Royal Central - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
By Frankie Fouganthin – Own work, CC BY-SA, Wiki Commons
The stones at the heart of this Luxembourg tiara have long been a mystery to royal watchers: are they topazes or are they citrines?
The Grand Ducal Household has never officially declared which gemstones are used in the tiara, so nearly every article about it calls it the Citrine (or Topaz) and Pearl Bandeau.
The tiara is made up of oval citrines—or topazes—set on a yellow gold band and separated with arcs of pearls.
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The Citrine and Pearl Bandeau debuted in the 1980s atop the head of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte and has also been worn by Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie; as well as Princess Margretha and Princess Alexandra.
Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa wore this most often when she was still the Hereditary Grand Duchess before it was returned to the vault with sparse wearing; in recent years, it’s been her, her daughter and daughter-in-law who have sported it at official events.
According to the International Gem Society, citrines are yellow to red-orange crystalline quartz gems. Topazes are most popular in yellow colours, but are also available in blue and rarer versions are found as pink, red, and orange. There are also colourless topazes.
The tiara is part of a larger parure that includes a necklace and a pair of earrings with matching oval gemstones.