Yesterday the replica of the Russian Imperial Crown arrived in Amsterdam on a special transport. It is one of the main pieces of the new Catherine The Great exhibition, which opens to the public this Saturday.
This particular model was made in 2012 to celebrate the coronation of Catherine The Great 250 years before. It contains 11,352 real diamonds, over two times the amount on the original, with a total mass of 1180,00 carats (236 gram). In the middle of the headband, there is a precious stone of 10,11 carats (about 2 grams). In the middle of the crown, there are two rows of 74 white pearls and the crown is topped with a rare ruby red stone, a tourmaline. It was made by Smolenser Briljants, with the diamonds being cut by a company called Kristall from Smolensk, who is also the owner of the replica.
The original piece was made by Jérémie Pauzié, for the coronation of Catherine The Great. It is currently on permanent display in the treasury of the Diamond Fund of the Russian Federation, and it is not allowed to leave the country.
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