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Posted by Gert-Jan
on June 29, 2012, 6:48 am, in reply to "10,000 diamonds go on display at Buckingham Palace to mark the Jubilee "
89.146.6.202
Some gorgeous photos from the site of the Daily Mail:
--Previous Message--
: 10,000 diamonds go on display at Buckingham
: Palace to mark the Jubilee
:
:
:
: More than 10,000 diamonds set in works
: acquired by six monarchs over three
: centuries go on display at Buckingham Palace
: to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s 60-year
: reign. The special exhibition Diamonds: A
: Jubilee Celebration (30 June – 8 July &
: 31 July – 7 October) includes a number of
: The Queen’s personal jewels and works from
: the Royal Collection chosen for their
: artistic significance and their historic
: importance, and for the supreme skill in
: diamond cutting and mounting they embody.
:
: Several pieces of jewellery, such as the
: Delhi Durbar Tiara, Queen Victoria’s Fringe
: Brooch and the Kokoshnik Tiara, are on
: display for the first time. The exhibition
: also includes jewellery made from the
: world’s largest diamond, the Cullinan
: Diamond, which weighed 3,106 carats as an
: uncut stone. Pieces containing seven of the
: nine principal stones cut from the Cullinan
: Diamond are reunited for the first time.
: They include the Cullinan III and IV Brooch,
: worn by The Queen for the National Service
: of Thanksgiving for Her Majesty’s Diamond
: Jubilee, at St Paul’s Cathedral, on 5 June
: 2012.
:
: Diamond, the hardest natural material known,
: has for centuries carried associations of
: endurance and longevity. These qualities,
: allied to the purity, magnificence and value
: of the stones, have led rulers to deploy
: diamonds in regalia, jewellery and precious
: objects. Individual diamonds have achieved
: great renown, passing down the generations
: and between enemies or allies as potent
: symbols of sovereignty and as precious
: gifts. Many of these extraordinary stones
: have undergone a number of transformations
: during their history, having been re-cut or
: incorporated into new settings as fashions
: and tastes
: have changed.
:
: The exhibition includes several pieces
: commissioned by Queen Victoria, the only
: other monarch to celebrate a Diamond
: Jubilee. They include the magnificent
: Coronation Necklace created for her and
: subsequently worn by Queen Alexandra, Queen
: Mary, Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother) and
: Her Majesty The Queen at their coronations.
: Also on display is the beautiful miniature
: crown worn by Queen Victoria for her
: official Diamond Jubilee portrait in 1897.
: The crown’s 1,187 diamonds give it a
: grandeur that belies its tiny proportions –
: it measures just 9 x 10cm.
:
: During The Queen’s reign, diamonds acquired
: by previous monarchs have continued to play
: an important role on State and ceremonial
: occasions. The Diamond Diadem, made for the
: famously extravagant coronation of George IV
: in 1821, has been worn by The Queen to and
: from theState Opening of Parliament since
: the first of her reign. Set with 1,333
: brilliant-cut diamonds, it is one of Her
: Majesty’s most widely recognised pieces of
: jewellery, appearing on British and
: Commonwealth stamps and also on certain
: issues of banknotes and coinage.
:
: Among items of The Queen’s personal
: jewellery are a number of pieces marking
: important events in Her Majesty’s life. The
: South Africa Necklace was presented to the
: then Princess Elizabeth on her 21st birthday
: in 1947. The Williamson Brooch incorporates
: at its centre what is considered to be the
: finest pink diamond ever discovered. The
: diamond was found in Tanzania in 1947 by the
: Canadian geologist Dr JT Williamson, who
: gave the uncut stone to Princess Elizabeth
: for her wedding in November that year.
:
: The exhibition also includes historic
: objects that show the skill and ingenuity
: with which diamonds have been used in
: different cultures and traditions. They
: include the exquisite 18th-century
: bloodstone box made for King Frederick the
: Great of Prussia. The box incorporates
: nearly 3,000 diamonds arranged pictorially
: to represent flowers, insects and musical
: instruments. The Jaipur Sword was presented
: to King Edward VII for his coronation in
: 1902 by the Maharajah of Jaipur. It is set
: with 719 diamonds, weighing a total of 2,000
: carats.
:
: Exhibition curator Caroline de Guitaut said,
: ‘The exhibition shows how over the past
: three centuries monarchs have used diamonds
: to display magnificence, whether in personal
: adornment or as a statement of power. Each
: piece demonstrates breathtaking workmanship
: and extraordinary ingenuity in design.
: Diamonds have of course long been associated
: with endurance and longevity, so this is a
: very fitting way to mark Her Majesty’s 60
: years on the throne.’
:
:
:
: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
:
: For further information and photographs,
: please contact the Royal Collection Press
: Office, +44 (0)20 7839 1377,
: press@royalcollection.org.uk. A selection
: of images is also available from
: www.picselect.com.
:
: www.royalcollection.org.uk
:
:
: source:
: http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/press-release/10000-diamonds-go-on-display-at-buckingham-palace-to-mark-the-jubilee
:
:
:
723
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