Earlier this year, Buckingham Palace confirmed the details of Queen Camilla’s coronation crown – the royal has chosen Queen Mary’s Crown, which was made for King George V’s consort for the 1911 coronation.
Though she’s making some changes and in a touching tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, the crown will be reset with some of the late monarch’s diamonds. It also will no longer include the infamous Koh-i-Noor diamond.
Diamond experts at Steven Stone have revealed everything you need to know about the crown – including its staggering value.
Queen Mary’s Crown is one of the most iconic pieces of regalia in the British monarchy, known for its intricate design and the precious gems that adorned it.
Inspired by the historic British Crown Jewels, the crown was designed by the Crown Jeweller, Garrard & Co and worn by Queen Mary to the coronation of King George V in 1911.
The crown reportedly took over 8000 hours and cost £50,000 to make. Composed of a silver frame, lined with gold, it’s set with a whopping 2,200 diamonds – mostly brilliant-cut, with some rose-cut.
1911 coronation: St Mary’s Crown contained three large diamonds – the Koh-i-Noor, Cullinan III and Cullinan IV.
1937 coronation: The Koh-i-Noor diamond was moved from St Mary’s Crown to the crown of Queen Elizabeth, and the Cullinan III and IV diamonds were set as a brooch.
2023 coronation: St Mary’s Crown will be set with the Cullinan V, Cullinan IV and Cullinan III diamonds.
Cullinan V
The Cullinan V is a beautiful heart-shaped diamond that weighs 18.8 carats. It was set in platinum by Garrard in 1911, to create a multi-purpose piece, to be used in different items of jewellery. Queen Mary wore it on her crown for the 1911 coronation, and as the centre stone on her famous honeysuckle tiara on many occasions.
However, most of the time, the Cullian V diamond featured in a brooch setting, which was passed down to Queen Elizabeth II, who wore it frequently over the decades.
From London Fashion Week in February, 2018 to her annual Christmas broadcast in 2008, it was one of the Queen’s most famous pieces.
Our experts estimate the brooch to be worth £2,000,000.
Cullinan III & Cullinan IV
The Cullinan III diamond is a 94.4-carat pear-cut stone that was originally set in the coronation crown made for Queen Mary, consort of King George V.
The Cullinan IV diamond is a square-cut 63 carat diamond.
The Cullinan III and Cullinan IV are the third and fourth largest stones cut from the famous Cullinan Diamond.
At present, Cullinan III is usually worn as a brooch, in a configuration that includes Cullinan IV.
In 1953, Queen Elizabeth inherited the brooch, however she didn’t wear it very often. In 1959, she loaned the brooch to London’s Ageless Diamond exhibition, and in 2012 it was part of another exhibition at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Our experts estimate the brooch to be worth a staggering £50,000,000.
“Queen Camilla will be crowned with Queen Mary’s Crown, which was commissioned by Queen Mary for King George V’s 1911 coronation. Though the royal is making some changes, with the biggest being the exclusion of the infamous Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is worth £494 million alone.
A particularly heartwarming change that the Queen Consort is making is the incorporation of some of the diamonds from Queen Elizabeth II’s personal jewellery collection into the crown – all of which are cut from the showstopping Cullinan diamond.
It’s incredibly difficult to put a price on a historic piece like St Mary’s Crown. Taking into account the removal of the Koh-i-Noor diamond and the addition of the three Cullinan diamonds – which boast a total value of £52 million – the crown is likely to be worth around £400 million.”
maxwell stone, leading diamond expert, steven stone
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