Marie Therese's Emerald Tiara

Happy Tiara Tuesday! This week we bring you a delightful emerald tiara from France!

This tiara is Marie Therese’s Emerald Tiara, made in 1819 by the finest French jewelers, which is now part of the Louvre’s collection.

Marie Therese’s Emerald Tiara is made up of a perfectly symmetrical scrolling design with over a thousand diamonds set in silver highlighting the stunning emeralds set in gold.  It is a true masterpiece of French jewelry.

Marie Therese was the eldest daughter of Queen Consort Marie Antoinette and Emperor Louis XVI, named after Marie Antoinette’s mother, Maria Theresa Archduchess of Austria.

The Bapst brothers, Evrard and Frederic, were commissioned to make the tiara for Marie Therese, using materials (silver, gold, diamonds, and emeralds) from France’s treasury. As a result the tiara remained property of the French State as part of the crown jewels, even after the French Revolution took down the French Monarchy.

Immediately after the French Revolution in 1848, there was a dispute over whether to sell the crown jewels or keep them intact. They chose to keep them intact and the tiara eventually passed to Empress Eugénie, Empress consort of Napoleon III.

It was a favorite of Empress Eugénie’s, and she wore it frequently. She loved emeralds and thought they complimented her fair skin and red hair. When Napoleon III was overthrown and France proclaimed the third Republic, Empress Eugénie and her son fled to Britain for Asylum, leaving behind her beloved “Marie Therese’s Emerald Tiara” as part of the crown jewels.

The crown jewels were displayed in the 1878 Paris World Fair. The “Exposition Universelle” was held to show the world how well France had recovered after their crushing defeat in the Franco-Prussian war. The crown jewels were later displayed in 1884 at the Louvre as a fundraiser for the School of Industrial Arts, “Ecole des Arts Industriels.”

However, in 1887 the National Assembly decided to dismantle and/or dispose of the crown jewels, so many of the pieces were auctioned off and Marie Therese’s Emerald Tiara was sold to an unknown jeweler. The jeweler may have been a British national, as it surfaced in Britain, and was once owned by Wartski’s jewelry firm, situated in Grafton Street, Mayfair, London, a firm that had held appointments as jewelers to H.M. the Queen, and H.R.H. the Prince of Wales.

In 1982 the owner of this delightful tiara put it on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum until 2002, at which point it was purchased by the Louvre and put on display in their crown jewels collection, where is remains today.

Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic day! Happy Tiara Tuesday!