Costuming The Crown
530 carats, is part of the Sovereign
Sceptre we saw upon entering the
exhibition. A life-size image of the
queen greeted us wearing the Coro-
nation Crown, somberly wielding her
scepters.
Cullinan III and IV were also repre-
sented in the exhibition in a replica
of the brooch Queen Mary wore
beside the beaded dress she wore
to Elizabeth’s wedding — a brooch
Elizabeth wears herself for very
special occasions. “These smaller
pieces of the Cullinan were referred
to as ‘Granny’s chips,’” Collison says,
laughing. “Queen Mary loved her
diamonds and pearls.”
Some of the dresses in Costuming
the Crown were as thrilling to beholdlook amazingly realistic. The Cartier
Halo scroll is a replica of the tiara
Kate Middleton wore on her wed-
ding day, overshadowed by the long
white veil attached to it.
Watching The Crown, we discover
the Cartier Halo was a favorite of
Princess Margaret. At Winterthur,
the Halo was shown with the dress
Margaret wore for a portrait by Cecil
Beaton in 1950. A fl owing ballgown
covered in intricately embroidered
butterfl ies, it was reportedly the
most expensive costume made for
the show and far more pristine than
what she wore for her other birth-
day portrait... which appeared to
be nothing, except a killer diamond
necklace and pearl pendant earrings.That naked-looking image her
future husband, Antony Armstrong-
Jones, shot in 1959 created yet
another scandal around Princess
#2. In The Crown, these shoots take
place after the monarchy forces
Margaret to renounce her private
engagement, a point of departure
where she rebelliously whips off her
own crown, literally and fi guratively,
and decides to do, more or less, as
she pleases.
Some of the famous diamonds in
the Tower of London also made a
showing via replica in Costuming the
Crown. After the original 3,106-carat
Cullinan Diamond was cleaved in
1908, pieces were used in various
royal jewels. Cullinan I, the largest atReplica of Princess Margaret’s wedding dress and Poltimore tiara. Replica of Elizabeth II’s wedding dress and the King
George III Fringe Tiara.60 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST
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