How Much Are the British Crown Jewels Worth? $1B to $6B, Depending Who You Ask
The British Crown Jewels have never been formally valued, never insured in the ordinary sense, and can't be sold, so every figure you've seen is an estimate. Those estimates run from about $1.2 billion to $5.8 billion for the whole collection, with one historian's figure of "more than £3 billion" quoted most often. Here's what's actually in the Tower of London, what the major pieces are thought to be worth, and why the honest answer is that nobody knows.
What the collection is
The Crown Jewels are around 140 ceremonial objects set with roughly 23,000 gemstones, kept in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. Most date from 1661 onward, because Oliver Cromwell had the medieval regalia melted down after the Civil War. The collection includes crowns, sceptres, orbs, swords, rings, robes, plate and the coronation spoon, which survived Cromwell and is the oldest piece.
They belong to the Royal Collection, held in trust by the monarch for the nation. The King can't sell them any more than he can sell Buckingham Palace.
The pieces that carry the value
The Imperial State Crown. The crown the monarch wears leaving the coronation and at the State Opening of Parliament. It holds 2,868 diamonds, 269 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and four rubies, including the Cullinan II (317 carats), the Black Prince's Ruby (actually a spinel) and St Edward's Sapphire. Estimates for this one crown range from tens of millions to several billion dollars, which tells you how little the estimates mean.
St Edward's Crown. The solid gold coronation crown, used only at the moment of crowning. About 2.2 kg of gold set with 444 stones. Estimates cluster around $40 million to $60 million.
The Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross. Holds the Cullinan I, at 530 carats the largest clear-cut diamond in the world. Figures of around $400 million for the diamond alone are widely quoted and, again, are guesses: no diamond of that size has ever been sold.
The Queen Mother's Crown. Contains the Kohinoor, which has its own page: how much is the Kohinoor worth.
The Sovereign's Orb, the Coronation Spoon, the swords and the rest. Individually valuable, collectively dwarfed by the two Cullinan stones and the crowns.
Why the estimates are so far apart
Three reasons:
- Nothing comparable has ever sold. The biggest diamonds at auction are a tenth the size of the Cullinan I. The Pink Star, 59.6 carats, holds the record at $71.2 million. Extrapolating from that to a 530-carat stone is a guess.
- History doesn't have a price list. A crown that's been used at every coronation since 1661 isn't a crown plus some diamonds. The same applies to the Kohinoor and to the regalia generally.
- They'll never be tested. Because they can't be sold, no valuer has had to put a defensible figure on them, and no insurer has had to pay out. The Royal Collection describes them as priceless and leaves it at that.
So when a newspaper says "worth £3 billion", read it as "a historian's best guess at a number that will never be checked."
The parts that do have a price
The monarch's personal jewellery is different from the Crown Jewels. Queen Elizabeth II's private collection, which included pieces like the Cullinan III and IV brooch (cut from the same stone as the big Cullinans) and the Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara, passed privately on her death. These pieces could in theory be sold, and some royal jewellery has been: items that belonged to Princess Diana have gone through auction houses with real hammer prices, which we cover in how much Princess Diana's jewellery is worth.
What this means for your jewellery
Royal jewels are an extreme case of something that applies to any piece: the metal and the stones are the floor, and the story is whatever someone will pay above that. For almost all jewellery, there is no story premium, and the resale price is the stones and the gold, usually well below what was paid at retail. The Valued app can identify a piece from a photo and give you a starting estimate, and our guide to finding out what an antique is worth explains how to check against real sales.
Common questions
How much are the Crown Jewels worth in dollars?
Estimates range from about $1.2 billion to $5.8 billion. The collection has never been formally valued or sold, so these are guesses. A widely quoted figure is "more than £3 billion."
Are the Crown Jewels insured?
Not in the usual way. They're held in trust for the nation and described as priceless, and there's no public insurance valuation.
Who owns the Crown Jewels?
The monarch holds them in trust for the nation as part of the Royal Collection. They aren't the King's personal property and can't be sold.
What is the most valuable piece in the Crown Jewels?
The Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross, because it holds the 530-carat Cullinan I, is usually named as the single most valuable object, with estimates around $400 million for the diamond. The Imperial State Crown is the most valuable crown.