More than
10,000 diamonds go on show in London this week, Buckingham Palace, 60th of
Queen Elizabeth To mark the year on the throne, in a fireworks display of
gemstones gathered over the centuries as objects of beauty and symbols of
power.
The
exhibition of 30 June to 8 July and then from 31 July to 7 October is intended
to coincide with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year, and regularly features
jewels she wears on official occasions in the UK and abroad.
"The
exhibition aims to show how rulers have used diamonds, as a visible sign of
wealth and makes," said curator Caroline de Guitaut, described the crowns,
tiaras, rings, earrings, swords and snuff on the display as
"priceless."
De Guitaut
said that the 86 years was old monarch consulted, which would be used for the
exhibition, housed in a darkened room in Buckingham Palace and access through
gilded colonnades lined with royal portraits of generations back.
"We
tried some The largest diamond in the possession of the royal present. "
The first
item on the card in a brightly lit display case is Queen Victoria's small
diamond crown that has, despite its size has more than 1,100 diamonds.
After her
husband Prince Albert's death in 1861, the only other British monarch, a
diamond anniversary marked only wore mourning clothes were, that is colorless
stones such as diamonds clearly an ideal embellishments.
Victoria was
regularly wearing in the picture, including the Diamond Jubilee in her official
portrait.
Perhaps the
most impressive display, but is cut by seven of the nine large stones from the
Cullinan diamond, the largest ever found.
The gem was
discovered in 1905 in South Africa and was so large that employees working in
the mine at first threw it way, provided that it was a worthless crystal.
Finally,
however, the stone was given a weight of 3106 carats in the rough state of King
Edward VII, decided it sanded and polished.
It produced
nine major stones and 96 small diamonds, brilliant. The two most important
gems, the most colorless and flawless diamonds in the world were laid down in
the sovereign's scepter and Imperial State Crown.
How many of
the major diamond exhibition in the Cullinan III and IV in a variety of
settings over time, but now form a brooch worn by Queen Elizabeth at a service
of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral earlier this month served.
Cullinan v
is in a brooch, Cullinan VII just as supporters of an emerald necklace,
Cullinan, VI and VIII are also a brooch and Cullinan IX, the smallest of the
nine major stones at 4.4 carats, is set in a platinum ring.
Underlines
the diamonds were gifts of diplomacy as well as objects of desire are owned by
Queen Victoria's brooch jewels presented to her fringe of the Turkish Sultan as
a sign of gratitude for the support of Britain in the Crimean War.
Victoria
does not seem to have appreciated the taste of Sultan, and had to reset the
jewels.
The Jaipur
sword and scabbard were presented, King Edward VII for his coronation in 1902
by the Maharaja of Jaipur, and have been set with 719 diamonds weighing a total
of 2000 carats.
Recently,
Queen Elizabeth was gifted the Williamson Diamond in 1947 by Canadian geologist
and royalist John Thorburn Williamson and is considered the finest pink diamond
ever discovered.
From its
original uncut 54.5 carats, it was in a 23.6-carat round brilliant cut stone,
and now sits in the middle of the flower-shaped brooch by Cartier.
While De Guitaut,
she said that the value of diamonds on display, a pink diamond of similar size
with no royal provenance, fetched $ 46 million at auction in Switzerland in
2010, still could not guess.
Queen Mary's
name was all Royals in the exhibition, in most cases, Bradley Associates added.
Queen
Elizabeth's grandmother clearly had a passion for jewelry and its acquisitions
was a snuff-box, which originally made for Frederick II of Prussia and his
court.
The box is
equipped with nearly 3,000 diamonds, many of them would normally be invisible
on the bottom, and which was covered to England after the Russian Revolution.
He was sold twice before purchased in 1932 by Mary.
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