Prussian Royal jewels still shine today! Inside the historic Hohenzollern collection

If you haven't heard about royal jewels of Prussia, you may be surprised to learn the European jewelry secrets I want to share with you. While some of the most priceless treasures of Prussia feature clovers, shamrocks and the meander base, not all of them carried these distinct symbols chosen by the Kaiser Wilhelm II as a symbol of good luck. Our story first lands on two prominent tiaras, which still rule the European galas and state dinners, and are most worn by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Surprised? I was surprised too. The now so-called Danish Pearl Poire Tiara and the coordinating Devon de Corsage brooch were commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm III in 1825 for his daughter, Princess Louise. Made in Berlin, this tiara contains 18 large pear-shaped pearls, suspended from diamond arches, the style much loved in the rest of Europe. The tiara's name derives from the French word, poire, pear, which describes the drop shape of the pearls suspended in the diadem. In the famous portrait by Jean-Baptiste van der Holst, two beautiful jewels of Princess Louise catch the attention. It's the same tiara and brooch we much see on Queen Margrethe today. And the little girl beside, she is her daughter, Princess Louise, who became the Queen of Sweden and Norway, and whose future daughter, many years ago, Queen Lovisa brought these remarkable jewels to Denmark. But it wasn't the single tiara that entered the Danish collection, but two of them. One more Princess Louise of Prussia, upon her marriage to the Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden, received a diamond tiara from Emperor Wilhelm I, the Baden Palmette Tiara. Made by Koch, the piece is composed of diamond palmettes set between diamond flowers over a diamond base. Eventually, from the Prussian royal family to the Baden, this remarkable jewelry gift traveled to Sweden and then to Denmark, forever entering Queen Margrethe's vault. And here is what I was surprised to learn. Prussian princesses were frequently named Louise to honor Queen Louise of Mecklenburg-Stralitz, who became a national icon and a symbol of patriotic virtue. The Hohenzollern dynasty repeatedly bestowed her name upon their daughters to evoke her legacy and sustain her immense popularity. King Frederick William III even established the Order of Louise in 1814 as a prestigious chivalric decoration exclusively for women, further elevating the name. But the jewels that stayed in the Prussian family only began to take shape during the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II and his empress Augusta Victoria. The famous imperial crown of Germany, often called the Hohenzollern crown, was designed in 1889 for Kaiser Wilhelm II. Interestingly, it was never intended to be used as a coronation crown. No German emperor after unification was ever crowned. Instead, the crown became a ceremonial symbol of imperial authority. Crafted in pure gold, with weight about 1.3 kilograms, it features 142 rose-cut diamonds, 18 additional diamonds, and eight large pearls set between eight ornate half-arches. The crown is topped with a gold cross that rests on a large, prominent sapphire. When Wilhelm II abdicated and went into exile in 1918, he was legally permitted to retain the jewels. To protect the crown from theft and destruction during World War II, it was cleverly hidden inside a crypt wall in a church. And it survived, now viewed by the public in the chamber of Burg Hohenzollern in the Swabian Alps. But while Wilhelm's crown represented imperial power, the most beautiful jewels belonged to the women of the Hohenzollern dynasty. The most recognizable jewel associated with his wife, Augusta Victoria, was her magnificent diamond clover coronet, a silver wedding anniversary present. Kaiser Wilhelm II regarded the clover as a personal emblem of prosperity and good fortune, and under his reign, it became one of the defining symbols of Prussian court jewelry. The coronet features four prominent diamond clovers with smaller clover motifs along the base, mounted atop diamond swags and an open-work oak leaf band. Empress Augusta Victoria wore the piece extensively for official events and including the 1913 wedding of her daughter, Princess Victoria Louise. By the 1950s, the coronet was modified to use the parts on two different bands, sometimes adding a large aquamarine at the center, and now is still in use in the Hohenzollern family. Another masterpiece commissioned for Augusta Victoria reflected a very different source of inspiration. Her emerald laurel wreath tiara drew upon the imagery of classical antiquity. Instead of flowers or stars, the tiara was formed from diamond laurel leaves surrounding vivid green emeralds. Commissioned in 1905 as an anniversary gift from Kaiser Wilhelm II, the tiara was passed down to the House of Hanover, surviving most turbulent times. Among her less frequently discussed treasures were elegant aquamarine earrings, whose cool blue stones perfectly complemented the pale colors fashionable during the Belle Époque. The earrings originate from Queen Louise of Prussia, which are recorded in her inventory from 1810. They demonstrated that the Prussian vault was not limited to diamonds alone, but included carefully assembled collections of colored gemstones selected for every formal occasion. Empress Augusta Victoria wore her much-loved aquamarine earrings over the following decades, often with a striking aquamarine and diamond kokoschnik tiara, made by Geber Krater Hanau for the jeweler Cook as a Christmas gift in 1909. It is believed this tiara was dismantled, and Queen Louise's aquamarine earrings were auctioned in 1993. Ironically, perhaps the famous Prussian tiara no longer belongs to Germany. Some of the jewels were inherited by Kaiser's single daughter, Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, whose historically significant pieces, including her iconic wedding tiara, diamond brooches, and perures, have since been passed down through European royalty into the Spanish and Greek royal families. The most iconic, the Prussian diamond tiara, is now much-loved by the Spanish royal family, worn multiple times by Letizia of Spain, including for her wedding. Unlike the floral designs popular elsewhere, this tiara perfectly embodied the imperial aesthetic developed during Wilhelm's reign. Rows of brilliant diamonds formed elegant Greek meander patterns, interwoven with graceful laurel and scrollwork, with a central suspended pear-shaped diamond that reflected the symmetry and refinement of classical architecture. Interestingly, this tiara became associated with many weddings of future queens. This tiara traveled to Greece as part of Princess Frederica's dowry, on her marriage to Prince Paul of Greece, later King and Queen of the Hellens. Given as a wedding gift by Queen Frederica to her daughter, Princess Sophia, who wore it on her wedding day to Prince Juan Carlos of Spain in Athens, the tiara was preserved in its original form. More than a century later, this masterpiece continues to fulfill its royal purpose. Only now, it sparkles not in Berlin, but in Madrid. One more jewel brought to Denmark was the antique pearl and diamond corsage made during the reign of Frederick the Great, which now belongs to the Greek royal family who took it into exile. The piece is designed on a platinum band and can be worn with or without a large dangling pearl topper. Ahead of her 18th birthday in August 1964, Queen Ingrid of Denmark reconfigured the antique corsage ornament into a striking floral antique corsage tiara for her daughter, Queen Anne-Marie, and it is now often chosen by Greek royal brides. Getting back to the year 1905, the change in the Prussian royal collection came with the royal bride who married the last Crown Prince Wilhelm. Her name was Princess Cecilia of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who became the admired last Crown Princess of Prussia. And with the marriage, the royal jewelry vault was filled with the most beautiful gifts commissioned for Cecilia. Perhaps no jewel represents Crown Princess better than the magnificent diamond meander tiara. Commissioned as a wedding gift for Cecilia by her groom, Crown Prince Wilhelm, the tiara remains a treasured family heirloom worn by successive Hohenzollern brides. Unlike romantic floral tiaras popular in those years, this masterpiece crafted in a Kokoschnik style reflected the distinctive visual language of the Hohenzollerns. Its elegant Greek key, or meander motif, stretched across the entire tiara, in perfectly balanced geometric lines, with a central band of diamond trellis work, each section entirely paved with brilliant diamonds. Cecilia frequently wore the meander tiara for her first official portraits, state ceremonies and gala evenings, making it one of the best-known jewels associated with the last Crown Princess of Prussia. And even after the monarchy was abolished, she preserved her favorite tiara through changing political times. The tiara, however, is sometimes confused with Cecilia's other famous wedding gift, the delicate diamond and gold shamrock Kokoschnik tiara, which was created by Fabergé. When people hear the name Fabergé, they immediately think of the magnificent imperial Easter eggs. Yet the jewelry house also produced exceptional jewelry for several European royal families, including the Hohenzollerns. Featuring a gold and diamond lattice design with clovers and removable flower elements, Crown Princess Cecilia famously wore the tiara in early formal portraits shortly after her wedding, establishing it as one of her signature pieces. Unlike many royal assets lost during World War I and the subsequent fall of the German Empire, Cecilia kept hold of this one more tiara until her passing. The shamrock Kokoschnik remained with Crown Princess Cecilia's direct descendants until it was put up for auction at the Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels Sale in Geneva in 2019, now hidden away from public view. On some of Cecilia's portraits, we also see her wearing a magnificent ruby demi-perure. It consisted of a necklace, long earrings, two cluster brooches, a choker, and a bracelet. It was reportedly gifted by King Maximilian I of Bavaria to his daughter, Elizabeth Ludovica, for her 1823 wedding to Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia. Renowned as the most glamorous royal in Germany, she wore the rubies extensively with a more mysterious diamond loop tiara, which disappeared from her jewel box forever. That same fate awaited a large sapphire diamond perure, an antique two-centuries-old royal jewelry suite featuring large sapphires, diamonds, and pearls. Following the abolition of the German monarchy and Kaiser Wilhelm II's subsequent exile, the set was sold to support the family and never resurfaced again. Yet the Hohenzollern collection extended far beyond these jewels. Alongside state insignia, personal commissions, and wedding gifts, the Hohenzollern treasury contained spectacular jewels acquired through diplomacy and historical connections, including famous Napoleonic heirlooms like the long-lost diamond brooch, which resurfaced at Geneva in 2025. As we call it a brooch, it is believed to be his hat ornament, which he hastily left behind at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Among its most unusual surviving treasures is the celebrated pink topaz perure, assembled with exceptionally rare pink topaz gemstones surrounded by delicate diamonds. The suite, which includes a tiara, necklace, bracelet, brooch, and earrings, was owned by Queen Louise of Prussia, and it passed through seven generations of royal descendants, all named Louise as well. Today, the perure is preserved within the renowned Albion Art Collection, allowing visitors to admire a remarkable example of 19th-century royal jewelry craftsmanship that once belonged to one of Europe's most powerful dynasties. Many other Hohenzollern jewels have followed equally fascinating journeys. Some remain with descendants of the former imperial family, occasionally appearing at family weddings and private celebrations. Others entered museum collections, while a number were dispersed through inheritance or discreet private sales during the 20th century. Perhaps the greatest irony is that some of the most famous Prussian jewels are no longer worn in Germany at all. And if you liked this video, support us by subscribing to our channel and writing down your impressions to help us spread this video. Have a nice shining day!