This classic gold and diamond floral brooch has been in the Queen’s jewelry box since at least the 1960s. It features a single wild rose in a surround of leaves, and it’s been worn for garden parties, Commonwealth visits, and even a Christmas broadcast.

In 1965, an exceptionally grand diamond and emerald necklace was offered to the Queen by a pair of elderly sisters, the Godmans. They believed that it had once been owned by Empress Josephine of France. Although the connection to Josephine was eventually proven false, the necklace is a magnificent example of nineteenth-century design, and it’s easy to see why the Queen decided to add it to the royal collection. We don’t see this piece nearly enough today—it’s tough to wear with the gala necklines that the Queen prefers—and I’m hoping to see her lend it to another member of the family in the near future.

This modern ruby, diamond, and gold brooch was given to the Queen in 1966 by the Duke of Edinburgh. It was designed by British-Italian jeweler Andrew Grima, who also dreamed up jewelry for the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret. The Queen still brings this scarab-inspired piece out occasionally for events today.

The Queen received this suite of diamond, turquoise, and sapphire jewelry from a fellow monarch: King Hussein of Jordan. The set includes an intricate necklace and coordinating earrings. Unfortunately, the Queen rarely wears the demi-parure, although she has sometimes brought it out of the vaults at Jordanian-related events.

Another gift from a fellow monarch, this diamond and platinum necklace was presented to the Queen by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia during a state visit in May 1967. The piece was made in 1952 by Harry Winston, and it features 356 diamonds weighing a total of more than 83 carats. In the 1980s, the Queen lent the necklace to Diana, Princess of Wales, and in more recent years, she has also loaned it to the Countess of Wessex.

The Queen purchased this diamond and ruby necklace in 1964; it was an easier-to-wear ruby option for gala events than the Boucheron necklace she had received from her parents in 1947. (She should have had the crown rubies in her jewelry box at this point, but as we’ll see later, they were elsewhere.) The Queen still wears this triple-pendant necklace occasionally today.

This diamond and pearl brooch, originally designed as a pendant, was a wedding gift to Queen Mary from the Women of Hampshire, a committee headed up by the Dowager Duchess of Wellington. Queen Mary bequeathed it to the present Queen in 1953, and it pops up occasionally on HM for daytime engagements.

This diamond and pearl brooch was given to Queen Mary as a wedding present in 1893 by the town of Richmond, where she spent much of her childhood. The brooch, made by Hunt and Roskell, can be worn with or without a pearl pendant drop. The Queen inherited it in 1953, and she’s worn it occasionally in the decades since. Her most prominent recent appearance in the brooch was the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in May 2018.

This large ribbon brooch, which features a pear-shaped pearl pendant, was one of Queen Mary’s wedding presents. It was made by Collingwood in 1893 and given to her by the people of Kensington the same year. Mary wore the diamond, pearl, silver, and gold brooch at her coronation in 1911, and she bequeathed it to her granddaughter in 1953. The Queen has worn it often throughout her reign, frequently pinning it to her sash during gala events.

The large diamonds at the center of this pair of diamond floret earrings are the Mackinnon Diamonds, which were given to Mary in 1893 as a wedding present by Sir William Mackinnon. They were set in these diamond and platinum earrings by Garrard in 1939 and inherited by Queen Elizabeth II fourteen years later.