{"id":22537,"date":"2025-10-30T14:19:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/22537\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T14:19:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:19:34","slug":"the-enduring-allure-of-the-rose-courts-magnificent-crowns-pasadena-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/22537\/","title":{"rendered":"The Enduring Allure of the Rose Court\u2019s Magnificent Crowns \u2013 Pasadena Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Newly-crowned Rose Queen Serena Guo poses with members of her Rose Court, Sophia Ren and Keiko Rakin. [Eddie Rivera\/Pasadena Now]When Serena Hui Guo accepted her title as the 2026 Rose Queen on the steps of Tournament House earlier this week, all eyes were on her \u2014 and on the dazzling emblem that has come to define Pasadena royalty for more than a century.<\/p>\n

Weighing nearly three pounds and valued at about $400,000, the handcrafted Rose Queen crown is both masterpiece and heirloom \u2014 adorned with 600 Japanese Akoya pearls, 10 Australian South Sea pearls and six carats of diamonds, all set in gold.<\/p>\n

Created by the famed Japanese jeweler Mikimoto, known as the originator of cultured pearls, the crown has graced Pasadena\u2019s Rose Queens for nearly two decades, linking each Royal Court to generations past in a shimmer of artistry and tradition, according to Candy Carlson, director of communications for the Tournament of Roses.<\/p>\n

The crown and matching set of six tiaras worn by the Royal Court took roughly a year to craft by hand, according to Mikimoto spokesperson John Cotter. Valued at about $90,000 each, the tiaras echo the Queen\u2019s design, bringing the total worth of the royal regalia to nearly $1 million.<\/p>\n

The Crown\u2019s evolution<\/p>\n

The current crown traces its lineage to a 2007 version designed by Amy Kim-Araneo, Mikimoto\u2019s then-director of design and product development. That earlier piece \u2014 featuring a three-dimensional ribbon effect with overlapping swirls, graduated-size pearls and a subtle heart motif \u2014 weighed just over a pound and was valued at about $100,000.<\/p>\n

Since 2019, the crown\u2019s weight has tripled and its valuation has quadrupled, reflecting a reinforced gold framework and updated design while preserving its signature pearl-studded elegance.<\/p>\n

Craftsmanship and custodianship<\/p>\n

After each Rose Parade, the crown and tiaras return to Mikimoto\u2019s headquarters in Japan for refurbishing. They remain the property of the Tournament of Roses, underscoring that these jewels are symbols of stewardship, not personal keepsakes.<\/p>\n

The first Rose Queen to wear a Mikimoto crown was Ashley Moreno in 2005. Several of the crowns have since been displayed at the Pasadena Museum of History\u2019s Pasadena Royals: Rose Queen and Royal Court exhibit, highlighting their intricate design and enduring craftsmanship.<\/p>\n

From garland to gold<\/p>\n

The Rose Queen\u2019s regalia has come a long way from its humble beginnings. In 1905, Pasadena\u2019s first Rose Queen, Hallie Woods, wore only a hat or floral garland and received about $10 to make her dress.<\/p>\n

Before 1935, Rose Queens were expected to provide their own costumes \u2014 and even their own roses to decorate their carriages.<\/p>\n

By 1939, a rhinestone crown featuring the Tournament\u2019s rose logo was created for Barbara Dougall to commemorate the parade\u2019s 50th anniversary. Beautiful but unwieldy, it weighed nearly five pounds. The cultured-pearl crown that followed balanced refinement with comfort\u2014 a standard that endures today.<\/p>\n

The weight of representation<\/p>\n

As Queen Serena begins her reign, she wears much more than a crown of gold and pearls. She carries the continuity of a civic tradition that has endured for generations \u2014 the elegance of artistry, the pride of Pasadena and the enduring shimmer of its most luminous symbol.<\/p>\n

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Get all the latest Pasadena news, more than 10 fresh stories daily, 7 days a week at 7 a.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Newly-crowned Rose Queen Serena Guo poses with members of her Rose Court, Sophia Ren and Keiko Rakin. [Eddie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4022,13868,2025,8894,2497,10164,267,13863,9,24,13869,63,13874,13875,13855,13871,13866,13864,13873,13867,13870,13872,122,124,123,13865],"class_list":{"0":"post-22537","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-calendar","10":"tag-community-news","11":"tag-food-and-drink","12":"tag-latest-news","13":"tag-lifestyles","14":"tag-local-news","15":"tag-los-angeles-county-news","16":"tag-new-york","17":"tag-new-york-city","18":"tag-nonprofit-news","19":"tag-nyc","20":"tag-official-events-calendar","21":"tag-old-town-pasadena-news","22":"tag-pasadena","23":"tag-pasadena-arts-and-culture","24":"tag-pasadena-city-guide","25":"tag-pasadena-events","26":"tag-pasadena-living","27":"tag-pasadena-restaurants","28":"tag-pasadena-shopping-news","29":"tag-popular-things-to-do-in-pasadena","30":"tag-queens","31":"tag-queens-headlines","32":"tag-queens-news","33":"tag-things-to-do-in-pasadena"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}