Øivind Möller Bakken, Royal Court
One of Queen Sonja’s most modern and unique tiaras was a gift from her husband on her 60th birthday.
In 1997, Queen Sonja was presented with the Modern Gold Tiara, crafted by Millie Behrens. The tiara features golden strips of metal set with diamonds in the spacing and a central gemstone that can be changed between a red-orange topaz, a tourmaline, and a diamond.
The tiara is truly versatile—the tourmaline inside can be worn as a brooch—and Queen Sonja has a variety of earrings that work with the tiara for all of its settings.
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As this was a personal gift to Queen Sonja, she is the only Norwegian royal who has worn it so far. It is one of her favourite pieces and she wears it frequently—the tourmaline setting with her yellow ball gown is a frequent pairing.
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The Modern Gold Tiara is one of the more unusual tiaras in any royal family, due to its design work. It resembles a diadem from science fiction more than a traditionally cut tiara and there is no close rival for it among the other royals.
The accompanying earrings and necklace that complete the Modern Gold Parure are set with the red-orange topazes.
They’re both yellow gold settings, with the necklace mimicking the curved design of the tiara to make a choker with a central setting; while the earrings are three red-orange topazes hanging on yellow gold settings.