The Court Jeweller

Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Jewels in Motion: Diamonds, A Jubilee Celebration

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Caroline de Guitaut curates the “Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration” exhibit at Buckingham Palace, June 2012 (Bethany Clarke/Getty Images
Five years ago, the exhibition space at Buckingham Palace glittered with more than ten thousand diamonds, all set in priceless pieces of jewelry that belong to Queen Elizabeth II. Today, I’ve got a view of the exhibition for you — and since it’s in GIF form, you’ll feel like you’re really there!

The instantly-recognizable George IV State Diadem, with its sparkling diamonds and luminous pearls, was a centerpiece of the exhibition
Queen Victoria’s signature Small Diamond Crown alone is set with more than 1000 diamonds
Queen Alexandra’s Russian-inspired kokoshnik is a wall of diamonds
Queen Mary’s Delhi Durbar Tiara is a relic of a bygone age when kings were emperors
The exhibition reunited seven of the nine Cullinan diamonds; here, the Cullinan III and IV are set in the brooch that the Queen has nicknamed “Granny’s Chips”
The marquise pendant diamond suspended from the Delhi Durbar Necklace is the Cullinan VII
Here’s a view of the detailed construction of the necklace
The heart-shaped diamond in the middle of this classic brooch is the Cullinan V
The rectangular Cullinan VIII is set in the top of this similar brooch, with the marquise-cut Cullinan VI as its pendant
Completing the set (except for the I and II diamonds, which are set in the crown jewels) is the pear-shaped Cullinan IX which is set in a platinum ring
One of the rarest pink diamonds was on display in the Queen’s Williamson Diamond Brooch
The exhibition also included several diamond-studded objet d’art pieces, including this sword and scabbard set, which was given to King Edward VII by the Maharajah of Jaipur
The sword, which is set with more than 700 white and yellow diamonds, was a coronation present, given to King Edward in 1902
Another 1902 piece is the diamond-encrusted Coronation Fan that belonged to King Edward’s wife, Queen Alexandra

Jewels We Didn’t See on The Crown

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Replicas of the Vladimir Tiara and Queen Alexandra’s Wedding Necklace on display at Liberty
[Photo courtesy of The Lady and the Rose]
We’ve spent a lot of time analyzing and assessing the jewelry shown on screen in Netflix’s The Crown. (If you missed any of our recaps, head over here to catch up!) But — as it turns out — there were jewels made for or rented by the production that never showed up on screen!
A good friend of mine, the blogger behind The Lady and the Rose, recently visited the exhibition of costumes from the series at Liberty of London, and she’s graciously allowed me to share a few photos with you. Get ready for a couple of jewelry head-scratchers!

A replica of the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara displayed with a large necklace at Liberty
[Photo courtesy of The Lady and the Rose]
The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara
Many of us have been wondering why we didn’t see the GGBI on screen — it’s one of the Queen’s favorite tiaras, she’s had it since 1947, and it’s a fairly easy design to replicate. Here, we see a version of the tiara included in the Liberty exhibit. (It’s paired with the necklace that Princess Margaret wore during the ambassador reception scene.) It’s … not my favorite replica version. (Many of the replica jewels from the series were reportedly rented from Royal Exhibitions, although this looks different from their version of the GGBI.)


Replica of the Godman Necklace displayed at Liberty
[Photo courtesy of The Lady and the Rose]

The Godman Necklace
The Liberty exhibit featured a replica of one of my favorites of the Queen’s necklaces: the lovely diamond and emerald Godman Necklace. This was a good omission, though, because the Queen did not own the necklace until 1965, a full ten years after the first season ends. This necklace replica appears to be from Royal Exhibitions.


Replica of the Cartier Halo Tiara displayed at Liberty
[Photo courtesy of The Lady and the Rose]

The Cartier Halo Tiara
Emma O’Loughlin, an assistant costume designer for the series, told Vulture in November that “copyright issues” prevented The Crown from showing the Cartier Halo, which was worn by Princess Margaret at the coronation. But the Liberty costume exhibit did feature a replica of the tiara. Still very disappointed that we didn’t see this one on screen (and also disappointed that the production didn’t choose a closer facsimile for Margaret’s coronation tiara)!


Costume from The Crown, including a bow brooch, displayed at Liberty
[Photo courtesy of The Lady and the Rose]

If you’ve not read the post at The Lady and the Rose about the exhibition, be sure to head over here. There are lots more pictures of the clothes and jewels to enjoy. If you love period dramas and historical fashion, you’re going to love her blog! I check her lists of upcoming period dramas constantly!
(Can’t wait for next season of The Crown? Here are some royal book recommendations to help tide you over during the wait!)

Jewels on Film: The Brilliance of Cartier Jewelry

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Marie of Romania’s sapphire (Image: screencap)

Brighten up your Tuesday morning with a little Cartier sparkle, courtesy the segment below, which aired last year on CBS’s Sunday Morning. It features pieces that were displayed at the Cartier exhibition at the Denver art museum — and a marriage proposal in front of Wallis Simpson’s panther jewelry!

Which pieces of royal Cartier jewelry are your favorites?