The Vladimir Tiara

Photos and Text from Angela Kelly’s Dressing The Queen
“It is the most complex piece of jewelry in the collection and is made up of fifteen intertwined diamond-set ovals from which hang pendant pearls. The pearls can be interchanged with emeralds snd The Queen has worn the tiara with both arrangements during her reign, and sometimes with neither. The pearls and emeralds are kept in numbered pouches to signify their position on the tiara and it takes nearly an hour to change them over. The changeover of the pearls to emeralds requires a firm grip to get each jewel securely hooked into place. You will notice that I am not wearing gloves when handling the jewelry: this allows me to take a secure hold of all the pieces. I always ensure that I take my time to do this quietly and without interruption, as you cannot afford to put the jewels in the wrong pouches or the wrong places on the tiara.”