First off, your Blog Hostess would like to give a huge shout-out to the Tiara Tuesday crew at Ravelry.com. While they’re yarning it up, they talk tiaras and religiously wear them every Tuesday. Merci buckets for including this yammering gem-whore! 

Yeah, it’s your Blog Hostess’ birthday and indulge we shall. (Like that’s never happened here…) Strangely, we have never stopped to sit & ponder what our Top 10 Tiaras would be. If you’re a regular, you know we’ve got a soft spot for the Bernadotte collection so we shall try to avoid too much Sweden…

Click the titles to read about the halos we covet most:

ooh. Spinels…

1. the Bagration Parure: While many favorite tiaras may waver in rank from day to day, this is our undisputed number one, belonging to the now-dwindling Westminster collection, these grandiose spinels were acquired by the Duke in 1976.*we pant for spinels* That’s what my bumper sticker says. Though the Bagration Parure doesn’t boast the hair pins of the Leuchtenberg Sapphire kit, we’ll never stop wringing our hands like a Bond villain at the thought of making it MINE!
2. the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure:  duh. Blue is our favorite color, the tiara itself is a Great Wall of diamonds, and it sports every matching accessory one can fathom. It has hairpins people! hairpins! Not to mention it was a gift from Joséphine Bonaparte to her granddaughter so its got a buttload of history en tow.
3. the Alexandrine Drop Tiara: originally Queen Alexandrine’s, it was a wedding gift to Alexandra, now Countess of Fredericksburg, when she wed Joachim of Denmark. The countess kept this en tremblant masterpiece after the divorce. Just look at it shimmy in the light. Oh you dirty girl!

    

4. Steel Cut Tiara It has the best backstory (Silvia found it, forgotten in a cupboard) and though it has not a single diamond yet look what it can do in the candlelight…
   

   la rusa de híjar: an art deco kokoshnik

   

   la rusa de hijar on display at the Louvre
5. la Ruse of Híjar literally meaning “the Híjar Kokoshnik.” This Art Deco masterpiece boasts two family scandals and a far-fetched tall tale, all instigated by the late doña Cayetana, XVIII Duchess of Alba. Of course, I am a bit biased. I have had the extreme privilege to examine la Rusa; it is a concerto of diamonds in a platinum mastery of space & setting. And I held it in my f*¢#ing hands! In photos it looks sort-of beauty pageant-esque but in person la Ruse is mind-blowing.

   

6. the Emerald Laurel Wreath Tiara: A tiara that you know you could get away with wearing in real life, frequently. Cabochon emeralds and that classically-themed chaplet of laurels? Yes please. Turns into a necklace? Please and thank you! Its provenance is convoluted but it is now owned by Archduchess Francesca, married to the next in line Hapsburg pretender. (We’re sorry…totally spaced the archduke’s name.)
7. the Laula Ruby tiara: We cannot really explain why…just rest assured, we would never wear it like Delia did. (see atrocious hairdo above.) It’s an affront to tiaras everywhere! Please click the link to see the tiara at her best.
   
8. the Fleury Ducal Coronet: we know, we know…two from that whack-a-doo Cayetana? It’s my favorite tiara of late because–really–can you pick just one? It’s a show-stopper with all those diamonds, emeralds & uncharacteristically flexible base.
   

   the Noor-ol-Ain (Eye of Light) Tiara with its sixty-carat pink diamond centerpiece

9. Empress Farah’s Wedding Tiara: aka the Noor-ol-Ain tiara. Imagine Harry Winston having a field day in the Shah’s vast jewel collection. This tiara was one of several made for the Shah’s third wife. How can your Blog Hostess resist a sixty-carat pink diamond? It’s got bling appeal and enough history to fill a pillowcase then use said pillowcase in a prison riot.
10. Ena of Battenberg’s Aquamarine Tiara In defiance to my husband’s native land, your Blog Hostess would not call the Spanish royal family’s bling arsenal one of her favorites. So many Ansorena tiaras–ick! Did you see the “new” Fleur de Lys tiara Felipe gave Leticia? Oh barf-o-rama! In fact, the original incarnation of Ena’s Aquamarines is totes Ansonera-esque and equally stomach-turning for us. Ena gave the tiara to her daughter Infanta Beatriz when she married Alessandro Torlonia, Prince of Civitella-Cesi. It was the Torlonias who had it reset. It was also the Torlonia family who refused to sell it back to King Juan Carlos who wanted to give the azure diadem to Queen Sofia for their anniversary.
11. the Pineflower Tiara: We had a feeling we’d get nailed to the wall should we fail to appoint a tiara in Queen Elizabeth’s tsunami of bling. Thankfully, we remembered this baby, often seen on Princess Anne. It always caught our eye. We are equally aware of our potential crucifixion should we fail to mention Kate Middleclass–er, the Duchess of Cambridge. Well, wouldn’t this one would look smashing on her, setting off her blue eyes. And did we mention it has pinecones as a motif? PINECONES! Way to rock my world!
12. the Océan Tiara Princess Charlene’s VanCleef & Arpels tiara is an absolute masterpiece and probably the best diadem to define this Pisces girl’s soul. Your Blog Hostess loves swirling spirals, anything azure and the sea. [We defy you to drag us from the water! It ain’t gonna happen!] Curling swells of sapphires and diamonds ebb and flow in one helluva setting. [Watch the video on how they made it!] Most modern tiaras pale in comparison to those of days gone by yet the Océan proves that tiara artists still exist and excel. Hell, my money would be on the Ocean Tiara to win in a fight against any of those dime-a-dozen fringes.

Well, you’ve all listened to us spew our opinions…agree or disagree? Which sparkler would you have included? Which one doesn’t belong at all?