This grand tiara was made for Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, wife of Grand Duke Vladimir, around 1870, and then smuggled out of Russia by a British diplomat during the revolution. Queen Mary bought it from Maria Pavlovna’s daughter, Princess Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, in 1921. The tiara was originally hung with pearl drops; Mary had it converted so it could also be worn with drops from the Cambridge emerald collection. The tiara has remained one of the Queen’s most-worn pieces in the decades since she inherited it in 1953.

Elizabeth II inherited this magnificent diamond and emerald negligee necklace, worn by Queen Mary at the 1911 Delhi Durbar, in 1953. The emeralds in the necklace came from the Cambridge emeralds, which had been won by Mary’s great-grandmother, in a German state-sponsored charity lottery in 1818. The marquise diamond pendant is one of the Cullinan diamonds (Cullinan VII, to be precise). Since Elizabeth did not inherit the Delhi Durbar Tiara from Mary—that piece remained with the Queen Mother until 2002—she has generally paired this necklace with the Vladimir Tiara in its Cambridge emerald setting.

In 1905, the largest diamond ever discovered was found in the Cullinan mine in South Africa. Two years later, the enormous diamond was presented to King Edward VII. Over the next year, the 3100 carat stone was cut and polished into nine major stones. In 1910, the new king, George V, ordered that the largest two stones should be set in the Imperial State Crown and the scepter. The next two biggest diamonds, Cullinan III and IV, were made into a brooch. Queen Mary bequeathed the brooch to the Queen in 1953; she has jokingly referred to the enormous diamond brooch as “Granny’s Chips.” Fittingly, the Queen chose to wear this brooch during the celebrations for her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

The Cullinan V stone is a heart-shaped diamond; Queen Mary had it placed in a lovely brooch setting by Garrard in 1911. (She also sometimes wore it with her honeysuckle tiara, which now belongs to the Gloucesters.) The Queen inherited the brooch in 1953, and she has worn it consistently throughout her reign. It continues to be one of her most-worn brooches today.

The Cullinan VI stone belonged to Queen Alexandra privately; she bequeathed it to Queen Mary in 1925. Mary generally wore it linked together with the Cullinan VIII stone, and it was bequeathed in that configuration to the Queen in 1953.

This stunning diamond tiara was made in 1888 as Alexandra’s silver wedding gift from a committee of aristocratic women; its design was inspired by a Russian kokoshnik-style tiara worn by her sister, Empress Marie Feodorovna. Alexandra bequeathed it to her daughter-in-law, Queen Mary, who in turn left it to Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen has worn the kokoshnik regularly throughout her entire reign. Above, the Queen wears the tiara in Hobart in 1954.

In 1863, the Prince of Wales presented his new bride, Alexandra of Denmark, with a parure of diamond and pearl jewelry as a wedding gift. The set was made by Garrard the previous year, and it included these cluster earrings, plus a brooch (which we’ll discuss in a moment), a necklace (which we will discuss later, for reasons you’ll understand then), and a tiara (which was inherited by Alexandra’s daughter, Victoria, and “subsequently disposed of by her,” according to Hugh Roberts). Mary inherited the earrings in 1925 and bequeathed them to her granddaughter in 1953. Above, the Queen wears the earrings at the annual Festival of Remembrance in November 2018.

These elaborate diamond and pearl earrings originally belonged to Queen Mary’s great-aunt, Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester. They originally had more elaborate cluster tops; those were removed, and they were given by Mary to Elizabeth in 1947 just before she embarked on her trip to Africa with her parents. The pendant earrings were inherited by Elizabeth in 1953, and she frequently pairs them with Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Necklace, which features a similarly elaborate diamond pattern, and the pearl setting of the Vladimir Tiara. In the image above, the Queen wears the earrings at the State Opening of Parliament in June 2001.

This diamond and pearl brooch, made by Garrard, originally belonged to Queen Mary’s grandmother, the Duchess of Cambridge. The brooch was inherited by Mary’s mother, the Duchess of Teck; she bequeathed it to Mary in 1897. Mary chose to wear the brooch at the 1926 christening of Princess Elizabeth, so it’s no surprise that she also decided to bequeath the brooch to Elizabeth in 1953. The Queen wears this classic brooch very frequently, both with and without the detachable pearl pendant. The Queen chose the brooch for her official 50th birthday portraits, one of which is pictured above, taken in April 1976.

Part of the parure given to Alexandra by her new husband in 1863, this diamond and pearl brooch was made by Garrard. Alexandra wore the brooch (as well as the parure’s necklace and earrings) on her wedding day. The brooch features three detachable pearl and diamond pendants, and the Queen has worn it both with and without the pendants since inheriting it from Queen Mary in 1953. Above, the Queen uses the brooch to secure her poppies at the Festival of Remembrance in 2015.

Queen Victoria designated this necklace and earrings as heirlooms of the crown; they were made in 1858 by Garrard to replace jewels that had been lost in the Hanoverian claim. The pendant of the necklace is the Lahore Diamond, which alone weighs more than 22 carats. The drops of the earrings are also Indian diamonds; they were originally a part of the armlet setting of the Koh-i-Noor diamond. Queen Alexandra wore the necklace at her coronation; Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Elizabeth II wore both the necklace and the earrings at theirs. Above, the Queen wears the necklace and earrings in Australia in 1954.

This set of three diamond bow-shaped brooches was also created in 1858 to replace jewels lost to the King of Hanover. Because they are heirlooms of the crown, they passed from Victoria to Alexandra to Mary to Elizabeth to Elizabeth II, arriving in the Queen’s jewelry box in 1952. She still wears them today, though generally only one at a time. (Queen Mary, being Queen Mary, liked to wear all three together.) Above, the Queen wears one of the brooches at the Epsom Derby in 1958.

These classic earrings feature diamond studs with long pearl drops connected by another small diamond brilliant. They were a gift from Prince Albert to Queen Victoria in 1847. She designated them as heirlooms of the crown, and they have passed down through the main line of the family in the years since. Above, the Queen wears them in Ottawa in October 1957.

This elaborate diamond and pearl necklace was made by Carrington and Co. in 1888 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s reign; it was commissioned in a very complicated, political process by a committee of aristocratic women. It became one of Victoria’s favorite pieces, so it’s no surprise that she designated it as an heirloom of the crown. The Queen wore it for her first opening of parliament in 1952, and it’s been a staple of her gala jewelry ever since. In the picture above, she wears it for a state banquet in Copenhagen in 1957.

This classic diamond and sapphire brooch was Prince Albert’s wedding gift to Queen Victoria; he presented it to her on the day before their wedding in February 1840, and she was smitten with the piece immediately. She wore the brooch at her wedding, and she later designated it as an heirloom of the crown; it has been worn by all subsequent queens, and it remains a major favorite of the Queen today. Above, she wears the brooch—a rare occasion when she pinned it vertically—at Royal Ascot in 1963.