Farah's favorite Tiara

Farah's favorite Tiara
This tiara was also designed by Harry Winston, the New York jeweller, for the occasion of the marriage of Empress Farah and Reza Shah Pahlevi in 1958. It was considered to be Farah's favorite tiara, since she was often seen wearing it on formal occasions, such as her on visit to the United States and Canada in 1965. 

The lower band containing diamonds which is shaped like a heart, is built of platinum. There are two rows of yellow, pink and clear diamonds on top of it. There are seven large emeralds framed by diamonds on very top of the tiara. 

The gems used in this tiara are a combination of the old and new. The brilliant-cut diamonds were probably re-cut in the 19th century from loose Indian diamonds which were in the treasury. The emeralds are probably from South America, though they were cut sometime before Nader Shah's campaign in India. The diamonds surrounding the emeralds are probably from South Africa. 

The largest emerald, located in the center of the top row, is 65 cts. and the smallest ones on the ends of the row are 10 cts. each. The two largest diamonds are approximately 15 cts. each. 

The Royal Sword

The Royal Sword
Also known as the Shahi Sword, it was a present to Nasseridin Shah from Amin-o'Sultan, his prime minister. Before his assassination, Amin-o'Sultan served in the court of a number of Kings in that capacity. However, he wasn't as well appreciated by the common folk. Through his various posts, which included the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of the Treasury and Customs, he managed to accumulate sufficient wealth to afford such presents. 

Though the picture is only of the sword's handle and hilt, the scabbard is entirely encrusted with approximately 3000 jewels of similar quality. According to an inscription which appears on the sword, it was made in 1306 (lunar calendar) by Mirza Ali Nagi. However, the sword was not presented to the King until six years later, around 1894 or 1895 AD. 

This sword was worn by Mohammad Reza Shah during his coronation in 1967. 

Kiani Crown

Kiani Crown
The Kiani Crown was used during the Qajar dynasty. Reza Shah, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, had his own crown designed but the Kiani crown was present during his coronation. 

The crown itself is made of red velvet which has thousands of gems set onto it. Fathali Shah is often shown in paintings wearing a similar crown - it is not known whether there were a number of crowns in use at the time which looked similar, or whether the artists simply portrayed the same crown in different ways. 

The Kiani crown has about 1800 pearls sown onto it, each from 7 to 9 mm. in diameter. There are approximately 300 emeralds set on the crown, the largest of which is about 80 cts. There are also about 1800 rubies and spinels on the crown, the largest of which is 120 cts. The largest diamond is 23 cts. 

The total height of the crown is 32 cm. without the aigrette, and the total width is 19.5 cm. 

The Pahlavi Crown

The Pahlavi Crown
This crown was used by Reza Shah, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, in his coronation on 25 April 1926. His son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, also used the crown in his coronation on 26 Oct. 1967. 

The crown was designed and built by a group of Iranian jewellers, under the supervision of Haj Serajeddin, the famous jeweller who had been in the employ of the Amir of Bokhara and had later emigrated from the Soviet Union to Iran. The stones were selected from loose stones in the treasury. 

The crown made of red velvet, gold, and silver. It has a total height of 29.8 cm. and has a width of 19.8 cm. It weighs 2,080 grams. The are 3,380 diamonds employed on the crown, totalling 1,144 cts. The largest is a brilliant-cut yellow diamond of 60 cts. which is located in the center of the front jewel sunburst. There are also 369 perfectly-matching natural pearls in three rows on the crown. Of the 5 emeralds, totalling 200 cts., the largest is approximately 100 cts. The largest sapphire is 20 cts. 

The design of the crown incorporates a motif of the Sassanid dynasty, which ruled over the Persian Empire from the 3rd through the 7th centuries AD. 

Jewel-Studded Globe

Jewel-Studded Globe
The most magnificent globe in existence, it has a total height of 110 cm. and a diameter of 45 cm. and is covered with over 51 thousand gemstones. The seas and oceans are shown with emeralds. Land masses are mostly displayed in rubies and spinels. Iran, Britain, France, and parts of South Asia are shown in diamonds. The base is constructed of wood, covered with a layer of gold. Approximately 35 kilograms of pure gold is used in the globe. 

According to legend, Nasseridin Shah (1848-1896) ordered the construction of the globe to help keep track of the loose gemstones in the treasury. 

The largest ruby used in the globe is approximately 75 ct. The largest spinel is approximately 110 cts. The largest emerald is approximately 175 cts., the largest sapphire is approximately 34 cts, and the largest diamond is approximately 15 cts. 

A section of Jewel-Studded Globe