Iranian Royal Jewels: Flame Tiara and Parure of Princess Shams

The Persian Royals were in possession of not only one of the richest jewellery collections in the world, but also some of the more unusual ones.

The Flame Tiara

We have already covered the wonderful Sunburst Tiara, and now it is time to read about its sister – the equally fantastic Flame Tiara with the matching necklace and earrings.

The parure of a tiara, necklace and a pair of earrings was created by Van Cleef & Arpels. It was among the large number of jewels ordered for Persian Royal Ladies to be worn at the 1967 Coronation of the Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Farah Diba. 

Princess Shams wearing the tiara and earrings for the 1967 coronation.
In the picture on the left, she stands next to the Empress, while in the picture on the right she is first from left.

This particular set was made for Princess Shams, the elder sister of the Shah. The Princess wore the tiara and the earrings for the coronation, but not the necklace. For the evening banquet, she opted for a different set altogether. 

The tiara of the parure consists of rays resembling flames. The central cluster is topped with a large pear-shaped emerald, with three smaller square-cut emeralds on either side of it. 

The necklace and earrings of the parure

The base of the necklace resembles an inverted version of the tiara with similar flame design. A large square-cut emerald nests in the very top of the base with small rectangular emeralds, each topped by a round diamond, suspended from the sides. From the cluster of the square diamond hangs a large rhombus-shaped emerald, also topped by a round diamond. 

The earrings are in the same flame style as the rest of the parure and feature a rhombus-shaped and a pear-shaped emerald each.  

Jewels created by Van Cleef & Arpels for the 1967 Coronation. Princess Shams' parure is on the right. 

As with most of Iranian Crown Jewels, after the 1979 revolution this parure passed into ownership of the state of Iran. It is currently displayed at the Museum of the Treasury of National Iranian Jewels which is open to public.