The government of the Transvaal in South Africa gifted a spectacular African diamond of more than 3000 carats to King Edward VII as a birthday gift in 1905. Jewelry Asscher and Co in Amsterdam cut the magnificent diamond into nine large stones and almost one hundred smaller brilliants.
Today, the nine larger diamonds, collectively known as the Cullinan Diamonds, are used in a variety of pieces in the crown jewels. Two stones are part of the crown jewels; the remaining seven are part of the queen’s personal collection.
Cullinan I, which is 530.2 carats and remains the world’s largest top-quality white cut diamond, was placed in the sovereign’s sceptre with cross in 1910 for George V. The sceptre had been used at every coronation since Charles II’s in 1661. The Cullinan I alone is estimated to be worth $760 million. The sceptre would likely be worth many millions more.
Altar dish
Charles I had to replace many crown jewels after Oliver Cromwell had them destroyed in the mid-1600s. After returning to power, King Charles paid a silversmith £1122 to make a replica of an altar dish that had been in the original crown jewels. In today’s currency, the king would have paid nearly $400,000.