Thanks Brock. I see it now. Just looked at Dressing the Queen pages 82 & 83, and it is a pity the pics don't have captions. There are 15 drops, so 8 is the central drop with 7 and 9 each side of it. 7 and 9 seem to be the largest of the 15. But I see that the obstacles to all drops swinging freely are the sides of the circles, not the bases.
Edit: I'm now thinking that whether the drops are in front or behind could depened on which dresser is on duty!
--Previous Message-- : : Edit: but but, for the Mandela banquet the : emeralds are behind the circles, aren't : they? : : : No, below is a comparison. On the left is a : screen grab from the Buckingham Palace : banquet with the drops resting on top/in : front of the inner diamond frames, : particularly noticable in the large central : drops. On the right is the Golden Jubilee : reception in Toronto with the emerald drops : dangling behind the frames: : : :