The tiara depiction on the 1 kilo gold "coin" is artistic licence.
Items on exhibition include...
1. The Imperial Crown of India (made for and worn by King George V at the Delhi Durbar of 1911)
2. Queen Victoria's small diamond crown (1870)
3. The Sovereign's Sceptre
4. The Queen Consort's Ring (1831)
5. The Exeter Salt (1630)
6. The Gold Kilo Coin [not on display in the Tower]
Any info on the Queen Consort's ring? Did the QM wear it on her Coronation Day? Will Camilla wear that on Coronation Day? It is magnificent.
Yes, the Queen Mother did wear the Queen Consort's ring.
The ring was originally made for Queen Adelaide for the coronation of William IV in 1831.
It weighs 50.15 carats, the large ruby measures 12.5x9.0x5.9 mm and is surrounded by 14 diamonds. Small rubies are set in the shank.
Queen Adelaide decided to revive the tradition of using ruby as the central stone in the coronation rings. The tradition existed since the times of Henry III but ended during the reign of George IV, who decided that the central stone of his ring must be a large sapphire. William IV followed the fashion, using rubies only in the form of a cross overlaying the sapphires (symbolising union of crowns).
The Consort Ring has been wore by every Queen Consort since Adelaide - Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother).
Similarly, the Coronation Ring of William IV has been worn by every Sovereign since King William. In the case of Queen Victoria (for whose delicate fingers the ring was just too big), a smaller Coronation Ring was made similar to style to William IV's. It had been measured to fit her little finger but during the ceremony had been literally forced onto her ring finger; poor Victoria's hand had to be bathed in iced water before it could be removed.
The attached pictures are The Consort's Ring, William IV's Coronation Ring, and Queen Victoria's Coronation Ring. (images were cropped from larger pictures and constitute less than 20% of the original)
Thank you to Warren and Artemisia for this info and pictures.
Question about Queen Consort Ring. In Warren's response the ring looks like amethyst but Artemisia says that it is ruby - the same as the Consort's ring. Can you confirm which it is?
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This precious stone set in the silver sea,......
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
Thank you to Warren and Artemisia for this info and pictures.
Question about Queen Consort Ring. In Warren's response the ring looks like amethyst but Artemisia says that it is ruby - the same as the Consort's ring. Can you confirm which it is?
You are most welcome.
Although it does look like an amethyst in the picture from the DM article, it is probably because of the light; the Queen Consort's ring most definitely features a ruby - and an impressive 50.15 carats one. Rubies have traditionally been used in coronation rings (of Monarchs) as central stones until the reign of George IV; Queen Adelaide simply revived the tradition, albeit for a consort. The Coronation Ring (Monarch's ring initially created for William IV) features a sapphire as the centre stone, with rubies overlaying the sapphire in form of a cross.
Do you think some future monarch would break up Queen Victoria's small crown? I know it's an historic and beautiful piece but, let's face it, the chances of anyone actually wearing it again are remote. There are too many magnificent diamonds going on there to just leave it in a glass case forever. It could be turned into a lovely new tiara which would actually be worn. I'm a firm believer that jewellery should be worn rather than left to just sit there.
Do you think some future monarch would break up Queen Victoria's small crown? I know it's an historic and beautiful piece but, let's face it, the chances of anyone actually wearing it again are remote. There are too many magnificent diamonds going on there to just leave it in a glass case forever. It could be turned into a lovely new tiara which would actually be worn. I'm a firm believer that jewellery should be worn rather than left to just sit there.
Maybe future Queen consorts could wear it at state openings instead of a tiara.
Thank you to Warren and Artemisia for this info and pictures.
Question about Queen Consort Ring. In Warren's response the ring looks like amethyst but Artemisia says that it is ruby - the same as the Consort's ring. Can you confirm which it is?
No But I’m Sure It’s Ruby Because The Color Of The Ston Seems Ruby , Dear The Amethyst Looks Dark purple Color Or Mauve Color , and about what you meant in warren pics the Ston Color Going To Dark Pink .
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It is ruby. The main stone is somewhere around 50 carats, so it is no lightweight. Remember that rubies are actually red sapphires and can range from very pale pink to bright maroon. Corundum comes in all different colors.
Do you think some future monarch would break up Queen Victoria's small crown? I know it's an historic and beautiful piece but, let's face it, the chances of anyone actually wearing it again are remote. There are too many magnificent diamonds going on there to just leave it in a glass case forever. It could be turned into a lovely new tiara which would actually be worn. I'm a firm believer that jewellery should be worn rather than left to just sit there.
Somewhere, I've seen a photo of Queen Alexandra wearing the small diamond crown with a second tiara sitting in front. As if one tiara wasn't enough!
I seriously doubt that Victoria's small diamond crown will be broken up. It has a good deal of historical value as the favorite crown of Queen Victoria in her old age, and the fact that it was added to the crown jewels collection cements its value. Besides, it's not like the Queen doesn't have other pieces in her vaults that she could break up if she needed diamonds.
I can't imagine that anyone would disassemble a crown of such historic significance!
And, on my monitor, that certainly looks like a ruby (although of course I do not have the ability to look at it through a loop to see if it's genuine, )
It now forms part of the Crown Jewels so only another Cromwell (ugh) could or would break it up.
But they wouldn't really be breaking it up, just amending it? Surely the monarch can make changes to the Crown Jewels, so long as they don't sell or in some other way remove them from the collection?
I just think the chances of anyone wearing the small crown as currently constituted are non-existant, and the jewels involved are too fabulous to allow that.
I love that petite crown and am glad it's part of the Crown Jewels so it can't be disassembled. I also remember that photo of Alexandra wearing it nestled within her larger tiara.
__________________ A book should be either a bandit or a rebel or a man in the crowd..... D.H. Lawrence
I love that petite crown and am glad it's part of the Crown Jewels so it can't be disassembled. I also remember that photo of Alexandra wearing it nestled within her larger tiara.
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