Queen Mary of Denmark Brings Back a Lava Tiara Last Worn Over 200 Years Ago
Queen Mary of Denmark has brought back a tiara that first caught attention more than 200 years ago, and the piece is made partly from lava. Royal Central reports that the jewels, known as the Lava Parure, are about to go on show at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen.
A parure is a matching set of jewellery, made to be worn together. The Lava Parure has a tiara, a necklace, two bracelets, a brooch and a pair of earrings. Lava is the rock that flows from a volcano when it erupts and then hardens as it cools. Here, the lava has been carved into cameos, which are small raised portraits or designs, and set in gold.
The set once belonged to Queen Desiree of Sweden, an ancestor of King Frederik X of Denmark. According to Royal Central, it was bought at auction soon after Frederik X became king. That gave the Danish royal family a piece with a long history in another royal household, now back in Denmark.
Rosenborg Castle is the home of the Danish Crown Jewels, the royal regalia and jewellery kept in Copenhagen. The Royal Danish Collection, an independent body that runs the castle and several other royal palaces and museums, looks after the display. Its website says the Danish Crown Jewels are the only crown jewels in the world that are both shown as museum objects and worn by the country's sitting queen.
Queen Mary has been active in this area for some time. Her website notes that she wore the Emerald Set after Frederik X's accession in 2024, and that the set is the only one among the Danish crown jewels to include a tiara. A tiara is a small crown, usually worn at formal events. The Emerald Set was first made in the 1840s, and Queen Margrethe often wore it. In 2024, the queen also had a new frame made for the Rose-Cut Diamond Set, so that the diamonds can be worn as a tiara. The Royal Danish Collection says the frame was made in collaboration with the collection.
Rosenborg is also making room for more. The castle is adding a new underground treasury as part of a project called The Kingdom's Treasury, which will create a new exhibition space for historical clothing and other objects and reinterpret the castle moat.
For anyone who enjoys jewellery history, the Lava Parure adds an unusual material to a collection that already includes emeralds, diamonds and pearls. The pearl necklace in the Pearl-Ruby Set is one of the oldest pieces in the Danish crown jewels, and its large pearls date back to the late 17th century. The Lava Parure, by contrast, is a set that came from outside the collection and has now returned to it.
