The diadems in Dorotheum’s November 2016 jewellery auction are strikingly varied, says our jewellery specialist Astrid Fialka-Herics: “Some of them can be dismantled and worn as brooches, clips or necklaces, others are exciting because of their resemblance to the Kokoshnik headdress …”
Learn more about the numerous “crowning achievements” of headwear that feature in the auction, and find out what has happened historically to diadems that have been passed down within dynasties.
Live or let diadem
”Diadems are often dismantled and split up amongst family members – which I consider a great shame! The diadems qualify as myCHOICE because of the personal and touching stories they usually tell, stories of special occasions for which they were acquired or worn. They bear testimony of times past, of a foregone epoch. Occasions suitable for wearing a diadem – be it a wedding, ball or royal reception – are rare nowadays. A particularly fascinating aspect of this selection of diadems is the variety of styles. Some of them can be dismantled and worn as brooches, clips or necklaces, others are exciting because of their resemblance to the Kokoshnik headdress …”
-Astrid Fialka-Herics
