You have your diamonds and alexandrites and turquoises and emeralds but when it comes to "special" tiaras, this one immediately takes a huge slice off the cake.
Made out of beetles given by the Portuguese Ambassador of that day to the Earl of Granville, it was to be a token of gratitude for securing an important trade treaty. It was on 1884 that the beetles were mounted on to a parure to be used by the Countess Granville.
The famous jewellery firm Philips of Cockspur Street was already renowned then, and was tasked with creating the parure. They specialize in neoclassical, Egyptian and neo-renaissance styles and this parure is heavily inspired by antiquity. The necklace was in the of classical fringe necklaces excavated from archaeological sites in the Mediterranean while the tiara was redolent of ancient Egyptian treasures. Setting the beetles in Egyptian styles also mimics the imagery of scarabs in ancient Egypt.
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