Tiaras have always inspired a great fascination and the most beautiful and influential women have been painted, photographed and admired whilst wearing them. Even in the twenty-first century they are still worn and continue to inspire special poise and elegance. This lavishly illustrated book includes new photographs of a variety of Royal tiaras together with those of French and Russian Imperial provenances. Geoffrey Munn has been granted special access to the photographic archives of many famous jewellers, including Cartier, Boucheron and Fabergé, for his research. Other makers include Castellani, Fouquet, Garrards, Giuliano, Lalique, and Tiffany. Among the contemporary pieces illustrated are tiaras belonging to Jamie Lee Curtis, Vivienne Westwood, Elton John and Madonna, made by Slim Barratt, Galliano and Versace. AUTHOR: Geoffrey Munn is the Managing Director of Wartski Ltd, a firm of antique dealers in London specialising in European precious metalwork. He is co-author of Pre-Raphaelite to Arts and Crafts Jewellery and author of both Castellani and Giuliano - Revivalist Jewellers of the 19th Century and The Triumph of Love - Jewellery 1530-1930. He is also a jewellery specialist on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow. REVIEWS: "... beautifully written and magnificently produced ... For anyone interested in social history, it's as good a read as you are likely to have this year." - Daily Telegraph "A truly majestic book" - Antiques Info "... elegantly melds social history, fashion criticism and an appreciation of the jeweller's art." - Town and Country SELLING POINTS: A fascinating text and over 400 illustrations provide an exhaustive history of the tiara The majority of photographs and related material are illustrated here for the first time and gathered from private collections over three decades. Included are photographs of tiaras from many Royal collections, including three designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria Archive photographs from Boucheron and Cartier show jewels of great originality which have now been dismantled 250 colour and 170 b/w illustrations