A jewelled crown worn as a head ornament, typically by women on state occasions—a piece of jewelry that is not jewelry but something more: a diadem that signifies the wearer’s membership in a circle of power, however metaphorical that circle has become.
The tiara emerged as a distinct form of head ornament in the early nineteenth century, when the decline of the fontange and the rise of neoclassical fashion left a decorative space at the top of the head. The tiara filled that space with diamonds, pearls, and precious metals, arranged in patterns that referenced ancient Greek and Roman diadems.
In the twenty-first century, the tiara has become less a marker of aristocracy and more a symbol of personal celebration. The bridal tiara, the pageant crown, the accessory of proms and galas—the tiara has been democratized. To wear a tiara in the twenty-first century is not to claim membership in a royal family; it is to declare, for a single evening, that the wearer is the center of attention.
