Yesterday we marked the 85th Birthday of Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi, and today we are featuring the striking Boucheron Diamond Tiara of her aunt, Princess Shams Pahlavi, who was born on this day in 1917, which was also worn by Princess Shahnaz!
When Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was marrying Princess Fawzia of Egypt in 1939, the Iranian Royal Court commissioned two Tiaras and three Necklaces from Boucheron, which were set in Paria and later assembled in Iran using stones from the Royal Treasury, as discovered by Milstein.
Princess Shams Pahlavi, the elder sister of the groom, wore this Boucheron Diamond Tiara for the Wedding Banquet of Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Princess Fawzia of Egypt in Tehran in 1939.
Over a decade later, Princess Shams wore the Boucheron Diamond Tiara again for the Wedding of the Shah of Iran and Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiarin in 1951.
A few years later, the Boucheron Diamond Tiara was worn by the Shah’s eldest daughter, Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi, around the time of her Wedding to Ardeshir Zahedi in 1957.
That same year, Princess Shahnaz wore the Boucheron Diamond Tiara for banquets at Palaces around Tehran during the Italian State Visit to Iran in 1957.
However, Princess Shams wore the Boucheron Diamond Tiara again for the Wedding of the Shah of Iran and Farah Diba in 1961.
A decade later, many of the Iranian Imperial Family’s jewels were reset ahead of the Shah of Iran’s Coronation in 1967, which may be the fate of the Boucheron Diamond Tiara as it was not publicly worn during the festivities. When the Iranian Royal Family fled Tehran in 1979, their jewels was left behind in Tehran, where many are on display at the National Treasury of Iran in the Central Bank in Tehran.
Princess Shams Pahlavi’s Diamond Tiara
Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi’s Emerald Tiara
Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi’s Diamond Tiara
Queen Soraya’s Emerald Tiara
Princess Shams Pahlavi’s Diamond Tiara
Queen Fawzia’s Van Cleef & Arpels Tiara
Noor-ul-Ain Tiara
Empress Farah’s Seven Emerald Tiara
Princess Soraya’s Emerald Tiara
Empress Eugenie’s Emeralds
Empress Farah’s Art Deco Diamond Tiara
Empress Farah’s Turquoise Tiara
Empress Farah’s Diamond Tiara
Empress Farah’s Yellow Diamond Tiara
Empress Farah’s Crown
