- A necklace consisting of 96 rubies by the people of Burma.
- 2 pendants diamonds and rubies, from a Burmese Women Liberation Movement.
This necklace was most likely the wedding gift to the queen from the people of Burma. The number of stones (96) represents the 96 diseases the Burmese believe can afflict the human body. Wearing them guards the wearer not only against illness but also against evil. The queen has never worn the necklace in public.
When Elizabeth was crowned in 1953, Burma gave her a collection of precious gems. This time it were mainly diamonds and rubies, all of very good quality.
The necklace was broken up and the rubies were used together with the diamonds from the tiara given by from The Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar to make the ruby tiara.
This tiara with flower-motifs of this stones was made in 1973 ou 1978 by Gerrard. The design of the jewel is in the form of a wreath of roses. It is conventional yet detailed. There are clusters of rubies in the centre of each flower, and the petals are made using brilliant diamonds.
Maridje308
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