Designs had already recreated many
of the royal jewels for exhibition and
productions such as Victoria, a series
produced in the U.K. and aired on
PBS. I had a chance to admire their
handiwork in Costuming The Crown
at Winterthur Museum in Delaware.
The replicas of the diamond
tiaras looked remarkably real, even
close up. The copied crowns, whileimpressive, didn’t read as precious
antiques in the glare of museum
lighting. Actual medieval crowns and
scepters, like those I saw recently in
Vienna’s Hofburg Treasury hous-
ing many Habsburg artifacts, are
displayed in very dim light, lending
their high-karat gold and ancient
cabochons a dramatic glow.
But on screen, the replicas are
totally convincing. Jane Petrie,
costume designer for season one,
said she suspects real jewels would
cause too much fl ash under set
lights. The Tomases don’t take this
into account when they replicate,
whether for stage, screen, or exhibi-
tion. “I don’t think it matters really,”
Teresa says. “Lighting is somebody
else’s problem.”
The Imperial Crown that sits in
the Tower of London is based on
one made for Queen Victoria in
1838 — and shattered seven years
later when it slid off its presentation
pillow during the opening of Par-liament, as the Duke of Argyll was
carrying it to the queen. “It was all
crushed and squashed like a pud-
ding that had sat down,” Victoria
wrote in her diary.
Mishaps like these are one rea-
son the monarch is so protective
of the originals. The original Impe-
rial Crown is decorated with 2,783
diamonds (mainly brilliant- and
rose-cut), 277 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11
emeralds, four rubies, and the blob-
by “Black Prince’s Ruby” — actually
a spinel. Gems were remounted by
Garrad & Co. for the 1937 coronation
of Elizabeth’s father, King George VI,
and the crown was adjusted for the
petite young queen.
The Tomases recreate all the
crowns by hand, with the help of
one studio assistant. The only partsdesign
“We did get a very
strange review
saying the George
III tiara was made
too well, because
the original broke
and had to be
fixed quickly. I
didn’t even know
about this.”Replicas of Marie Antoinette’s
necklace and King George IV earrings
created by Teresa and Marek Tomas;
on display in the Cayman Islands.
PHOTO: COURTESY TERESA TOMASMAY/JUNE 2020 65
64 McCarthy_ToCopyTheCrown_mayjune20.indd 65 3/17/20 9:43 AM