King Charles coronation 2023: Most expensive Royal jewellery from Imperial State Crown to £66.3m necklace

The coronation of King Charles III is around the corner and the Imperial State Crown will be centre stage for the spectacle.
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King Charles III’s coronation is almost here and millions of people around the world will be tuning in to watch the event.  On Saturday May 6, the coronation will be in full swing - and one dazzling element to the day is what the royals will wear.

The Imperial State Crown will be used by King Charles at the end of the coronation ceremony. This breathtaking headpiece is composed of gold and set with an impressive array of gems: 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls, and four rubies.

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The current version of the Imperial State Crown was made for King George VI’s Coronation in 1937, replacing the crown that was created for Queen Victoria in 1838. Royals including King Charles himself, Camilla Queen Consort and Kate,the Princess of Wales, will have all eyes on them as they don their finest jewels for the special event.

To celebrate the coronation, financial researchers at Cashfloat have explored which pieces of the royal family’s jewellery collection are the most expensive and have unveiled the most valuable of them all. Here’s everything you need to know.

Most expensive jewellery items owned by the Royal Family

The Imperial State CrownThe Imperial State Crown
The Imperial State Crown

The Imperial State Crown takes first place in the ranking for the most expensive jewellery items owned by the Royals. The crown, which is not the headpiece used to crown a monarch, is worth an estimated £5bn.

In second place is the Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace, worth an estimated £66.3million.

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In 1947, five years before she became Queen, Princess Elizabeth was given the Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace as a gift for her engagement to Philip Mountbatten.

This lavish necklace, with over 50 diamonds set in platinum, has been featured in multiple portraits of the Queen prior to her coronation and has even been loaned to the Princess of Wales multiple times in recent years.

In third place is the Delhi Durbar Emerald Choker, worth an estimated £16,060,200.

The Delhi Durbar necklace was one of the Queen’s most distinguished and precious possessions.

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Consisting of nine emeralds that were previously owned by Queen Mary’s grandmother, as well as an 8.8-carat diamond cut from the Cullinan diamond, reputed to be the largest diamond ever discovered.

The top 10 most expensive items of jewellery owned by the Royal Family is as follows:

  1. Imperial State Crown - worth an estimated £5bn
  2. Nizam of Hyderabad Necklace - worth an estimated £66.3m
  3. Delhi Durbar Emerald Choker - £16m
  4. The Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara - worth an estimated £10m
  5. The Prince Albert Brooch- worth an estimated £8m 
  6. The Queen Mary Fringe Tiara - worth an estimated £5m
  7. The Lotus Flower Tiara - worth an estimated £4m
  8. The Meander Tiara - worth an estimated £3m 
  9. Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau - worth an estimated £2m 
  10. Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara - worth an estimated £1m