![]() In October 1988, Sotheby’s once again sold the tiara, and the Arcot and Hastings diamonds continued to be sold and re-set into various forms such as a pendant created by jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels. The tiara can even be taken off its frame and worn as a necklace, as was demonstrated by Rockstar Alice Cooper in 1973 in an iconic photograph with Salvador Dalí. At one point, cabochon turquoise stones were set in the diamonds’ place – the tiara in this version was worn by Rose Movius Palmer, an American artist. ![]() (The tiara is now struck on the reverse with Harry Winston’s maker’s mark beside the setting). He removed the Arcot and Hastings diamonds, recut them and sold them each as solitaire rings. In June 1959, the tiara was bought by Harry Winston at Sotheby’s for £110,000 – a price that broke the world record at the time for a piece of jewellery sold at auction. The original tiara design featured the three impressive diamonds alongside some 1,400 smaller diamonds. They had previously been set in many of the Westminster family’s jewellery pieces before Lacloche was finally asked to incorporate them into the tiara design in 1930. These three diamonds came into the hands of the Duke of Westminster after the deaths of the King and Queen when they were sold to the crown jeweller Rundell, Bridge & Rundell. The tiara was originally created to showcase three exceptional diamonds: the Hastings diamond, gifted to King George III by Nizam Ali Kahn in 1785 via an intermediary, Warren Hastings and the two pear-shaped Arcot diamonds which were originally a gift for Queen Charlotte from the Nawab of Arcot, Azim-Ud Daula. The Duke’s second wife, Anne Sullivan, later wore the tiara to the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1952. It was most notably worn by the 3rd Duke’s wife Loelia Ponsonby, whom Cecil Beaton photographed wearing the tiara. The tiara takes inspiration from the traditional Chinese Fengguan and Kuitou headdresses but infuses it with modern, angular motifs and sleek baguette- and marquise-cut diamonds. However, the rise in Art Deco design saw a return in vogue of the Eastern style and a blending of Chinoiserie motifs and design elements in this new modern aesthetic.Įxemplary of this is the Westminster Halo Tiara. ![]() The trend continued into the next century but fell out of fashion in the 19th century. In the late 17th century, European fascination with the Far East began to be reflected in art and design. ![]()
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