Jewellery
Jewellery (British English) or jewelry (American English) consists of small decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western perspective, the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal, often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as shells and other plant materials may be used. It is one of the oldest type of archaeological artefact – with 100,000-year-old beads made from "Nassarius" shells thought to be the oldest known jewellery. The basic forms of jewellery vary between cultures but are often extremely long-lived; in European cultures the most common forms of jewellery listed above have persisted since ancient times, while other forms such as adornments for the nose or ankle, important in other cultures, are much less common.
Crown jewels
Sweden's Crown Jewels are kept deep in the vaults of the Royal Treasury, underneath the Royal Palace in Stockholm, in a museum which is open to the public. The symbols of the Swedish monarchy have not actually been worn since 1907, but are still displayed at weddings, christenings and funerals. Until 1974 the crown jewels were also displayed at the opening of the "Riksdag" (Parliament). Among the oldest objects are the sword of Gustav Vasa and the crown, orb, sceptre and key of King Erik XIV and numerous other sovereigns.The crown jewels of England, now of the United Kingdom, are kept in the Tower of London. Apart from a 12th-century anointing spoon, they all date from after Restoration of Charles II in 1661. The ancient crown jewels of England were destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in 1649 when he established the Commonwealth of England. St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the coronation regalia, used at the moment of crowning and exchanged for the lighter Imperial State Crown, which is also worn at State Openings of Parliament. Among the precious stones on the crown are Cullinan II, the Stuart Sapphire, St Edward's Sapphire, and the Black Prince's Ruby (a spinel). On the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross is Cullinan I, the largest clear cut diamond in the world. Wives of kings are crowned as Queen Consort with a plainer set of regalia. The Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother houses the 105-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond. In addition to crowns there are also various orbs, swords, coronets, rings and other pieces of regalia.