This month we celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III. As makers and retailers of fine jewellery it’s a pleasure to see the crown jewels on display and the amazing gemstones and priceless diamonds they contain.
To mark the occasion a new coronation hallmark has been released with an image of the Kings head which will be able to be stamped into jewellery made in this year.
When King Charles is coronated, upon his head will be placed St Edward’s Crown. Made of 22ct yellow gold it weighs almost 5lbs and is adorned with precious and semi-precious stones with a value estimated of 3-5 billion pounds!
This crown was remade in 1661 for the crowning of Charles II after the original was melted down in 1649 by Parliamentarians following the execution of King Charles I. The lost original crown was said to have belonged to Edward the Confessor dating back to 11th Century.
Interestingly it only ever contained ‘rented’ gemstones. It wasn’t until 1911 that King George V had the crown set with its own semi-precious gemstones and it was last used for crowning Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
However, the crown King Charles III will wear when he leaves Westminster Abbey is the Imperial State Crown. This is the crown Queen Elizabeth wore after her coronation and was the crown displayed on the queen’s coffin.
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The crown is made of gold and set with 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls, and 4 rubies!
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The crown contains some of the most famous jewels in the collection. These include the Black Prince’s Ruby, the Stuart Sapphire, and the Cullinan II diamond.
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St Edward’s Sapphire, set in the centre of the topmost cross, is said to have been worn in a ring by St Edward the Confessor and discovered in his tomb in 1163.
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The Imperial State Crown was made for the Coronation of King George VI in 1937, replacing the crown made for Queen Victoria in 1838.
The Black Princes’ Ruby is a large and irregularly cut ruby weighing a massive 170 carats. It was said to be worn by King Henry V in the battle of Agincourt in 1415 and has a hole drilled right through it so the king could display a feather in his helmet!
The most stunning centre piece of the crown though is the large diamond in the centre, the Cullin II diamond weighing 317 carats. Valued at around 2 billion pounds as part of the Crown Jewels, it was bought at the time for £150,000 and gifted to Edward VII in 1907 by the Transvaal Government of South Africa, as a token of loyalty.
Camilla, the Queen Consort will wear Queen Marys crown made for King George V’s coronation in 1911. The crown is composed of a silver frame, lined with gold, and set with 2,200 diamonds, mainly brilliant-cut, with some rose-cut. The crown was originally set at the front with the Cullinan IV, a large cushion-shaped diamond of 186 carats, once estimated to have a value of half of the daily expenditure of the world. However, this controversial stone has been removed and the crown returned to its original design.
There are many interesting stories surrounding the crown jewels. In fact, the monarchs of old were not averse to using Pawnbrokers to fund their conquests….
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The Koh-I-Noor diamond is said to bring bad luck to any man who wears it as its history is related to a great deal of fighting among men. It is therefore was only worn by the Queens and Queen Consorts of England (but will not be worn by Camilla).
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Edward III once pawned the crown jewels to pay his troops during an overseas campaign. Charles I’s wife also managed to pawn the Crown Jewels in Holland at the beginning of the Civil War.
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King John is said to have lost the original Crown Jewels in quicksand in 1216
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Queen Isabella of Spain famously pawned her crown jewels in 1489 to fund her attempts on the battlefield and to help support Christopher Columbus’s journey to the new world.
Diamonds, gold and gems are what makes jewellery so special. We pride ourselves in the quality of our jewellery although as well as our retail and pawnbroking services, the manufacture, design and repair of jewellery items is one of the main services we offer at Christopher Brown Jewellers.
Our redesign service allows us to give your jewellery a new lease of life and make something as unique and individual as you. We recently undertook a project to design and create a stunning multi-sapphire ring for a customer who loves the stone as its her birthstone.
The result speaks for itself and the customer is delighted with the result which is even more beautiful than as she had hoped.
Those wishing to sell their gold and unwanted jewellery could not pick a better time. We are paying top prices for gold and silver as the price of gold remains near record highs.
Therefore during the month of May, whether you will be celebrating the Coronation, enjoying the endless bank holidays or needing funds to do all of the above, call into Christopher Brown Jewellers and treat yourself to something special. With Christopher Brown Jewellers branches in York, Seacroft, Shipley, Pontefract, Stockport, Prescot and Brown & Gold pawnbrokers in Batley and Toxteth, we have a service to suit everyone.
Chris Brown
