Portland Tiara


The Portland Tiara is a diamond-encrusted gold and silver tiara made for Winifred, Duchess of Portland to wear at the coronation of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1902.
It was exhibited at the Harley Gallery and Foundation's Portland Collection from 2016 until it was stolen in November 2018.

History

In 1902, William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland commissioned Cartier to make the tiara for Winifred, his wife, to wear at the coronation of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Winifred was one of the duchesses who held a canopy over Alexandra during her anointing ceremony. Afterwards, some of the gems were removed from the tiara to make a brooch. The gems are absent in a 1925 portrait of Duchess Winifred wearing the tiara. In the 1920s, Winifred wore the tiara as a band across her forehead.

Theft

In 2016, the Harley Gallery and Foundation opened the Portland Collection Gallery within the estate of Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire. The tiara and brooch were displayed in an armoured glass case.
On 20 November 2018, thieves broke into the gallery at around 22:00, broke into the display case using power tools and took the tiara and brooch. Security personnel arrived 90 seconds after the alarms went off, but they managed to escape. A burnt-out stolen Audi S5 that was found nearby is believed to have been involved with the theft.
On 3 December 2018, four people were arrested on suspicion of the burglary.

Appearance

The tiara is covered with brilliant cushion- and briolette-cut diamonds. The briolettes were supplied to Cartier by the Duke of Portland and probably date from the 17th century. The centrepiece is the Portland Diamond, which dates from the 19th century. It is flanked by two diamond drops and other pendant diamonds, all set in gold and silver.