I’m going to let you in on a little secret: while I love a ruby, sapphire or emerald and diamond tiara, and even a pearl piece now and then, the aquamarine tiara, especially when worn by someone with intense ocean blue eyes, is possibly my favorite combo. Aqua tiaras can be hard to pull off – the cuts required to best show off an aquamarine don’t always lend themselves to the best tiara motifs. But you know who nailed it? The last Tsarina of Russia. Her Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara is a stunning example of how it can be done right.

And now for something totally different. A Russian tiara that we know the whereabouts of. Or at least…. we did. The Russian Pearl Pendant Kokoshnik Tiara was one of the great Romanov treasures that was confiscated. But we have a paper trail to follow telling us where it ended up. For a while at least. But let’s start from the beginning.

There’s so much mystery when it comes to the Romanov crown jewels. But one would assume that we have been aware of all of those mysteries for decades. And yet, in 2012 a new mystery came to light. Several long forgotten Romanov Jewels, including a spectacular diadem – the Sapphire Wave Tiara.

Yes, I know that I’m supposed to be writing about Russian tiaras right now. And yes, I also know that this one is titled the Yugoslavian Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara. Just hold tight with me for a little bit and all will be revealed.

When researching the lost Russian Tiaras, one can’t help but be a little sad. So many lovely jewels who’s whereabouts are unknown. Auctioned off (or worse) in the early 1900s never to be seen again. And so was the fate of Alexandra Feodorovna’s Emerald Tiara (sometimes called The Columbian Tiara).

Ahhhh, young love. Or was it? A fourteen year old bride. A fifteen year old groom. At the hands of the matchmaker of matchmakers, young Princess Louise of Baden was fixed up with Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich of Russia, the future Tsar Alexander I, by his grandmother, Catherine the Great. And the granddaughter-in-law, who would come to be known as Elizabeth Alexeievna, of a powerful royal woman would of course have amazing jewelry. I think it’s safe to say that Elizabeth Alexeievna’s Diamond Kokoshnik fits the bill.

There’s so much mystery around the tiaras of the Russian Empire, it can be hard to know fact from fiction. Today’s #TiaraTuesday beauty is definitely a mystery but one to which someone somewhere holds the answer. The Russian Field Diadem may be lost to us commoners, but it may just live on for some…. if you hang out in the right circles.

So many treasures lost. It happens when a royal empire falls. Families are at best driven into exile and at worst? Well, I think we all know the answer to that. In either case, priceless jewels are often lost forever, either sold or stolen and then broken up. That was definitely the case for many of the adornments of the last Russian Royal Family. But a few treasures remain – The Russian Nuptial Tiara, for one, survives.