Diamonds are a royal bride’s best friend

by eyetee | April 18, 2011 12:00 am

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When Kate Middleton steps out for her first official state dinner, she might be wearing something designed right here in our own backyard.

Royal Asscher and Canadian jewellery designer Reena Ahluwalia have offered a diamond tiara to Middleton set with 36 Asscher-cut diamonds, as well as pear and round-shaped diamonds.

A sketch of the vintage-inspired tiara was showcased in InStyle magazine, which tapped design houses like Van Cleef and Arpels, Chopard, and Tacori to put pencil to paper for their take on what should grace the head of the future queen of England.

Ahluwalia called designing a tiara for Middleton “an incredible opportunity.”

“As tradition states, a royal bride wears a tiara on her wedding day and later, on various state visits,” she tells Jewellery Business. “It is an essential part of the royal wardrobe. I am a lover of history, so to get a chance to design a proposed jewel of such high symbolic significance was exciting.”

Royal Asscher has a long association with the royal family. In 1908, Joseph Asscher cut the largest diamond ever found, the 3105-carat Cullinan diamond, into several smaller stones, two of which are part of the British Crown Jewels.

The choice of Middleton’s tiara is one of the most anticipated aspects of the royal wedding. While there is a chance she may wear a new tiara, royal watchers believe something from the family vault may make it to the top of the bride’s head, symbolic of a royal seal of approval.

Source URL: https://www.jewellerybusiness.com/news/diamonds-are-a-royal-brides-best-friend/

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