The Queen wears the Crown Rubies in Germany (Photo: Michael Ukas – Pool /Getty Images)

71. The Oriental Circlet and the Crown Rubies: Inspired by Indian motifs he viewed at the Great Exhibition, Prince Albert designed this diamond circlet for Queen Victoria in 1853. The piece was originally studded with opals, and Albert purchased a coordinating suite of opal jewelry to go with the circlet the following year. When the British lost the Hanoverian claim, the circlet had to be remade with new diamonds; in the early 20th century, the entire suite was renovated again when Queen Alexandra had the opals replaced with rubies. The set was designated by Queen Victoria as an heirloom of the crown, and it accordingly passed from Alexandra to Queen Mary to the Queen Mother. However, when George VI died, the Queen Mum retained the suite. The Queen finally inherited the tiara and the accompanying ruby suite from her mother in 2002; since then she has worn the tiara once (paired with the Baring Ruby Necklace) and the rubies occasionally.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

72. Queen Victoria’s Fringe Brooch: This elaborate diamond brooch, which is also sometimes called a “waterfall” brooch, was probably made using jewels that Queen Victoria had received from the Sultan of Turkey in 1856. The piece has been reworked occasionally over the years, and in 1901, Victoria decided to bequeath it personally to her eldest son, King Edward VII. Since then, the piece has been handed from Queen Alexandra to Queen Mary to the Queen Mother and then, in 2002, to the Queen.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

73. Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Brooch: Only two monarchs in British history have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee — Queen Victoria in 1897 and Queen Elizabeth II in 2012. To mark Victoria’s milestone, her Household presented her with this Garrard diamond and pearl brooch. Victoria called the piece “beautiful” and designated it an heirloom of the crown. It subsequently passed to each queen consort, but the Queen Mother held on to the piece until her death in 2002. Since then, the Queen has worn the brooch for both day and evening engagements.

74. Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara: The Queen first wore this diamond fringe tiara in 1947 on her wedding day, but back then it was just a loan. The tiara was made in 1919 for Queen Mary as a more modern, streamlined version of Queen Adelaide’s more cumbersome diamond fringe; in 1936, she gave it to her daughter-in-law, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother). She loaned it to her daughter (Queen Elizabeth II) and her granddaughter (Princess Anne) to wear at their weddings, and in 2002, she bequeathed the tiara to the Queen. Since then, the Queen has worn it occasionally for banquets and portraits.

Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

75. Queen Elizabeth’s Palm Leaf Brooch: This diamond and platinum brooch was made for the Queen Mother by Cartier in 1938. It features a palm-leaf design, although many have noted the visual resemblance to a paisley pattern. The Queen Mum wore the brooch throughout her life, and since inheriting it in 2002, the Queen has also made it a regular part of her brooch rotation.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

76. Queen Elizabeth’s Maple Leaf Brooch: King George VI presented this brooch to his wife in 1939 in honor of their state visit to Canada that year. Made by Asprey, the diamond and platinum brooch is made in the shape of a familiar Canadian national symbol: the maple leaf. The Queen Mother owned the brooch until her death in 2002, but she lent the brooch to the Queen on at least one occasion when she was touring Canada. The Queen later extended the same gesture to her granddaughter-in-law, loaning the brooch to the Duchess of Cambridge for her first Canadian tour in 2011.

Photo: PATRICK HERTZOG/AFP/Getty Images

77. The Centenary Rose Brooch: This brooch is a particularly special part of the Queen Mother’s bequest. In 2000, the Queen gave the rock crystal brooch, which features a hand-painted rose surrounded by diamonds, to her mother as a 100th birthday present. A little over a year later, the Queen Mother willed the brooch back to her daughter. The Queen has worn it often in the years since.

78. The Duchess of Teck’s Flower Brooch: This diamond brooch extends at least three generations back in the Queen’s family tree, and possibly even further. It belonged to her great-grandmother, the Duchess of Teck, who bequeathed it to her son, Adolphus. The brooch made its way somehow from Adolphus to his sister, Queen Mary; she presented it to her son, the future King George VI, as a gift for his new bride, Elizabeth. The Queen Mother absolutely loved this brooch and wore it until the very end of her very long life. In 2002, it was inherited by the Queen, who wore it in a 2010 portrait taken by Lord Snowdon.

Photo: Ernesto Ruscio/Getty Images

79. The Romanov Sapphire Brooch: One of my absolute favorites of the Queen’s brooches, this piece once belonged to Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, sister of Queen Alexandra and mother of the doomed last tsar. Queen Mary purchased the brooch from the late empress’s estate in the 1930s and bequeathed it in 1953 to her daughter-in-law, the Queen Mother. The Queen inherited the gorgeous brooch, which features intricate gold work between the large sapphire and cluster of diamonds, in 2002. Her first public outing in the brooch came during a 2014 visit to the Vatican.

Photo: John Stillwell – WPA Pool /Getty Images

80. Queen Victoria’s Pearl and Diamond Brooch: This intricate pearl and diamond brooch is another of the heirlooms of the crown that the Queen Mother retained after her husband’s death. Set with eleven pearls, Victoria designated it an heirloom of the crown in 1901, and it passed through the line of queens consort to the Queen Mother, who loved the piece and kept it until her death in 2002. Recently it has appeared frequently on the Queen at daytime events.

61. The Burmese Ruby Tiara: At the beginning of her third decade on the throne, the Queen had acquired a few tiaras with colored gemstones, but none set with rubies. (We’ll see later why she didn’t have one ruby tiara, the Oriental Circlet, in her collection at that point.) She remedied this by ordering a new tiara from Garrard. The rubies that went into the piece’s construction had been a wedding gift from the Burmese people in 1947; the diamonds were harvested from another wedding present, the Nizam of Hyderabad Tiara. The new tiara, which is still worn occasionally today, features Tudor roses in its design.

62. The King Khalid Necklace: During an official visit in February 1979, King Khalid of Saudi Arabia presented this classic Harry Winston diamond and platinum necklace to the Queen. It’s easy to see why she’s worn it often at gala events throughout the years; its design is balanced and beautiful. The Queen also lent the necklace to Diana, Princess of Wales during the 1980s.

63. The Dubai Sapphires: During the same Middle East tour in 1979, the Sheikh of Dubai gave the queen a demi-parure of sapphire jewels, including a necklace, bracelet, and earrings. The necklace is notable for its looped shape. The Queen has worn the pieces occasionally since.

64. The Jardine Star Brooch: Lady Jardine bequeathed this classic, star-shaped diamond brooch to the Queen in 1981. Not much is known about the brooch’s provenance, but Leslie Field states that the piece is Victorian. There’s a bit of mystery surrounding its origins, but there’s no question that it has become a firm favorite of the Queen. She even selected it in 2012 for one of the events of her Diamond Jubilee weekend celebrations.

65. The Sri Lankan Floral Spray Brooch: The Queen traveled to Sri Lanka for a state visit in the autumn of 1981, and during the trip she was presented with this lovely floral brooch. The piece is set with multi-colored precious and semi-precious stones; it also combines faceted stones with cabochons.

66. The Qatari Rubies: The Amir of Qatar added to the Queen’s collection of modern ruby jewels in 1985, when he presented her with a new set of jewels during a state visit. The suite includes a diamond and ruby swag necklace and a pair of coordinating earrings. The Queen has often paired the jewels with her Burmese Ruby Tiara.

Photo: JOEL ROBINE/AFP/Getty Images

67. The Pearl Trefoil Brooch: Another favorite brooch with another mysterious provenance — this diamond and pearl brooch has been in the Queen’s collection since the 1980s, but nothing is known about its background. The trefoil shape of the brooch and the five pearls in its setting make it easy to spot among the Queen’s roster of daytime brooches.

68. The Emerald Tassel Suite: First worn in 1989 during a state visit from the United Arab Emirates, this modern suite of diamond and emerald jewelry includes a necklace, a bracelet, and coordinating earrings. The necklace and earrings are especially easy to identify, thanks to their elaborate tassel motifs.

69. The Coral Rose Brooch: This Cartier-made brooch was presented to the Queen in 1990 by the French Order of Liberation. It features a pair of coral roses studded with diamonds, and the Queen has generally worn it to events in France (or related to France) since she received it.

Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

70. The Braemar Feather Brooch: To mark her Golden Jubilee in 2002, the Braemar Royal Highland Society gave the Queen a feather-shaped brooch made of white and yellow gold, silver, and platinum. The Queen has worn it at the annual Braemar Highland Games every year since receiving it.

Queen Elizabeth II wears the George VI Sapphires with the Belgian Sapphire Tiara (Photo: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

51. The New Zealand Silver Fern Brooch: The women of Auckland raised money to buy this diamond and platinum brooch for the Queen. The brooch is shaped like the frond of a tree fern, which is one of the national symbols of New Zealand. It was presented to her on Christmas Day 1953 during her post-coronation tour of the Commonwealth. The Queen was the first reigning monarch to visit New Zealand, and she has often worn the brooch at events related to the country throughout her reign. She also lent the brooch to the Duchess of Cambridge for her visit to New Zealand in 2014.

52. The Australian Wattle Brooch: On the same Commonwealth tour, the Queen was presented with a diamond and platinum brooch in Australia. The wattle is Australia’s national flower, and it was presented to Elizabeth by the country’s prime minister. (Her visit to Australia was also a first for a reigning monarch.) The brooch includes diamonds in shades of white and yellow, and it’s an absolutely eye-catching piece. She continues to wear it regularly today.

53. The Brazilian Aquamarine Tiara and Parure: The Queen’s impressive diamond and aquamarine parure came together in pieces. In 1953, the necklace and earrings were presented to her as coronation gifts by the people of Brazil. Four years later, she had a tiara made to match the earrings and necklace. In 1958, the Brazilian government added two additional pieces to the set: a bracelet and a brooch. And in 1971, the Queen decided to make some changes to the tiara and had it supplemented with additional elements, transforming it into the tiara she still wears today.

54. The Belgian Sapphire Tiara: In 1963, the Queen decided to add an additional tiara to her arsenal, turning the sapphire suite she received as a wedding gift from her father into a more complete parure. The piece she purchased was a converted necklace, and it had a royal legacy — it had previously belonged to Princess Louise of Belgium, a daughter of King Leopold II (and a distant cousin of the Queen through the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha family). She wore the tiara regularly for decades, and it still shows up very occasionally today, including a surprise appearance at last fall’s Chinese state banquet.

55. The Baring Ruby Necklace: The Queen purchased this diamond and ruby necklace in 1964; it was an easier-to-wear ruby option for gala events than the Boucheron necklace she had received from her parents in 1947. (She should have had the crown rubies in her jewelry box at this point, but as we’ll see later, they were elsewhere.) The Queen still wears this triple-pendant necklace occasionally today.

56. The Godman Necklace: In 1965, an exceptionally grand diamond and emerald necklace was offered to the Queen by a pair of elderly sisters, the Godmans. They believed that it had once been owned by Empress Josephine of France. Although the connection to Josephine was eventually proven false, the necklace is a magnificent example of nineteenth-century design, and it’s easy to see why the Queen decided to add it to the royal collection. We don’t see this piece nearly enough today — it’s tough to wear with the gala necklines that the Queen prefers — and I’m hoping to see her lend it to another member of the family in the near future.

57. The Grima Ruby Brooch: This modern ruby, diamond, and gold brooch was given to the Queen in 1966 by the Duke of Edinburgh. It was designed by British-Italian jeweler Andrew Grima, who also dreamed up jewelry for the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret. The Queen still brings this piece out occasionally for events today.

58. The Jordanian Turquoise Demi-Parure: The Queen received this suite of diamond, turquoise, and sapphire jewelry from a fellow monarch: King Hussein of Jordan. The set includes an intricate necklace and coordinating earrings. Unfortunately, the Queen rarely wears the demi-parure, although she has sometimes brought it out of the vaults at Jordanian-related events.

59. The King Faisal Necklace: Another gift from a fellow monarch, this diamond and platinum necklace was presented to the Queen by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia during a state visit in May 1967. The piece was made in 1952 by Harry Winston, and it features 356 diamonds weighing a total of more than 83 carats. In the 1980s, the Queen lent the necklace to Diana, Princess of Wales, and in more recent years, she has also loaned it to the Countess of Wessex.

60. The Frosted Sunflower Brooch: At some point in the 1960s (or very early 1970s), the Queen acquired one of her very favorite brooches — this diamond and gold bauble shaped like a sunflower (or, others have argued, like a dahlia). The piece was made for the Queen by Garrard, and tallying up the number of times it’s been worn over her reign would be a mammoth undertaking. It’s still one of her most frequently-worn brooches today.