Ruby Diamond Roses Bandeau Tiara Empress Sisi of Austria | Habsburg Ruby Parure| Important Imperial Rubies

The ruby and diamond parure of Empress Elisabeth of Austria—better known as Empress Sisi—stands as one of the most legendary jewels of the Habsburg dynasty. Commissioned by Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1854 as a wedding gift for his bride, the set was originally crafted by the Viennese court jeweler Biedermann, using rubies that once belonged to Marie Antoinette of France. These important ruby gems had passed through the hands of Marie Antoinette’s daughter, Madame Royale, Duchess of Angoulême, before being acquired by the Habsburgs and incorporated into the imperial collection.

The parure evolved over decades. While early versions emphasized formal symmetry and imperial grandeur, later iterations—particularly those reworked by Köchert and, most significantly, by Alexander Köchert between 1890 and 1898—reflected a shift toward naturalism and flexibility. The diadem, or bandeau, became a flowing garland of wild roses, rendered in diamonds and rubies, with a delicately looped ribbon motif winding through the floral design. This redesign emphasized wearability: individual elements could be detached and worn as brooches, hair ornaments, or smaller pieces, a concept driven by Empress Sisi’s own desire for versatility and personal expression.

Köchert’s reworking marked a departure from rigid imperial symbolism. The central motif, once dominated by a single large rose, was replaced with a pair of facing flowers, softening the emphasis and creating a more organic balance. The tiara’s ends were no longer symmetrical—one terminating in a bud and leaf, the other in a flower, bud, and leaf—further reinforcing its naturalistic character. The interplay of white diamonds and red rubies subtly echoed Austria’s national colors, not as a loud statement but as an elegant undercurrent.

Though no definitive portrait by Winterhalter or any major artist captures the parure in its full splendor, archival photographs and surviving design sketches—particularly those by Theophil Hansen and Köchert—confirm its intricate construction. The flowers were rendered with botanical precision: cushion-cut rubies at the center, surrounded by diamond petals and stamens mimicking real wild roses. Over 2,400 rose-cut diamonds and 1,400 brilliants, along with 15 emeralds (used in earlier versions), adorned the piece, though the exact gem count shifted with each redesign.

By the late 19th century, Sisi continued to commission changes, demanding greater magnificence. In 1888, even Köchert’s recent emerald tiara was deemed insufficient and reworked again. Yet the fate of the ruby parure remains uncertain. After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, the Habsburg jewels were smuggled to Switzerland by imperial chamberlain Leopold Graf Bechthold, escaping nationalization. But financial desperation led the exiled royal family to entrust their remaining valuables to Bruno Steiner, a former advisor, who in turn sold them through dealers like Alphons Sonderheimer.

In a series of dubious transactions, many pieces were dismantled—stones removed from settings, gold melted down. Steiner vanished in 1922 with a portion of the treasure, including what is believed to have been the famed “Florentine” diamond. Whether the ruby parure survived intact or was broken up remains unknown. No verifiable trace of the bandeau has surfaced since.

Today, only fragments—photographs, sketches, and archival records—bear witness to what was once a masterpiece of 19th-century jewelry: a symbol of imperial power, transformed by a restless empress into something intimate, mutable, and deeply personal. Its disappearance is not just a loss of artistry, but of a narrative—one where politics, exile, and betrayal erased beauty from the record.