This is always an exciting time of year as we head into the Autumn and Winter auction sales.

Sothebys in Hong Kong have a really interesting tiara coming for auction next month - that would be a perfect addition to any royal house.

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/magnificent-jewels-5/belle-epoque-diamond-tiara-mei-hao-nian-dai-zuan

I saw it and swore I had seen it before.

I looked on Christies and found the following tiara sold in London in November 2020.

https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/important-jewels/early-20th-century-diamond-tiara-243/104846

My initial thought was they had to be the same tiara but when I looked again, I noticed the central drop on the two tiaras looks different, in the Hong Kong version the central diamond drop looks triangular shaped and in the London the central diamond drop is more oval/pear shaped.

So I am assuming they are different tiaras but very similar - I don't think that is that uncommon I think and neither tiara is attributed to a major jewellery house which makes me think they both are maybe copies from a less prestigious jewellery house.

Am I seeing things? Or do others think they are different tiaras too?

Another interesting point is the prince point - the London version sold significantly above estimate at £162,000, whereas the Hong Kong version is estimated at a mere £40-60,000, so if someone was selling it 4 years on they would be seeing potentially a significant drop in value.