Just over eight months after revealing that he had cancer and was receiving treatment, King Charles embarked on his Australian tour with Queen Camilla (formerly Camilla Parker Bowles) by his side.
There’s been so much attention on the monarch because this is his first extended trip and tour since his diagnosis, but an accessory his wife wore is garnering a lot of attention now as it’s in the shape of and named after a sea creature. Here’s more on the very expensive piece of jewelry and how much it’s worth.
The expensive accessory Queen Camilla just wore is inspired by marine life
At the time of her death, Queen Elizabeth II had an estimated net worth of $600 million. That number is for her personal assets, not the assets of The Crown Estate which is estimated to be in the billions. When it comes to the royal jewelry collection, that too is separated into two parts: what the late monarch personally owned and the Crown Jewels.
Jewelry influencer Ella Kay told Express that the latter are “regalia used in ceremonies of state, like corporations” and are “owned by the sovereign in a trust.” The queen’s personal collection on the other hand is “any jewels that she inherited, were gifted to her, or she bought herself are what would be passed on to her loved ones.”
Queen Elizabeth II departs after the royal wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland | Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
One of the most iconic pieces of jewelry Queen Elizabeth was seen wearing on a number of engagements and to high-profile events over the years is the Scallop-Shell Brooch.
Jewelry expert Maxwell Stone of the U.K. retailer Steven Stone shared that the brooch which “features pave set diamonds around a single pearl, was made in 1919. It was left to Queen Elizabeth [The Queen Mother] by Courtauld-Thomsen’s sister, Winifred Hope Thomsen. The Queen Mother regularly wore the piece, most notably during her 100th birthday celebrations in 2000. When she sadly passed away in 2002, she left the brooch to her daughter.”
Queen Elizabeth II rocked the eye-catching brooch for years to the Royal Ascot and garden parties at Buckingham Palace. She sported it when she delivered her Christmas speech in 2020 in the midst of a national lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic too. The late queen also was seen wearing the accessory when she attended the wedding of Zara and Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2011.
As with many of the late monarch’s treasures, the diamond brooch has been inherited by Queen Camilla. She first debuted the piece at Royal Ascot in 2023. The new queen then wore it during another royal tour when she and King Charles visited Kenya the following October. Camilla had it on again in June 2024 for a commemorative event in France marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
On Oct. 21, 2024, the king and queen were in Canberra for a parliamentary reception at the Australian Parliament House. For that occasion, Camilla donned Chanel heels and a white silk crepe court dress by Anna Valentine, which the Courtauld Thomson Scallop-Shell Brooch was pinned to.
How much the Scallop-Shell Brooch is worth
When asked about the value of the Scallop-Shell Brooch, Stone said: “I’d estimate the sea life-inspired brooch to be worth £30,000 ($36,000).”
He added: “Queen Elizabeth had some of the most incredible jewels I’ve ever seen. Whilst it’s difficult to put a price on them, as they come with so much history and legacy, after analyzing 25 of her most iconic brooches, I’d estimate them to be collectively worth over £90,000,000 ($116,830,000.)”
