But the focus of the exhibit, according to Edgcumbe, is on the human story behind each object rather than on the object itself. “We want to get across the story of people—the people who sold it, the people who wore it, the people who collected it,” he says. One item prized for its colorful history is a stopwatch from the 18th century, valued then at about £20, which was stolen at Enfield racecourse in 1790 by a famous British pickpocket, George Barrington. Barrington was sentenced for the theft to exile in Australia and later reformed, becoming a chief constable in Parramatta, New South Wales.

Another, sadder story attaches to a gold ring from 1801–02, which is inscribed with a curious set of enamel numbers and letters: “md Agd 16, sb Agd 12, wb Agd 10, eb Agd 9, tb Agd 7, rb Agd 5, cd Agd 2” on the outside and, on the inside, “Died from the 16th to the 23rd Feby 1801.”
The band, Edgcumbe explains, was made to commemorate the deaths of seven children from the same family who passed away in a single week, probably during an epidemic of a disease such as smallpox.

“That’s one level of emotion that the jewelry brings to you,” says Edgcumbe. “At the other end, there’s the sheer wonder at the diamonds.”

"Jewel in Its Crown" originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's May 2008 Table of Contents.