The Extravagant Jewelry Vault of the Sultan of Brunei (And Who Gets to Wear It)

If you have ever seen a photograph of a Brunei royal tiara, what comes first to your mind? Why does it look more like something from a modern luxury showroom than a centuries-old royal vault? And that is exactly what makes Brunei so mysterious. Its royal jewelry collection is remarkably modern, filled with enormous diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and unusual designs. Yet these jewels are seen only occasionally. And when they appear, the question is almost as fascinating as the jewelry itself. Who is actually allowed to wear them? So let's sort this out one by one. To understand the jewelry, we first have to understand the man who built the collection. Sultan Hassanal Bolkaya became Sultan of Brunei on October 5, 1967, following the abdication of his father, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III. He was crowned in 1968 as the 29th Sultan of Brunei, continuing a dynastic line that traces its succession back centuries. But unlike the British or Danish royal collections, where jewels may have passed through several centuries of royal marriages, many of Brunei's spectacular pieces are modern creations and new acquisitions. But why? Before the 20th century, Brunei was a regional trading polity but lacked the monumental liquid capital needed to amass world-class jewelry. Everything changed with the discovery of oil and gas, with money flowing like a river. And the multi-billion dollar Brunei royal jewelry collections started to take its shape, especially after the coronation of Sultan Hassanal Bolkaya. Which brings us to the woman who has worn more of these extraordinary pieces than anyone else, Queen Saleha. Queen Saleha's collection is where the Brunei jewelry vault becomes almost surreal, as I wonder how can she even wear such grand pieces? Queen Saleha is the, the first wife of Sultan, and for now is the only one, as Sultan divorced his two previous wives. And before the marriage, he was her first cousin, making the royal family very complicated genetically. They have six children together, two sons and four daughters, where her oldest son, Crown Prince al-Mutadi Bila, is the next in line for the throne. But behind the dangerous genetic game, there are diamonds, lots of them. Queen Saleha of Brunei's most famous and prominent early headpiece is her colored diamond tiara, a very large one, which she first debuted around 1992 during the Sultan's silver jubilee celebrations. A massive distinctive diadem features a dense bouquet-like floral motif made entirely of rare colored and white diamonds, including pink, yellow, blue, and green shades. Rather than delicate historic motifs, the headpiece makes the group of gemstones themselves the main attraction. It is particularly interesting because, despite belonging to the queen, it has occasionally been loaned to other family members. In 1996, Queen Saleha's daughter, Princess Rashida, wore it at her wedding. And here is the first thing I noticed about royal collection. There is no tiara that is reserved only for the queen. But why it is so hard to see a more clear image of this tiara? Does the royal protocol prohibits foreign media to get closer, or they never invite other heads of state? The answer is not that Brunei never hosts major royal events. It does. The Sultan's birthday celebrations include formal ceremonies and banquets, and the royal family occasionally receives foreign monarchs and heads of state. The most spectacular example came in 1998, when Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip made a state visit to Brunei. Sultan hosted a state banquet at Istana Nurul Eman, with Queen Saleha wearing this enormous colored diamond tiara, and Queen Elizabeth wearing her favorite Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara. But the thing is, no matter from what angle we look into it, these diamonds are so densely stuck together, I barely see the shape of diamond flowers. And Brunei's royal family has also traveled abroad for major occasions. In 1992, Sultan Hassanal and Queen Saleha made a state visit to Britain, where Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip hosted them at Buckingham Palace. And that's when her one more large tiara made one of its first appearances, and the name is very straightforward. Diamond Upright Tiara, recognizable by its large pear-shaped diamonds standing densely around the frame. But its story is much more interesting as it appeared to be used in multiple configurations, and for a long time was mistaken for another tiara, which is now often named the Diamond Heart Tiara. Queen Saleha first wore it with large upright diamonds, especially the one at the center. Yet all the toppers can be taken down and can be switched for colored blue and pink diamonds, and at some point the central diamond was changed for the large, heart-shaped element, which also can be worn as a brooch. That means what looks like one enormous tiara can actually become a versatile jewelry set. And if you don't look at it so close, you may think these are two different tiaras, don't you? And this is precisely the tiara that produced one of the most spectacular recent Bruneian royal wedding moments. In January 2024, at the wedding celebrations of Anisha Rosna and Prince Abdul Mateen, who is the son of Mariam, the former second wife of the Sultan, Anisha wore not one but two important Bruneian tiaras. For the main Bursanding wedding ceremony and procession, she wore the Flower Diamond Tiara, a spectacular modern piece originally created for Prince Mateen's sister, Princess Azema. But at the wedding banquet, she changed into another look. And this time she wore Queen Saleha's Diamond Tiara, but with interesting modification. The large inverted white diamond stayed as centerpiece, but the rest of toppers were switched for pink and blue diamonds, making way for the third configuration. Anisha also stunned in open-style diamond necklace with large pear-shaped pendant, diamond earrings, and a massive diamond bracelet by high-end jeweler Moussiaf. In line with royal tradition, she also carried a dazzling bespoke natural diamond floral bouquet, instead of traditional fresh flowers. But now let's return to the single diamond tiara which became one of most spoken about, the Flower Diamond Tiara. According to the strict rules of royal court, they rarely talk about their jewels to the media, nor they are allowed to talk about the jeweler who created it. And the jeweler should also keep it in secret. But this time, it was a total revelation. For the first time, the Singapore luxury jeweler Flower Diamond who created this tiara was allowed to speak. Originally commissioned for Prince Mateen's sister, Princess Azema, for her 2023 wedding, it was resized for Anisha. It features 838 diamonds, totaling over 132 carats set in 18-carat white gold, including round, brilliant, square, oval, and pear-shaped stones. So within only two years, the same modern tiara had gone from one royal wedding to another. And that tells us something important about Brunei. A tiara does not necessarily belong to one wearer forever. That is a very different concept from the famous European royal model in which one tiara might have belonged to Queen Victoria, passed to a daughter, then a granddaughter, and eventually a present-day princess. In Brunei, the modern royal vault is still being created. But there was a moment when jewels were sold, despite family's very strict rules. The Sultan of Brunei's ruby ring made a huge debut on the jewelry market, featuring a rare 7.75-carat pigeon's blood ruby, originally commissioned as the centerpiece of the larger jewel. The vibrant red ruby was first chosen as the focal point for the Sultan of Brunei's crown, set above natural pearls and vivid yellow diamonds during a period of extreme royal opulence. The exceptional gemstone was removed from the crown and transformed into a ring, preserving its original diamond-halo setting while mounted in platinum. So did the rest of rubies from the crown, where two large rubies were transformed into pair of earrings and one ruby into a pendant. And since all of them have been featured through antique dealers, yet what happened to the rest of the gems from the crown remains unknown. But I was very surprised by the lavish tradition of carrying a jeweled flower bouquets instead of fresh flowers. How much money does it cost at all? But as it appeared, not every bride has a right to buy a newly designed bouquet. The ruling royal family of Brunei owns a special collection of diamond-encrusted and gold-crafted flower bouquets, and the brides in the extended royal family have reused these permanent jeweled pieces since at least the 1990s. So Anisha was carrying the same diamond bouquet previously used by Dayanku Rabiatul for her wedding to Prince Abdul Malik in 2015. On the same image, one more tiara can't escape our eyes. Queen Saleha's diamond and emerald tiara, which comes with matching jewels like necklaces, brooches, earrings, and bracelets. This tiara is a comparatively modern creation featuring six large emeralds surrounded by diamonds. It has been worn by several of Queen Saleha's daughters, including Princess Rashida, Princess Majida Nurul, and Princess Hafiza. In 2022, it became particularly famous when Princess Fadzila Lubabul wore the emerald tiara for her wedding reception. Photographs showed it paired with matching emerald and diamond jewelry. Queen Saleha's collection does not stop with diamonds and emeralds. There is also a striking ruby and diamond tiara composed of large faceted and cabochon rubies surrounded by diamonds. It began appearing publicly around the mid-2000s and has been worn for royal birthday celebrations and major occasions. True to the customs of the Bruneian royal family, it was newly commissioned for her, as they traditionally do not acquire or wear pre-owned jewelry. But this style somewhat reminds of kokoshnik structure often favored by European royal families. While all of her tiaras were loaned to her daughters and daughters-in-law, one more tiara was commissioned as a gift for the marriage of her son, Crown Prince al-Muhtadi Bila, to the 17-year-old Crown Princess Sara wore a delicate all-diamond headpiece, simply known as her diamond tiara, designed in floral motifs, which looks most elegant amid the Brunei royal collection. She paired it with a large diamond necklace made in Art Deco style and a flower brooch. She also wore it later to international events, such as the pre-abdication dinner for Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 2013. And there are further diamond pieces whose names are less firmly established in public sources. That uncertainty is part of the mystery. Unlike the British royal collection, which has extensive published documentation, the Bruneian royal jewelry collection is not accompanied by a comprehensive public catalog. Specialists therefore identify pieces primarily from photographs and documented appearances. And from all of these, one thing is clear, its vault is relatively new. They never participate in jewelry auctions and safeguard details about the jeweler who gets commission. Only queen can choose what tiara would the royal bride wear, and actually her daughters have a chance to wear such diamonds only for the wedding, as they are not required to wear grand jewels for any further banquets. There are no centuries-old European tiaras covered with stories of queens, empresses and diplomatic marriages. Instead, we see enormous modern diamonds, vivid emeralds, rubies, jewels created during the lifetime of the current royal generation. And because the collection is relatively young, we are actually watching its history being written. So when you next see a Brunei royal wearing a gigantic tiara, you may recognize one of Queen Saleha's headpieces and may be in a new configuration. If you liked today's video, write down your impressions about Brunei's royal vault. What thoughts are first coming to your mind? Hit the like button and subscribe to see our new jewelry stories.