The Sovereign's Sceptre with the Cross — Setting for the Cullinan I
The Sovereign's Sceptre with the Cross — Setting for the Cullinan I
British coronation regalia at the Tower of London, redesigned in 1910 to mount the 530.2-carat Cullinan I diamond
The Sovereign's Sceptre with the Cross is one of the principal pieces of the British Crown Jewels, held at the Tower of London and managed by the Royal Collection Trust. Originally made for the coronation of Charles II in 1661, the sceptre was substantially redesigned by the royal jewellers Garrard & Co. in 1910 to set the Cullinan I diamond — at 530.2 metric carats the largest top-colour, top-clarity polished diamond ever cut — in a new mount above the existing enamelled monde and cross. The sceptre is carried by the sovereign in the right hand during the coronation ceremony, alongside the Sovereign's Orb in the left, and is one of the most visible objects in the British coronation rite.
The original 1661 sceptre
The Sceptre with the Cross was made for Charles II in 1661 as part of the wholesale recommissioning of regalia following the destruction of the mediaeval Crown Jewels during the English Civil War and Interregnum (1649–1660). Robert Vyner, the king's goldsmith, was commissioned to produce the sceptre and a number of other principal pieces. The original sceptre is a slim gold rod with an enamelled monde at the upper end, surmounted by a cross-pattée. The form is consistent with the Continental coronation regalia of the period and with the visual programme of restored monarchy that characterised the early years of Charles II's reign.
The Cullinan diamond and the 1910 redesign
The Cullinan diamond was discovered at the Premier Mine in the Transvaal (now South Africa) on 26 January 1905, weighing 3,106 metric carats in the rough — by far the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever recovered. The Transvaal government purchased the rough in 1907 and presented it to King Edward VII as a gift on his sixty-sixth birthday. The Asscher firm of Amsterdam was contracted to cleave and polish the rough; over a programme of work lasting from 1908 into 1910, the rough was cleaved into nine major stones (Cullinan I through IX) and ninety-six smaller fragments. Cullinan I, a pear-shaped (drop-form) brilliant of 530.2 carats, became the largest of the polished stones; Cullinan II, a cushion brilliant of 317.4 carats, was set in the Imperial State Crown.
The decision to set Cullinan I in the Sovereign's Sceptre was made during 1910. Garrard & Co., as principal court jewellers, were commissioned to produce a new mount above the original monde and cross of the Vyner sceptre that would carry the great diamond. The 1910 design positions Cullinan I in a basket of small platinum claws above the monde, with the original cross set above the diamond. The mount is detachable, so that Cullinan I can be removed from the sceptre and worn separately as a pendant or, in combination with Cullinan II, as a brooch. Queen Mary in particular wore the stone in the latter format, and the brooch use is documented in royal portraiture of the period.
Use in the coronation ceremony
During the British coronation ceremony, the Sovereign's Sceptre with the Cross is carried by the monarch in the right hand and the Sovereign's Orb in the left, after the moment of crowning. The sceptre symbolises the temporal power of the monarch, and the cross at its head represents the Christian framework within which the monarchy presents that power. The sceptre was carried by King Charles III at his coronation in May 2023, and is documented in the coronation ceremonies of every British monarch since Charles II.
Custody and display
The Crown Jewels are held at the Tower of London and managed by the Royal Collection Trust on behalf of the Crown. The Sovereign's Sceptre is on permanent public display in the Jewel House at the Tower, withdrawn from display only for cleaning, conservation, or the rare occasions of state when the regalia is in active use. The Crown Jewels are not the personal property of the monarch but are held in trust for the nation; this distinction has implications for inheritance, sale, and use that are spelled out in the Crown Jewels Act and the practices of the Royal Household.
In the literature
The Sovereign's Sceptre with the Cross is documented in standard references on the British Crown Jewels and in the gemmological literature on the Cullinan diamond. The sceptre is photographed in detail in the Royal Collection Trust's published catalogues and in the standard works of Kenneth Snowman, Anna Keay, and others on royal regalia. Cullinan I itself has been the subject of GIA reporting on historic diamonds and is discussed in Gems & Gemology's coverage of the largest documented stones.