Netflix’s The Crown showcases Queen Elizabeth’s life and times – but what are the crown jewels really worth?
Family drama, sibling rivalry and meltdowns make for interesting television; it’s especially intriguing when the family involved is royal. As the popularity of Netflix’s The Crown proves, we can’t help ourselves when it comes to indulging in the hardships, suffering, miseries and romances of the royal family.
A rich family legacy comes with plenty of perks, and for the queen of England that means access to an arsenal of royal jewels. One piece that marked a key moment on the show, and in Queen Elizabeth’s life, is St Edward’s Crown, the most important and sacred of all the crown jewels, which refers to the ceremonial regalia and other jewellery worn by the sovereign on certain state occasions.
Netflix’s The Crown Season 3: Here’s what we know so far...
We know that the value of royal jewels easily exceeds the cost of the actual gems. But exactly how much would St Edward's Crown be worth?
According to the Tower of London, where parts of the collection are housed, no monetary value is placed on the crown jewels because they are officially priceless. It’s why the collection has never been appraised to be insured. The pieces are part of the larger Royal Collection, which is a public asset; much like Buckingham Palace, and can only be passed down, not sold. The collection includes 140 ceremonial objects set with 23,578 gemstones, among them the famous Cullinan Diamonds and the Sovereign’s Orb.
There’s no consensus on the worth of the jewels; these historic artefacts have value beyond the price of the gems they’re adorned with. Nevertheless, Readers’ Digest has placed a US$4 billion estimate on the collection.
Queen Elizabeth discussed crowns in BBC’s documentary The Coronation, saying: “You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up. Because if you did [look down], your neck would break. So there are some disadvantages to the crowns.” However, she concedes: “Otherwise, they’re quite important things.”
The world’s 21 richest royals revealed
Among the most prestigious pieces of the crown jewels are St Edward’s Crown, better known as the Coronation Crown. It is one of two crowns – the other being the Imperial State Crown – that the queen wore at her coronation. No one else has worn it since she was crowned queen 67 years ago.
Referencing the International Gem Society’s gem size guide, finance blog SavingSpot determined the street value of the gems on St Edward’s Crown – that is, how much it would cost to recreate the piece.
The most expensive components of the crown include seven sapphires valued at over £1.7 million (US$2.2 million), 26 tourmalines worth over £280,000, close to £140,000 worth of aquamarines and over £70,000 worth of 22-carat gold.
7 stunning pieces of pearl jewellery Queen Elizabeth loves to wear
You’ll also need to budget in £28 for the ermine trim and £2.47 for the purple velvet.
For £3.65 million, you too can be the queen of your very own Coronation Crown.
St Edward’s Crown was made for Charles II in 1661 by royal goldsmith, Rober Vyner, according to the Royal Collection Trust. It was a replacement for the crown that was either sold or melted down when Parliament abolished the monarchy in 1649 during the English civil War. The original dates back to the 11th-century and belonged to the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, Edward the Confessor.
The crown rests in the Tower of London, where some of the crown jewels have been kept for the past 600 years. The collection attracts over 30 million visitors each year.
Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter .
According to the Tower of London, where parts of the collection are housed, no monetary value is placed on the crown jewels because they are officially priceless