for $4,226,500. Its current whereabouts are unknown.

Would you have sprung for this tiara? Assuming you had a few spare million sitting around, of course...

Photos: Christie's/TimeLife/Art

Royal Outfit of the Day: February 28

Royal Outfit of the Day: February 28

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Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore an Elie Saab couture gown to the pre-wedding dinner for the Prince of Asturias and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano in May 2004. Earlier that year, Catherine Zeta-Jones wore the gown to the SAG Awards (pictured right; runway in center).

The Oscars are this Sunday and I care about precisely one thing: pretty dresses. (Okay, and also if LUPITA! is going to win.) In the spirit of the first thing, today's outfit is another red-carpet-to-royal style duel - and since it's Elie Saab, you know Maria Teresa is involved. She's added a bit of cape action/arm coverage, but also crucially added some diamond action. And that might give her the edge, though I'll be honest and say this is not my favorite Elie Saab gown. You?

Photos: Getty Images/Vogue/People

Tiara Thursday: The Mountbatten Tutti Frutti Bandeau

Tiara Thursday: The Mountbatten Tutti Frutti Bandeau

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Starting around the 1920s, Jacques Cartier took inspiration from Indian design and popularized a style of jewelry design using an interesting combination of colored stones: rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, sometimes accented with white diamonds. The colored stones might be faceted, cabochon, or carved, and the motif was often nature-themed. The distinctive combination of red, green, and blue stones would later become known as 'Tutti Frutti'. Tutti Frutti wasn't huge in tiara design, but one important example is this bandeau tiara which belonged to Edwina Mountbatten, wife of Lord Louis Mountbatten.

The Mountbatten Tutti Frutti Bandeau

Designed by Cartier of course, the Mountbatten bandeau is typical of the Tutti Frutti style. The sapphires, rubies, and emeralds are carved and probably came from India; they act as fruit and leaves on the branches of a diamond-set tree. The platinum tiara can be worn in true bandeau fashion across the forehead, and breaks into two separate bracelets. (It has been photographed used as two bracelets, but I'm not aware of an example of it in use as a bandeau.) It was made in October 1928 and purchased the following month for £900. Edwina Mountbatten (1901-1960), later the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, was known for her fashionable dressing (among many other things), so of course her jewelry was right on trend. She and her husband would later serve as Viceroy and Vicereine of India, adding significance to the Indian inspiration of this design.

Edwina Mountbatten wearing some of her other jewels, and a close up of the bandeau

Proper Tutti Frutti jewelry made by Cartier in the heyday of the style is extremely valuable and routinely grabs high prices at auction today. The value of the Mountbatten Tutti Frutti Bandeau was brought into the news in 2004, when the British government placed a temporary export ban on the piece. The law allows them to do that for items of particular significance to keep them from leaving the country; apparently the bandeau had left the Mountbatten family and was about to change hands again and be exported. This piece is valuable because it is Cartier in this particular style, but also because it was made for Cartier by English Art Works in London. The company was set up by Cartier and staffed exclusively by British craftsmen, providing important jobs for a struggling British industry and allowing British customers to buy without feeling unpatriotic for purchasing from a French company. Thus, the Mountbatten Tutti Frutti Bandeau has great significance to British jewelry making history. A suggested value of £300,000 was set. The ban apparently worked: in 2008, it was loaned to the permanent jewelry exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Máxima and her necklace

We don't see a tremendous amount of this style in use by today's royal houses. The best example of tutti frutti style jewelry (likely not Cartier, but the style) we see on the royal beat today is a necklace and bracelet set from Queen Máxima's collection. This is a love it or hate it style, I think, and while I wouldn't want it to see it all the time, as an interesting accent piece I love it. And I'd love to see someone give a tiara like this a try!

Love it, or hate it?

Photos: WikiCollecting/NPG/V&A/CBS

Tiara Thursday: The Cartier Onyx Tree Kokoshnik

Tiara Thursday: The Cartier Onyx Tree Kokoshnik

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The Cartier Onyx Tree Kokoshnik

We don't see onyx that often in today's royal jewels, though it was long a staple of mourning jewelry. But in this tiara the black material shines, depicting an Art Deco tree with branches sprawling across a diamond background in a platinum setting. The tiara, made by Cartier Paris in 1914, also features pearls studding the top of its kokoshnik shape (kokoshniks are traditional Russian headdresses) and touches of black enamel. The tree is fascinating here, too - nature motifs are incredibly common in the tiara world, but this stylized version is a uniquely complete depiction, trunk and all. The combo of the tree and the black onyx gives this diadem sort of an Evil Queen appeal, don't you think? Just me? (That's a compliment, by the way. The Evil Queen always gets the best wardrobe.)

Center detail of the tiara; a clutch with the tiara's image carried by Charlotte Casiraghi; the Cartier exhibit ad

The tiara exists in the Cartier world as a showpiece, really, a stunning example of the craftsmanship and Art Deco styling of the renowned firm. I have not seen it in use (though if you have an example, feel free to comment). It's a cover girl tiara, its image adorning book covers, promotional materials, even purses. Currently, it's being used in promotions for a massive Cartier exhibit in Paris.

Video: The Cartier exhibit

The Cartier: Style and History exhibition at the Grand Palais, Paris, runs until February 16, 2014. Hundreds of Cartier works of art are on display, including some pieces with royal connections. Queen Elizabeth II has loaned out the Williamson Diamond Brooch and the Halo Scroll Tiara; Monaco's princely family has loaned pieces including the Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara, the brooches from the Bains de Mer Tiara, a diamond necklace, and Princess Grace's engagement ring; the bandeau tiara that belonged to Belgium's Queen Elisabeth is out for show, plus pieces from the collection of the Duchess of Windsor, and much much more. If you can get there, don't miss it! 

How do you rate this tree tiara?

P.S.: Our new Royal Outfit of the Day series runs on Thursdays too, so keep reading for the second post!

Photos: Cartier/Getty Images

Royal Fashion Awards: New Year, New Sparkle

Royal Fashion Awards: New Year, New Sparkle

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And so it is time, once again, to ring in a new year of royal splendor in the way we always do: with tiaras! The Danish royal family wastes no time busting out their finery, holding the first of a series of New Year's events with a banquet on January 1. It's time for tiaras, gowns, uniforms, and the extra fancy collars from the Order of the Elephant:

Video: The royal family arrives

Best Repeated Variety

Queen Margrethe

The Queen can be counted on to repeat a gown for the event, but she's the only one of the three ladies here that changes up her tiara choice from year to year, so there's that. This year she repeated a favorite apple green gown which is quite flattering and paired it with her traditional Yeti pelt fur wrap and the Danish Emerald Parure from the crown jewels. She also wore this combo in 2011 for the same event.

Most Stretched Repeat

Crown Princess Mary

The banquet has become Mary's yearly opportunity to display just how creative she can get with the many pieces of the Danish Ruby Parure - and normally, I love it. But...maybe sticking the brooch on a piece of velvet and calling it a choker is stretching it just a tad, hmm? The choker is a new incarnation of this burgundy velvet dress, which is making its third appearance at the event and has been revamped from its original maternity form.

Best in New

Princess Marie

Making sure we don't drown in repeated gowns, Marie's here to save the day in a new number with a printed peplum top and a solid skirt with a train. The way she's pinned on her collar is just lovely, but I'm missing the small portrait brooch of Queen Margrethe (as worn by Mary) - we've seen Marie wear the honor previously, but not tonight. A picky request, though, from a completely elegant appearance. She is wearing her regular diamond floral tiara.

And an Honorable Mention to...

Helle Thorning-Schmidt

I know basically two things about Denmark's prime minister: she likes a good selfie, and she knows exactly how to dress herself for gala events when she's thrown in with tiara-wearing ladies. All politics aside, she's my tiara-less best dressed for the evening. I mean, this is just gorgeous.

There are two additional receptions in Denmark to be held yet (neither with tiaras, but still fancy court dress).

UPDATE: And here's the sparkly event in Japan, in the video below!

For the second year in a row, Empress Michiko has chosen not to wear a tiara, I believe for medical reasons (extra weight on the head can be troublesome if you have a back issues and things like that). At the beginning, we see the Crown Princess arrive in the pearl-tipped diamond fringe tiara. She does not appear at the audience itself, so the arrival is all we get. The rest of the imperial ladies are sporting their individual tiaras.

Who wins your best dressed award?

Photos: DR1/BilledBladet/Scanpix