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Hollywood actress Grace Kelly dazzled as the Princess of Monaco following her marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956, and she owned plenty of splendid tiaras to wear at glitzy formal occasions. One such tiara was the Bains de Mer Tiara, a ruby diadem which is named after the company that gifted it to the Princess, Société des Bains de Mer.
The Bains de Mer Tiara featured three distinct ruby and diamond emblems, and each could be detached and worn as brooches.
If that wasn’t impressive enough, the emblems can also be worn as pendants to make a spectacular necklace.
The tiara hasn’t been worn since Princess Grace’s death in 1982, although her two daughters Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie have been pictured wearing the jewels in brooch form.
The transformable qualities of Grace’s tiara draw comparisons to another royal diadem owned by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
READ MORE: Queen Elizabeth ‘fascinated’ with Hollywood icon similar to her
“Worn by our Queen as a ‘something borrowed’, it was originally a diamond necklace given by Queen Victoria for her wedding day in 1893,” they explained.
“It features 47 bars of graduated brilliant diamonds and rose-cut diamond tapering bars which are separated by 46 narrow spikes. We value the tiara at £7.5million.”
Famously, the tiara snapped while the Princess was getting ready for her big day, so the court jeweller had to hurry with emergency repairs before the service.
Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara had its most famous outing at the Queen’s wedding to Prince Philip, but it has made other notable appearances since.
READ MORE: Princess Anne’s tiaras – including Zara Tindall’s wedding diadem
The Queen’s only daughter Princess Anne wore the diadem when she married her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, in 1973.
The third generation of royal brides wore the piece to a wedding when the Queen’s granddaughter Princess Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in 2020.
Although the tiara can be worn as a necklace, the Queen never wore it in this way publicly.
The British Royal Family are huge fans of jewels that can be worn in different ways, and this can be said of another of the late Queen’s famous tiaras, the Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara.
The bejewelled hooped diadem was worn by the Queen on several occasions throughout her reign, and it can be worn ‘widowed’ without any additional gems.
But the Queen could also opt to incorporate pearls within the hoops, or striking cabochon emerald drops.
Another royal diadem, Queen Mary’s Bandeau Tiara, features a central emblem that can be detached and worn as a brooch.
The diamond brooch was gifted to Queen Mary by the County of Lincoln in 1893, and the Art Deco tiara was crafted to host it.
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