Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Empress Crystobel's Rubies)

Time for my favourite, posting on the jewellery of the Royals. 

Regardless of the few weeks we lost, I thought it would be nice to pick up where we left off on the topic of rubies. So for today's post I selected the very impressive ruby collection of the Empress Crystobel of Scot-Britania. This collection is probably the biggest and most valuable in all the world and also has some important historic provenance attached to some of the pieces. I chose to report on this particular collection because I am still in a defiant mood in response to the vulgar attack on my Principality of Swann. Here's to beauty, magnificence and resplendent rubies.

In 2010 at the Annual Christmas Ball Empress Crystobel chose to "wow" the guests with the Nizam Ruby Demi-Parure and her Birthday Diamond Tiara. The rubies in this set are absolutely massive and are said to have their origin in the ancient Kingdom of Hindia in the far east. They ended up in the collection of the Kings of Britannia through colonial tribute and were saved from the 1996 revolution when the Empress happened to send a big portion of the jewels off to Americania for repairs and valuations mere weeks before the tragedy struck.

In this picture the vast size of the rubies can be appreciated. Empress Crystobel wears the earrings far more often than the necklace. 

In this State Portrait taken in 2010 to commemorate her birthday, Empress Crystobel chose to wear, along with the Nizam earrings, part of her Dowry Ruby Collection. Her Imperial Majesty seems to enjoy mixing and matching the rubies available to her. The rubies in the Dowry Tiara is said to have belonged to the wife of the first King of Scotney as an independent Kingdom. They remained uncut for centuries until Queen Crystobel I of Scotney had them faceted and set into this tiara.

The picture above was taken by the jeweller who was asked to polish the jewellery in advance of the aforementioned State Portrait. It does not portray the entire Dowry Collection but only the ones the Empress considered to wear. 

Here Empress Crystobel wears the choker and small earrings from the Dowry set at a private family function in 2009. The Dowry Ruby Collection is a conglomerate of many pieces from the Kingdom of Scotney. Empress Crystobel was given the bulk of the historic jewellery on her 21st birthday in advance of a future marriage. Later additions of modern jewellery pieces were added by her father and even a brooch was added by her husband on their fifth wedding anniversary. The jewellery is the private property of the Empress but the expectancy is that most if not all will end up in the Imperial Family Foundation upon her death. For the record, The Dowry set contains, 1 Tiara, 1 Bracelet, 1 Brooch, 2 sets of Earrings and 3 Necklaces. Before anybody passes on though, nothing is to stop this almost haphazard collection from increasing by another few pieces. Empress Crystobel does not lack the love of rubies nor the cash for such possibilities.

This was the last State Portrait taken of the Empress before the revolution, to survive. It was taken upon her fifth wedding Anniversary in 1993 and also to celebrate the establishment of the United Empire of Scot-Britania. She wears the third necklace and second set of earrings from the Dowry Collection and the new brooch that was added by the Emperor. The necklace was a gift from her father upon her marriage. The Tiara however is not a part of the Empress' Dowry Collection but rather from the Crown Jewel Collection of the Kingdom of Britania. The Crown Rubies however will be discussed at another time.