Top Tier

The term priceless is so overused and more often than not falsely stated. In fact, the word has virtually lost all value - except when David Thomas, the Crown Jeweler, says it. P.Ramakrishnan meets a true blue connoisseur of the finer things in life. Portrait by Hyvis Tong.


Every year, a long missive requesting the return of the Kohinoor ('Mountain of Light' in Persian) diamond to Indian authorities is sent from some nether office in New Delhi to Buckingham palace. Originating from India, the 105 carat (21.6g) rock is one of the largest diamonds in the world that historically belonged to Indian and Persian rulers for the past five centuries. When Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877, the sizeable rock made its way into the crown jewels but since the country's independence, certain parliament minds in post-colonial India think that the spoils of war need be returned. The Queen, however, is not amused. As David Thomas, the Crown Jeweller says, "I think the letter is sent every month but the chances of returning the diamond from the crown jewels does seem..."

Preposterous? Laughable?

"Er...unlikely," he says with utmost decorum, in the polished English accent that he has surely acquired from his close proximity to the Royal Family, and the Queen herself in fact. Seated in the bejewelled enclave of Lane Crawford at Hong Kong's ifc mall, where the majestic gems and jewellery of Garrard are on display, during his first visit to the SAR, the man who has handed and maintained the priceless bounty of the UK Royals is fully aware of the history and value of all the individual pieces of jewellery that the family owns. Correction, that the family has access to - as the Crown Jewels belong to no one, but the Sovereign State.


Like many legendary jewels, the Kohinoor that sits on the crown has a fantastic myth orbiting around it; reputed to bring misfortune and death to any male who wears or owns it. However, conversely, it is supposed to bring good luck to its female owners and, all the long living, long-reigning sovereigns of United Kingdom are aware, there's something to be said for the legend.


Well, the Queen is 81 now and rarely travels, and certainly never with the Crown. "The Crown Jewels in the Tower are not allowed to leave the country," explains Thomas. "Because many, many years ago, they did roam about and the kings and queens of those days were not trustworthy and the jewels wouldn't necessarily come back. In 1911, when George V and Queen Mary went to India to be crowned Emperor and Empress, he needed a crown. But the crown in the Tower couldn't possibly cross borders so another one had to be made. All the coloured stones were sent over from nobility of India, diamonds were supplied by Garrard and it was in December 1911 when they made another crown on foreign soil, and it came back. And it has been worn once and once only. Now it rests in the Tower.

One wonders, should any crafty thief decide to try to get their hands on any of the sizeable bounty in the Tower of London (as many a Bollywood hero has done in Hindi films; stealing the crown as in the plot of the latest Indian blockbuster, Dhoom 2) what the repercussions would be. Do the guards circumnavigating the tower stay on high alert for burglars?

"They are always on high alert but, for me, it's really not a major concern as the last time anyone tried to steal the Crown Jewels was in 1671 and they didn't get very far. They barely got to the east gate of the Tower of London," says the Crown Jeweller, encyclopedic with dates and details. "You know, everybody thinks it was a put up job by the then King to get money, but the person who did it, Kernel Blood, was pardoned and given land in Ireland and told not to come back. Everyone who did something wrong was sent off to Ireland - don't ask me why."

David Thomas joined Garrard in 1986 and was invited to apprentice with the Crown Jeweller, with the idea of succeeding the man who held the position before him. "It was a position to consider when my predecessor retired. I trained alongside him for five years and it wasn't foregone conclusion that I would get the job - as the appointment is conferred by the Sovereign and only the Sovereign, that is the Queen herself. The first Crown Jeweller was appointed in 1843, and its succession has gone on and it is now an Act of Parliament. Someone has to be there to take care of and maintain the Crown Jewels. Ten Crowns, numerous dishes, bracelets, rings and cups - in addition to the private collection of the Queen, are collectively designated as the Crown Jewels. After Queen Victoria and Queen Mary's time, there was such large collection that it required someone to watch over it all. Many of the private pieces are not kept in the Tower but in Buckingham Palace itself, as the Queen likes to wear them. Well, she has to wear something, the poor woman!"

As the largest reigning royal figure on the planet and one of the wealthiest, Queen Elizabeth II is the sole figure who can authorise where and to whom any of the jewels may be bestowed upon. "When Queen Mary died and then Queen Victoria, these are the pieces that Her Majesty inherited. They're given to the nation and can't be sold (despite some people having tried many years ago). They belong to the people really and have to be handed down. When the Prince of Wales was married to Diana, there were heritage pieces that were given to her by the Queen that originally belonged to Queen Mary and she knew, tragically killed or not, at the end of her day, they would have to go back."

The late Diana did toy with the jewels given, well, loaned to her. Remember the bandana she made with some notable pearls? "Yes, well, she didn't deliberately set out to do anything controversial then. Little known fact, she was sun-burnt in Australia and it pained her to wear them around her neck so they became a bandana." Since her death, the piece does now rest within the aegis of Thomas. "Heritage pieces travel generations. I guess it will go to Prince William when he gets married. I say 'guess' because it's entirely up to the Sovereign."

With a slight pause and sip of water, he continues in a slightly hushed tone, "I am not privileged to all the information of what the Queen has planned, but I have some idea."

Like the caves mentioned in Ali Baba, the sheer size and breadth of the Monarch's collection one imagines would make one spoilt for choice, but as the confidante to the Queen says, she always returns to classics. "The Queen always wears her pearls. Always, always, always. Three or four strands of pearls, her diamond earrings, and her engagement ring. The ring is never off her finger. She's absolutely devoted to The Duke of Edinburgh, despite whatever reports you read in the paper. You try and it get if off her finger just to get it cleaned and she says, 'Well, it is coming back in five minutes isn't it? Five minutes.' And then she walks around impatiently until it comes back."

Tabloid rumours of gauging Her Majesty's mood according to what jewels she's wearing is pure conjecture, assures the man who likes to clear up common misconceptions of the most written-about family in Europe. "She will pick and choose her own items. There really isn't a correlation between what she gives to the family and how fond she is of the person, and it's cruel and speculative of the media to suggest this. It's not unlike people assuming she's unhappy because she has her blue brooch on. It's entirely a wardrobe choice. Sapphires with blue outfits, rubies with red, and so on."

With a sudden spotlight on rubies in the press, again, it is incredible that there are thousands of websites, hundreds of books, films and TV shows dedicated to the Monarchy and its possessions. "Everyone's interested in royal jewels not just because they are big and beautiful artefacts, but because of a genuine fascination of history and knowing where these pieces come from. The Duchess of Cornwall was wearing this staggering ruby necklace in the US last month and people tried to find out where she got it from, but no one knows the secret of how it was acquired in history."

"It is easy to spot the inaccuracies published," he continues. "There are one or two inaccuracies in the books on royal jewels (which author Suzy Menkes is aware of too). And I constantly read wrong descriptions; something is described as a sapphire diamond brooch and I know it's a diamond brooch, or that it was given by a certain person when I know it wasn't. The press tend to look up their archives in a rushed manner instead of going through the right channels. They just want the photograph out quick and to be the first with the story and not necessarily be accurate and, as the British press does, puts in an apology or a correction the following day in a little square somewhere."

Apologies that should have been printed when online scribes wrote that Garrard was "duplicating" designs from the vaults of the Queen's collection? The company is doing no such thing as Thomas clears up immediately, "You cannot replicate the insignia of the Royal emblem, but the pieces are inspired by the curves, colours and stones that are in the royal collection. That's all. We wouldn't pass off anything and say this is one exactly like what's in the Queen's armoire. The curves of the Royal sceptre have influenced the curves in an earring for example. These are very high end piece where the focus is entirely on quality. The "Wings" collection has been, pardon the pun, flying off the shelves, and people can't get enough of it. All the pieces have been made with the finest stones. As the official jeweller for the Royal Family, one does have standards to maintain."

But of course.