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Queen Elizabeth II has so much jewellery that she has a special room to keep it in about the size of an ice rink, situated in the basement of Buckingham Palace. Valued in the region of £30 million, much of this collection has been given as gifts to the queen, at the time of her engagement, marriage and then on royal visits.
The queen although famed for her modesty in her daily dress, preferring tweeds and scarves, is a glamorous figure when dressed in her finery for a State occasion and it is then that she enjoys wearing some of her most beautiful and cherished pieces.
One of the highlights of her collection is the 'Timur Ruby'. This fabulous stone, fashioned into a necklace is actually a spinel, weighing an extraordinary 352.50 carats. In 1739 when it was seized by the then Shah of Persia when he invaded India. It was then taken back to England by the East India company, and is most famous for its inscriptions, each of its previous owners have inscribed it, the first being 1612 AD, although it is thought that it had some three of four owners previous to this date.
Amongst other favourites of Her Majesty are some fantastic sets of emeralds. set in gold and surrounded by diamonds these are presented in the form of earrings, and matching necklace and diadem.
Much of the Queen's jewellery has been handed down to her, particular among her favourites is a large sapphire given to Queen Victoria by Prince Albert before their wedding, and Queen Mary's large ruby earrings, and v-shaped ruby and diamond bandeau collar which the Queen models on the front cover of the publication 'The Jewels of Queen Elizabeth' by Leslie Field.
Of course diamonds feature heavily in the Queen's collection. The largest diamond ever found is called the Cullinan diamond, named after Sir Thomas Cullinan. The stone, was presented to King Edward V11, and was cut into large parts, eventually becoming eleven large gem quality stones. Two of the largest are now in the crown jewels, and two, known as the Cullinan III, and IV, belong to our present Queen. She amusingly refers to these unrivalled stones as 'Granny's chips', as they were passed to her as an heirloom and will be in turn passed on to the next queen, to be worn with pleasure but saved for the nation.
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